Budget Friendly Events Melbourne

Dinner @ Bon Ap Petit Bistro

In honour of Bastille Day, let's go for some French food! You can choose the 2 course dinner ($58) or 3 course dinner ($78) from their [menu](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/69e58e9b8bcf3f2da2f12475/t/6a27520ac059b31c47dd7351/1780961802670/Dinner+menu+May+26.pdf) Note: there is a 5% surcharge for Saturday night. As usual, a $20 deposit will be required to secure your spot. this will be returned to you on the night, or if you change your RSVP with at least 48hr notice. see you there! Priscila

Make Friends & Practice Languages at The Asian Beer Cafe

**Welcome to our Linguas Thursday Social + Language Exchange Meetup 🌍** We meet weekly at **Asian Beer Café** **Level 3, Melbourne Central** **211 La Trobe Street, Melbourne VIC 3000** We ask that you **purchase a drink at the bar** or **pay $3.5 at entry**. *** ### 💬 Find your people (New!) Looking to practice a specific language? Post in the discussion using: * **#LearnSpanish** * **#LearnEnglish** * **#TeachEnglish** * **#LearnJapanese** * etc. 👉 This helps others find you faster and makes it easier to connect. *** ### 📲 Join our WhatsApp Community Stay connected before and after the event, meet people, and find language partners: 👉 **Join here:** [https://chat.whatsapp.com/Bi7FlhHP91e0eP7MfdeWcZ](https://chat.whatsapp.com/Bi7FlhHP91e0eP7MfdeWcZ) *** ### ⏰ What to expect We consistently have **100–120 attendees** every Thursday (across multiple Meetup groups/Eventbrite/Facebook). People arrive at different times — **best time to come is between 6PM and 9PM.** Come solo or with friends — most people come alone and join conversations naturally. *** ### 🌏 Who attends? A mix of: * Native & non-native English speakers * International students * Backpackers & working holiday travellers * Professionals & expats * Local Australians You’ll meet people from: Europe, China, Japan, Korea, Latin America, and more. *** ### 🗣️ Why join? 👉 A relaxed, social way to practice English 👉 Meet people from around the world 👉 No pressure, no structure — just conversations *** ### 🍕 FREE DRINKS & FOOD FOR FRIENDLY VOLUNTEERS! We’re looking for **friendly volunteers** to help welcome newcomers and keep the vibe social. 👉 You’ll get: * Free drinks (beer/soft drink) * Food (pizza, wedges, etc.) * A fun team to hang out with No experience needed — many of our volunteers are **first-timers too**. Interested? 👉 [www.Linguas.au/Volunteer](www.Linguas.au/Volunteer) *** 📲 **More info:** [https://instagram.com/Linguas.AU](https://instagram.com/Linguas.AU) or **@Linguas.AU**

Savouring dumplings at Heartling

Heartling is a small venue in Docklands offering a unique slow-dining experience centred on dumplings that look like little works of art. Diners can select from meat-based, seafood based or plant-based dumpling sets, or a combination to suit they preference. You can see a sample menu here: https://www.heartling.com.au/home/cuisine I have booked for us to enjoy a dumpling dinner from 6pm on Saturday 11 July. **Updated 01/06/2026** Due to a lot of interest in Heartling, I’ve been able increase the booking to get the entire space for 10 diners. To help this small business manage our booking, they have requested we order the set menu. The set menu is: * a welcome drink (choice of wine, sparkling wine, lychee sundowner or tea * 10 dumplings * Choice of dessert The pricing varies depending on your dumpling combos (5+5 dumplings): Set Menu Prices * Plant-based $88 * Plant-based + Meat $98 * Plant-based + Seafood $108 * Meat + Seafood $118



Join the waitlist to express interest. After the first day or so of posting, once I have names in the waitlist, I’ll send you a ‘Meetup Message’ to confirm you have a spot and how to pay. You’ll need to send me $50 to secure your place (equivalent to the cancellation fee - this will be deducted from your bill when we settle up). Once paid I’ll move you from the waitlist to ‘Attending’. As these are small group events, there are often more Fine Diners interested than there are seats available. My approach to hosting an event is to share seats around amongst members of the group in as fair a manner as I can, including mixing Fine Diners regulars with newcomers. Please be respectful if there are events when you miss out on a spot. I will always message you so you know if you have secured a seat or are still waitlisted in case a seat opens up. Please check that you don’t have your settings blocking messages; if I can’t contact you, I’ll have to move on to the next person. Also if you don’t respond to my message offering you a spot within 3 days, I’ll let you know that I’m offering the seat to another person on the waitlist. 



I’m looking forward to enjoying some delicious dumplings with you!

🚩FREE Friday Language Exchange Social🌍

**🙋‍♀️**Welcome to FREE FRIDAY Social + language ​exchange meetup. Meet people from many countries and make new friends. 👉We always have MANY people attending our Friday event since this event is listed in 3 different meetup groups. Some people come early some come late, best time is between 6:30pm to 9:30pm. 👉This is a great opportunity to learn to speak English with native and non-native speakers. Many English speakers, Europeans, Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, and other Asians attend our fun and friendly party. 👉It is suitable for international students, working holiday people, professional ex-pats, and local Australians.

Taste of Freyja Menu

It’s been a few years since the last Freyja dinner in this group so it’s time to revisit this spot! Freyja is a fine dining venue focused on food sustainability and exploring the flavours of ingredients in their purest, most natural form. The Freyja team source products locally and even forage some items in the wild to bring transformative flavours to the plate. They explore techniques like fermentation and subscribe to a minimal waste philosophy for a kinder impact on the environment, while bringing us innovative, mouth-watering dishes. Check out more on Freyja’s five course ‘Taste of Freyja’ menu here: https://freyjarestaurant.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Taste-of-Freyja-May-2026.pdf I have booked for 6 Fine Diners to enjoy a Taste of Freyja at $139 per person for dinner from 6.30pm on Thursday 23 July. 

Join the waitlist to express interest. After the first day or so of posting, once I have names in the waitlist, I’ll send you a ‘Meetup Message’ to confirm you have a spot and how to pay. You’ll need to send me $50 to secure your place (equivalent to the cancellation fee - this will be deducted from your bill when we settle up). Once paid I’ll move you from the waitlist to ‘Attending’. As these are small group events, there are often more Fine Diners interested than there are seats available. My approach to hosting an event is to share seats around amongst members of the group in as fair a manner as I can, including mixing Fine Diners regulars with newcomers. Please be respectful if there are events when you miss out on a spot. I will always message you so you know if you have secured a seat or are still waitlisted in case a seat opens up. Please check that you don’t have your settings blocking messages; if I can’t contact you, I’ll have to move on to the next person. Also if you don’t respond to my message offering you a spot within 3 days, I’ll let you know that I’m offering the seat to another person on the waitlist. 

I look forward to dining with you at Freyja.

Introductory Buddhist Talk & Group Meditation

Are you looking for an opportunity to learn more about Buddhism and meditation? Come and join us for our regular Buddhist meditation sessions every Tuesday. Every session will start with a short introductory and will be followed by a guided, 20 - 30 minute meditation. Feel free to join us after the session for some social time and questions and answers. The evening is free of charge, but donations are always welcome. More info can be found here: https://diamondway.org.au/centres/melbourne

Mamma Mia tribute band.

dinner and live band

Fad Gallery Happy Hour and great dance vibes!$8 Happy Hour $10 Fireballs!

🎉 Join Us at FAD Gallery Bar! Welcome Anita to our hosting team🥂 Looking for a fun, easygoing way to meet new people and kick off your weekend? Come hang out with us at FAD Gallery Bar in the heart of Melbourne CBD! 🎨 About the Venue: FAD is an iconic, laneway bar with a unique artistic vibe — think comfy couches, art on the walls, cool music, and that classic Melbourne laneway feel. 🍻 Happy Hour: 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM Hosted from 6:00 but feel free to rock up early for Happy Hour as the venue staff are friendly and there are always some early attenders. Enjoy great drink specials during happy hour and very cheap drinks after that — perfect for chatting, chilling, and making new friends. 👋 No need to know anyone — come as you are! This is a relaxed, welcoming meetup where everyone’s there to have fun, make connections, and enjoy good drinks and great company. 💃 Good Vibes & Dancing: Later in the night the bar transforms into a dance-friendly space with DJs and groovy tunes — whether you want to boogie or just hang out, it’s a great crowd and no one’s a stranger here!

Lunch at Tao Dumplings Mentone

Lebanese.

Asian Background Social: Lounge Asia Melbourne (Easy English) 6pm

🌏 Make new international friends in Melbourne. Come alone, practise your English, and enjoy a relaxed social night. 😊 A friendly meetup for networking, language exchange, and real conversation — open to everyone. Why People Love Lounge Asia 🍜 Asian-focused event 🤝 Many guests come alone 💬 No need for perfect English 🌏 No games or forced introductions — just enjoy the conversation Lounge Asia began within the Asian community, so people from Asia often feel comfortable and at home here. At the same time, everyone is welcome — locals, expats, travellers, students, returnees, digital nomads, and globally minded people. ━━━━━━━━━━ How to Join 1️⃣ Tap "RSVP" on this page 2️⃣ Show your Meetup QR code at reception 3️⃣ Collect your name tag and start meeting people ✅ Free entry for the first 145 RSVPs ✅ AUD 5 after the first 145 RSVPs, or within 24 hours before the event ✅ RSVP early to get the best deal ✅ Limited capacity — please RSVP early Many people attend alone, so don't worry if it's your first time. ━━━━━━━━━━ How to Find Us 📍 Venue Diesel Bar & Eatery Melbourne CBD ⏰ Time Every 3rd Wednesday of the month from 6:00 pm 🚶 Getting There Enter via Little Lonsdale St only. No entry from inside Melbourne Central. Our Lounge Asia organisers will be there to welcome you 😊 ━━━━━━━━━━ 🍺 Please Support the Venue This event is free or low-cost because the venue supports our community. Please purchase at least one drink during the event. Your support helps us keep organising events at great venues. ━━━━━━━━━━ 💚 Please Be Respectful Lounge Asia is a friendly social event where everyone should feel comfortable and welcome. 🚫 This is NOT a pickup or dating event. Anyone who makes others uncomfortable may be removed immediately. Not allowed: harassment, unwanted attention, MLM / crypto / religious recruitment, or anything that makes others uncomfortable. Organisers reserve the right to refuse entry or ask anyone to leave. 🪪 A valid government-issued photo ID is strictly required for entry. No photo ID, no entry. Driver's licences must be issued by the government of the country where the event is held. 📸 Photos and short videos may be taken for community and promotional purposes. If you prefer not to appear, please let an organiser know when you arrive. ━━━━━━━━━━ Lounge Asia is already growing in Australia and is now expanding across Asia — Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore. Our goal is simple: More friendship, more understanding, and more genuine connections across cultures. 📱 Instagram: @_lounge_asia 🎥 Watch Event Video: [\[WATCH EVENT VIDEO\]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNak_cu9CXw) 🎁 VIP ACCESS (Founding Members) Join the VIP list for early access to our official app & special party invites. [👉GET VIP ACCESS](https://forms.gle/t6GXAjTNFECetVuZ8) ━━━━━━━━━━ 🌏 Come say hi! Hey, come hang out! 来一起玩吧！ 一起來聊天吧！ 気軽に遊びに来てね！ 편하게 놀러 와요! มาเจอกันนะ! Tới chơi nha! Tara, sali ka na! Yuk, gabung! Хамтдаа цуглацгаая! Komm einfach vorbei! Jom join kita! See you at Lounge Asia!