Meeting People in Melbourne: Where to Go
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Language exchange, board games, trivia, run clubs, a lunchtime choir, dinner with strangers: ten regular meet-ups in Melbourne to meet people offline. Where, when, how much.
Meeting people in a city is easier when you attend a recurring event: a language exchange on Tuesday, a board game night on Thursday, trivia at the pub. You see the same faces again, and a stranger quickly becomes someone you know. This guide only lists events that the organiser describes on its own page.
The options at a glance
| Name | Area, venue | Format | When | Price (year) | Signing up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linguas | Father's Office QV (Tuesday); Asian Beer Café, Melbourne Central (Thursday) | Language exchange and international meet-up | Tuesday and Thursday from 6 pm | A$5 entry, or a food or drink order after check-in (2026) | Check the date on Meetup, check in at the Linguas table |
| Board in the East | Mount Waverley, Wadham House | Board games | Friday evenings from 6 pm; check the upcoming dates | A$3, free for Melbourne Meeples members (2026) | RSVP on Meetup |
| Melbourne Asian Board Gamers | CBD, Marché Board Game Cafe | Board games | Tuesday, 6 pm | A$7 with an RSVP; without one, the café's price of A$22 for three hours (2026) | RSVP on Meetup |
| Rainbow Boardgames | CBD, Marché Board Game Cafe | Board games, open to LGBTQIA+ players | Thursday, 6:30 pm | A$6.20 (2026) | Book and pay ahead on Meetup |
| The Osborne | South Yarra, Main Bar | Pub trivia | Tuesday, 7 pm | Not stated | Table booking |
| Coopers Inn | CBD, 282 Exhibition Street | Pub trivia | Tuesday from 6:30 pm | Free (2026) | Table booking offered |
| Sole Motive Run Club | CBD, 148 Little Collins Street | Group run, 5 to 6 km at an easy pace | Wednesday, 6:30 am | Not stated | Register once with a form |
| OSAAT | Under the Glasshouse on Olympic Boulevard (Tuesday), bottom of Anderson Street Hill near Morell Bridge (Sunday) | Social running group | Tuesday 7 pm, Sunday 8 am | Free (2026) | No booking, just come |
| Choir 3006 | Southbank, Melbourne Recital Centre or Federation Hall | Community choir | Wednesday 12:15 to 1 pm, during school terms | Free (2026) | Register your interest with the form |
| Timeleft | Venues vary, among them in Carlton and Prahran | Dinner, drinks, coffee or a run with strangers | Dinner Wednesday and Friday 7 pm, drinks Thursday 7 pm, coffee and runs Saturday | Dinners: membership, plus food and drinks (2026); other activities not stated | In the app |
"Not stated" means we found no price, not that it costs money.
Talking
Linguas (Father's Office QV and Asian Beer Café)
A language exchange and international meet-up on two evenings a week: on Tuesdays at Father's Office QV and on Thursdays at the Asian Beer Café in Melbourne Central, each from 6 pm. According to the website, you can come on your own, and the group's Meetup page explicitly mentions international students, backpackers, working holiday makers and people new to Melbourne. Check the date on Meetup, then check in at the Linguas table before you order. Entry is A$5, or you order food or a drink after checking in (2026). Linguas, Linguas on Meetup
Playing
Board in the East (Wadham House, Mount Waverley)
Board in the East is a regular board game evening of Melbourne Meeples, a board game club. It takes place on Friday evenings from 6 pm at Wadham House in Mount Waverley; check the upcoming dates, as the club's own page and its Meetup group list different Fridays. Entry is A$3, and free for Melbourne Meeples members (2026). You RSVP on the group's Meetup page, which lists the upcoming dates. Melbourne Meeples, Melbourne Meeples on Meetup
Melbourne Asian Board Gamers (Marché Board Game Cafe, CBD)
A weekly board game meet-up on Tuesdays from 6 pm at the Marché Board Game Cafe in the CBD; Meetup explains how signing up and the evening work. With an RSVP on Meetup you pay A$7; without one, the café's regular price of A$22 for three hours applies (2026). The café's own events page lists the Tuesday meet-up as well. Melbourne Asian Board Gamers on Meetup, Marché events
Rainbow Boardgames (Marché Board Game Cafe, CBD)
The organiser describes Rainbow Boardgames as open to LGBTQIA+ players with different levels of experience. The group meets on Thursdays at 6:30 pm at the Marché Board Game Cafe in the CBD. You book on Meetup and pay in advance; a place costs A$6.20 (2026). Rainbow Boardgames on Meetup
The Osborne (South Yarra)
The Osborne in South Yarra holds its trivia night in the Main Bar every Tuesday at 7 pm, with food and drink specials, according to the venue. You can reserve a table. The page gives no price for the quiz. Tuesday trivia at The Osborne
Coopers Inn (Exhibition Street, CBD)
On its weekly What's On page, Coopers Inn at 282 Exhibition Street in the CBD lists free pub trivia every Tuesday from 6:30 pm (2026). You can book a table. coopersinn.com.au
Running
Sole Motive Run Club (Little Collins Street, CBD)
The run club of the running shop Sole Motive meets on Wednesdays at 6:30 am at its store at 148 Little Collins Street in the CBD, for 5 to 6 km at an easy pace that lets you chat; all levels are welcome. You register once with a form before your first run. The page gives no price. Sole Motive Run Club
OSAAT (Olympic Boulevard and Morell Bridge)
OSAAT, short for One Step At A Time, is a social running group with two weekly runs: on Tuesdays at 7 pm from under the Glasshouse on Olympic Boulevard and on Sundays at 8 am from the bottom of Anderson Street Hill near Morell Bridge. The Sunday long runs cover 10 to 34 km in six pace groups, and everyone is welcome. Taking part is free, with no sign-up and no membership; you just turn up (2026). osaat.run
Singing
Choir 3006 (Southbank)
The Melbourne Recital Centre lists Choir 3006, a free community choir that sings on Wednesdays at lunchtime, from 12:15 to 1 pm, during school terms. It meets at the Melbourne Recital Centre or at Federation Hall in Southbank, depending on the date, and the page gives the venue. You need no musical experience. You register your interest with the form on the page, and attendance is casual (2026). Choir 3006 at the Melbourne Recital Centre
Sharing a table with strangers
Timeleft (venues vary)
An app that puts you in a group with people you don't know yet. In Melbourne, there are dinners on Wednesdays and Fridays at 7 pm, drinks on Thursdays at 7 pm, and coffee and runs on Saturdays, at changing public venues, among them in Carlton and Prahran. You sign up on your own; bookings close 13 hours beforehand, and the app shows the venue shortly before. For the dinners you need a membership, whose price depends on the plan you choose, and you pay for what you eat and drink (2026). timeleft.com/melbourne
Going alone
Pick one format and go three times before you judge it. The first evening is often the most awkward, and every time you return, you are more likely to see familiar faces. A shared activity gives you something to talk about straight away: the game, the quiz question, the song, the language you are practising. At Linguas, the website says you can come on your own, and at Timeleft everyone signs up on their own anyway.
Good openers are deliberately ordinary: "Is this your first time too?", "How did you find out about it?", "Have you played this game before?" Ask one follow-up question and listen to the answer.
Making plans to meet again
A good conversation does not turn into a second meeting on its own. Before you leave, suggest something concrete: "Are you coming to the language exchange again on Thursday?" or "I'm going to trivia on Tuesday, want to join our team?" A specific suggestion is easier to answer than "We should do something sometime".
Try it this week
- Pick one format from the table above
- Put the date in your calendar and check it on the organiser's page
- Arrive five minutes early and talk to one person
- Before you leave, suggest a specific plan to meet again
For organisers
If you host evenings like these, you know the moment: people get on well and then lose touch. before is a web app for organisers. Guests check in at the door with a QR code in their browser, without installing an app, and anyone who likes takes a selfie. The day after, the afterparty is open from 10 am to 8 pm. Anyone who shared a selfie sees everyone else who shared one there and can press the button for meeting again for up to five people. At 8 pm everyone finds out at the same time who wants to see each other again, and only then does a chat open. One-sided wishes stay invisible, and nobody receives a rejection. Nobody needs a profile. More on the page before for organisers.