Johnny's Green Room

Johnny’s Green Room is a Carlton rooftop venue above King & Godfree, with capacity for up to 260 patrons following its recent redesign. Its defining feature is the perch: an open-air terrace looking across Lygon Street and Carlton toward Melbourne’s skyline, with a semi-retractable roof that keeps the room active through cooler weather. Expect the social energy of a bar first, with live sets folded into an Italian-accented food-and-drink setting.

A 2018 rooftop for an old Carlton corner

The venue grew out of the major redevelopment of King & Godfree, the Lygon and Faraday streets corner store that opened in 1884 and has belonged to the Valmorbida family since 1955. Renovation began in 2015; when the heritage-listed building reopened in December 2018, Johnny’s Green Room arrived as its rooftop addition, joining the deli, café and broader hospitality precinct.

Its name reaches back to a popular Carlton late-night bar of the 1960s and 1970s, though the present-day room was built as a terrace bar with panoramic views and a long central bar. A further reopening was announced in November 2023, bringing Karen Martini into the kitchen and Matthew Bax to the drinks program. The subsequent refresh added a Tuscan-terrace look, an expanded 260-person capacity and a year-round music program developed with Hope St Radio and Melbourne DJs.

The room on show night

Johnny’s Green Room suits shows that work with a busy rooftop crowd: the supplied calendar spans folk, indie, electronic, country, jazz, alternative, pop and rock, while the house program also leans heavily toward DJs. The hire setup supports semi-private groups and full-venue events, so room configuration can shift with the booking. Sightlines belong to the skyline as much as the performance; settle near the long bar or among the terrace seating, and factor the exposed rooftop setting into your plans.