Now Open: For the First Time Ever in Australia, You Can Get Sipping, Snacking and Rollerskating at the Malibu Barbie Cafe
Let's go party: this two-storey spot has popped up in Melbourne with a roller rink and a Ken-themed bar slinging cocktails.
Pink hues, beach-themed decor, a roller rink, desserts served in toy convertibles: you'll find them all at the Malibu Barbie Cafe. After popping up across the US — with New York, Chicago, Minneapolis, Miami, Austin and Houston all welcoming the venue — this ode to Barbiecore has made its Australian debut. Come on Aussies, let's go party in Melbourne.
Being a Barbie girl in a Barbie world wasn't just a 2023 trend, back when Greta Gerwig's (Little Women) Margot Robbie (Asteroid City)-starring — and Oscar-nominated — film became one of the biggest and pinkest movies to ever hit cinemas. The 2025 way to get your fix Down Under has arrived, and it's hanging around until summer 2026. Hitting up the Malibu Barbie Cafe at The Social Quarter at Chadstone Shopping Centre in the Victorian capital means not only enjoying ice cream floats dished up in a pink Barbie car, but also frequenting the Ken Kabana bar for fairy floss-topped cocktails and putting your skates on.
Initially announced in mid-June and open since Friday, June 27, this is the cafe's debut stop beyond America. It's also Melbourne's second temporary big-name pop culture-themed addition this winter, after Melbourne Museum's Star Wars Galactic Cafe opened its doors in early June.
Kicking it back to the 1970s, when Malibu Barbie initially debuted, is on the agenda, too. When you're hitting the rink, so is skating surrounded by artwork of palm trees. A life-sized Barbie box? An installation that celebrates how Barbie as a brand has changed over the years? That's all on offer at the Malibu Barbie Cafe as well, alongside merchandise that you won't find anywhere else.
Ken's job isn't just beach here, given that his name adorns the cocktail-slinging upstairs bar in the two-storey site. On the drinks menu: that gin and lemonade concoction with spun sugar on top; themed takes on mojitos, margaritas, cosmopolitans, espresso martinis and old fashioneds; and more. If you're keen on a booze-free version, some of the tipples are available as mocktails. There's also a snack range, including fries with pink mayo, prawn cocktails, sushi and baked brie.
Downstairs, Malibu Barbie Cafe's menu is an all-ages-friendly affair, with that ice cream float just one option. Sticking with sweets means choosing from doughnuts, pink cookies, cupcakes, ice cream sundaes, fruit and marshmallows. If you can't decide, the dessert sampler dishes up a mix of picks on a Barbie boat for between four and eight people.
Savoury dishes span the same small bites as at the Ken Kabana, plus burgers, poke, garlic prawn linguine, beer-battered fish tacos, club sandwiches, grilled cheese, mac 'n' cheese and salads. Or, tuck into avocado toast, açai bowls, bacon and eggs, parfait or pancakes from the all-day brunch selection. Then, to drink, milkshakes, pink lemonade and pink lattes are among the options.
If you're thinking "come on Barbie, let's go party", party packages are indeed a feature — including three-hour adults-only private-dining experiences from 6.30pm Thursday–Sunday.
Find Mattel's Malibu Barbie Cafe at The Social Quarter at Chadstone Shopping Centre, 1341 Dandenong Road, Malvern East, Melbourne, until summer 2026 — open from 10am–6pm Monday–Wednesday, 10am–10pm Thursday–Friday, 9am–10pm Saturday and 9am–8pm Sunday. Head to the cafe's website for more details.
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