An Argentinian-Inspired Beer Garden Is Popping Up in Melbourne for the Summer

The Arts Centre is opening its summer season with the hit Broadway musical Evita and it's bringing the show's Buenos Aires setting to life with Stomping Ground La Boca — a pop-up beer garden that will take over the Forecourt from December 4 through February 24, 2019, showcasing Argentinian booze, food and music.

As the name suggests, Collingwood's Stomping Ground Brewing will be manning the beer side of things. On tap, the brewery's core range will be joined by an Argentinian-inspired lager — brewed exclusively for the beer garden — and a range of Argentinian wines, too.

For food, Argentinian eatery Asado (the brand new venture by the San Telmo team) will be slinging a menu of classic street eats, such as beef and cheese empanadas, steak sandwiches and choripan (chorizo and chimichurri on a roll). Plus, a coal-roasted vegetable salad with chickpeas and ancient grains will be available for vegos, and dulce de leche-spiked soft serve and cookies will be up for dessert.

The colourful fit-out will be accompanied by lively Argentinian bands that channel the sounds of Caminito in Buenos Aires, with tango lessons and cultural performances also on the docket.

Though the beer garden is open to both theatregoers and non-theatregoers alike, the space is best enjoyed before or after a show — especially, before or after Evita. The award-winning musical, by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, stars Tina Arena and follows the extravagant life of Eva Perón, the wife of Argentinian director Juan Perón. It's a worthy summertime excursion and it opens on Wednesday, December 5.

The Stomping Ground La Boca beer garden will open at the Arts Centre Melbourne's Forecourt from December 4 through February 24, 2019, 10am until late daily. For more details, head to the Arts Centre website.