HAPPENINGS
Aru partners with the Melbourne International Jazz Festival 2026, bringing you premium dining on our signature set menu before the premier performances. Only a limited number of tickets are available.
Jazz at the Bowl: The Teskey Brothers
Saturday October 17
Lunch: 12.30pm
Jazz at the Bowl: 3-9pm
Join us for lunch, set to the melodies of Matt Hoyne Trio, before making your way to the Sidney Myer Music Bowl for The Teskey Brothers, Fred Wesley & the New JBs, and ARIA-winning vocalist Emily Wurramara.
Dee Dee Bridgewater
Saturday October 24
Dinner: 5pm
Dee Dee Bridgewater at Hamer Hall: 7.30pm
Settle in for Aru’s signature set dinner before enjoying this rare Melbourne appearance alongside jazz pianist Helen Sung in premium seats at Hamer Hall.
Private Dining
Ensconced away in Aru is our private dining room, Banda, which fully closes up to the rest of the restaurant. The rich, timber-encased space seats 12, with doors that offer seclusion.
Banda opens up onto The Terrace – an impressive landing with a view of our cellar. Here, you’ll find a grand long table set-up, a favourite amongst wedding parties, birthdays and celebrations of all sorts. The Terrace is separated from the dining room by a mesh curtain and seats 30. Both spaces can be booked separately or together.
We are delighted to offer additions for event bookings, including a wood fire grilled sanchoku wagyu ribeye MB6+, and a Fire & Grain whisky pairing experience, where a special menu is paired with premium whiskies from The Balvenie. Both of these additions require advance notice.
In The Press
The Age Good Food Guide 2026 – Two Hats
The Age Good Food Guide 2025 – Two Hats
Australia’s Wine List of the Year 2025 – Three Glasses
The Age Good Food Guide 2023 – Two Hats
The Age Good Food Guide 2023 – Victoria’s Restaurant of the Year
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants – 50 Best Discovery
Gourmet Traveller – Review
The Age Good Food – Review
About
Named after the group of islands which ancient seafarers frequented as part of the Sino-Indonesian-Australian route, Aru draws on the cuisine of the three regions. Asian dishes deftly flecked with native Australian ingredients, grilled or finished over the wood-fired hearth.
In this beautiful, moody space of marble, mesh, wood and brick lies some of the city’s most renowned dishes and an impressive cellar list – a destination for a coming together of cuisines and cultures.
Gift Cards
Gift a dining experience at Aru with our digital gift cards, sent immediately to you or a recipient of your choice.
Gift cards are valid for 3 years from the date of purchase.