So you've thrown together a makeshift plan for a friends night out. You've arranged to meet at [insert local landmark] and go from there. But here's the problem. Half of the best venues in the city are either too busy, too small, or too pricey for your mixed-income, mixed-diet gang. Trouble.

As most of us in Melbourne have been in exactly this situation before, the first thing is to stand in a circle for the better part of twenty minutes and debate whether or not to go to the BYO dumplings place because you can feed a small family for $7 and drink whatever you want, or be lead into battle by that friend of yours who always seems to have some sort of plan despite said plans backfiring at a worrying rate. The perfect solution to acing the friends night out? To put it plainly, there isn't one. But we've gone and made a decent list of city and surrounding venues that are guaranteed to please for casual group events, birthday dinners, catch-ups, and chow downs.

On an entirely related note, as this is the Liven Feed, every venue in the list is a Liven partner, so use the Liven app to pay and you'll earn instant cash rewards, ready to be spent at the next squad meet, or saved up for something else entirely.

Let's get started on Melbourne's best group friendly restaurants and bars.

Bluetrain

Bluetrain ticks every single box for a sweet meet up. You've got a big venue on the Yarra, a stone's throw from Flinders St Station, easy going not-quite-luxe vibes, a heap of tap beers, and a crowd pleasing menu of Modern upscale bar food, from pizzas to burgers to steaks to shakes. Sold.

The DIY Tacos are delicious. Enjoy a hands-on experience, and sway the mood towards silly so you can talk less about tax returns, and more about schoolies stories and video game high scores. Plus, tequila(!)

Their pizzas are not to be scoffed at.