Odette House Brings Rooftop Dining and Thai Soul to Spotswood
Melbourne’s Inner West has long had soul, but it’s been missing the altitude. Until now. Spotswood has scored a rare rooftop venue, and it’s come not with a whimper, but with a wok sizzle. Meet Odette House: three levels of Thai-inspired eating, drinking and casual vibing, led by a woman who knows exactly what she’s doing with a mortar and pestle.
Odette House
Jojo Parkinson isn’t new to the game. She built a following at Thai Alley in Eastland, but her new spot on McLister Street is her most personal project yet. Spread across a café, restaurant and rooftop bar, Odette House is a bit of a unicorn in these parts. Not only is it one of the only rooftops this side of the Westgate, but it’s also got an actual food brain behind it. That brain? Born in Bangkok, now living westside, still making curry pastes from scratch.
The all-day café on the ground floor is a daytime-lover’s dream: warm timbers, big windows, soft branding and not a single bit of faux-industrial clutter in sight. Five Senses coffee anchors the drinks list, but the real move is the Matcha Coco Cream, a slightly unhinged but deeply enjoyable combo of iced matcha, coconut juice and cream cheese foam. Food runs playful but solid: satay chicken burgers, chilli scramble, and sticky pulled beef benedict that smells like brunch with purpose.
Upstairs, the lights dim and the chillies get louder. Uday Restaurant (named after the Sanskrit and Arabic word for “sunrise”) leans into moodier dining: burnt-orange booths, swinging rattan pendants, and a playlist that feels like Bangkok meets Brunswick. This is where Jojo’s curry pastes come out to play—slow-cooked Massaman beef cheek reimagined as a lunch pie, a Southern Thai chickpea yellow curry for the plant-based crowd, and a zingy green chicken and eggplant number that holds its own against Melbourne’s heavy hitters.
Then there are the sideshows worth ordering for fun alone: spring rolls packed with chicken larb, fresh oyster omelettes done Thai street-style, and Seua Rong Hai—aka Crying Tiger—grilled Scotch fillet with tamarind, chilli and lime that’ll make your eyes water (and not just from the spice).
Head one level up and you’ll find Uday Bar—one of the only rooftop drinking spots in the west that doesn’t feel like an afterthought. It’s not trying to be a nightclub or a speakeasy. Think golden hour drinks with actual skyline views, casual eats, and a cocktail list that knows the difference between lychee-flavoured and lychee-infused. There’s live music on Saturdays, private function bookings for up to 120, and plans for a dog-friendly courtyard come spring.
If you’ve ever tried to explain to someone why the west is better, Odette House is now a valid Exhibit A. It’s got the pedigree, the design chops, and a menu that’s genuinely craveable. More importantly, it gives Spotswood something it hasn’t had before: a reason to stay local after dark.
Melbourne’s Inner West has long had soul, but it’s been missing the altitude. Until now. Spotswood has scored a rare rooftop venue, and it’s come not with a whimper, but with a wok sizzle. Meet Odette House: three levels of Thai-inspired eating, drinking and casual vibing, led by a woman who knows exactly what she’s doing with a mortar and pestle.
