Afloat, the floating bar and restaurant that pops up on the Yarra River next to Flinders Street Station, reopens in September. The venue from HQ Group (Her Rooftop, Music Room) operates with a different theme each year. Past versions of Afloat have taken Melburnians to Miami, Mexico, the Turkish Riviera and a Spanish beach club.

For this ninth iteration, the team is transforming the venue into Afloat Capri.

“Capri draws you in with its natural beauty, glamour and style,” Emily Jamieson, who oversaw the interior design for this year’s pop-up, says of the Italian island in the Bay of Naples.

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Afloat Capri will be a riff on an Italian beach club with striped umbrellas, terracotta tiles and lemon trees potted in hand-painted planters. There’ll be 30 different Negronis, Pidapipo gelato-based frozen cocktails, and plenty of spritzes.

The menu will be made up of “uncomplicated Italian classics, simple pleasures and salty snacks”, executive chef James Gibson tells Broadsheet. Expect antipasti, paninis, seafood platters, changing pastas, 10-inch Napoletana pizzas and smaller pizzettes.

“Seasonality and simplicity are the cornerstones of Italian culinary habits,” says Gibson, “Our menu will be built with the same ethos.”

Afloat Capri will open for walk-ins in early September, reservations can be made for dates starting from Monday September 16.