Lantana

A pioneer of the Australian-run modern café scene, Lantana remains a lively spot. Its look – wooden tables, mismatched chairs, small pieces of art on white walls – is now commonplace, but the staff pride themselves on their coffee-making and baking skills, and rightly so. The flat whites are super-smooth and go well with a moist raspberry friand or an Aussie ‘cherry ripe’ cake slice. The breakfast and brunch menu sounds great too, though sadly, maple french toast with streaky bacon, grilled banana and candied pecans was a little dry and came without any syrup; the chef had also forgotten to candy the pecans. Nevertheless, the staff, though the relaxed side of perfect, were very apologetic. At lunchtime and in the evenings savoury dishes can be ordered with a glass of wine. The kiosk next door sells some dishes as takeaways, such as the tart of the day; on our visit this was a big slice of mushroom, spinach and goat’s cheese tart, served with a selection of salads that included a slightly bland lentil and beetroot assembly, but also a much more vibrant and flavoursome greek salad.