Yes, the Yarra Valley is all scenic vine-embroidered hills, but sometimes it pays to go off piste. Set in a scrappy backstreet, this one-time mechanics garage now tinkers with revved-up Euro dishes and a tight wine list designed to surprise.

When the weather’s warm, pitch up under the pergola among herb planters and wooden barrels. Staff will cherrypick a glass to match a plate of roast peppers threaded with briny anchovies. Inside, mismatched timbers and vintage-wine prints add raffish charm to the building’s industrial bones.

Savoury tarte tartin cradles leeks caramelised into submission and nuggets of blue cheese. Torn pasta is tossed with pine and oyster mushrooms, and rock flathead drenched in caper-herb butter perches on a tangle of crisp fennel. Mellow and warm, this is where you want to while away a day in the valley.

Best for: Lunch with a difference when you’re touring Yarra Valley wineries.

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.