Deus Bar and Kitchen

"How's everything, guys?" They're a cheery lot at the new Deus Bar & Kitchen.

"How's it going so far?" Don't know yet, I've only been here five minutes.

"Enjoying yourselves, guys?" Sorry. Too early to tell.

Deus was always a great, human mess of a cafe, the dark and cavernous, concrete-floored warehouse space linked by a doorway to the Deus Ex Machina motorcycle showroom and streetwear emporium. Now the dark has been banished, and a new Deus has been dragged into contemporary cafe mode, blinking in the light.

The new co-owners are Andy Ruwald and chef Tom Walton, transplanted inland from Bondi hotspot The Bucket List, and bar manager James Prier. Their new look includes a dedicated cocktail bar, long, blond wood share tables and big glass windows lined with actual greenery. Someone has even parked their Kawasaki W650, Yamaha SR Dirt Tracker and '78 Yamaha Godspeed between the tables.

I turned up half by accident one cold, dark, wet night, ran into a Bannockburn roast chicken ($20 half) scented with lemon and herbs and paired with wilted broccoli rabe and a puddle of truly delicious tahini yoghurt, and stayed. Well, you would, wouldn't you?

Add some well-engineered snacks of chicken crackling ($14) – two crisp, crunchy shards of pressed chicken skin topped with diced raw kingfish, smoked eggplant and togarashi – and a bowl of homely, stewy, flat beans in tomatoey juices ($9) that smelt like a Greek mother's kitchen, and it was a very convincing dinner.

The shorter weekend lunch menu is less cohesive with its Ottolenghi-style salads of greens and grains, eggplant fritters and big sandwiches, making the Deus cheeseburger ($17) the big default order. It's a monster of a thing, the high-top milk bun sandwiching cheese, pickle, thick meat patty, onion, fresh tomato, lettuce and crisp bacon (+$3), and comes with a platterful of skinny fries dusted with sugar 'n' spice salt and a bowl of mayo that needs more acidity.

Prices aren't low, but you get more than you bargain for; sometimes a lot more. Take the pumpkin soup ($17), the most head-bangingly boring order in the world. Here it glows like a Moroccan sunset, pumped up with caramelised brussels sprouts, hazelnuts, pomegranate and carrot-top pesto and showered with grated cheese, transformed into a fulfilling – and gorgeous – vegetarian main course.

There's more emphasis on cocktails (18 listed) than wines (11) so you're probably better off fuelling up with a citrussy bourbon-based Rhubarb Red Bonneville ($18) than a fragrant, smoky 2013 Lawson's Dry Hills pinot noir ($50).

This is good cooking; bright, attractive and single-minded. Order lamb and beans, you get lamb and beans. Order whole roast quince ($12), and get a monumentally beautiful jewel after 12 hours of low and slow cooking, paired with a quenelle of Pepe Saya creme fraiche and a spoonful of warm, toasty walnuts. (Such a tiny detail, serving warm walnuts with the quince, but duly noted.) More detail – tactile, off-kilter bowls and plates from Glebe-based Ode Ceramics; the result of the ceramicist bowling in one day and introducing herself as a local.

Deus went from 0 to 100 km/h on day one and weekend queues are the new norm, but at least bookings are taken. Tom Walton heads up the kitchen until new chef Zac Pauling (Pink Salt and Corner House) starts, and there is talk of installing all-day weekend breakfasts, which sounds like the right thing to do. So I can finally answer all their questions. "Good, thanks."

THE LOWDOWN

Best bit: Full-throttle cafe food
Worst bit: You could end up buying a motorbike.
Go-to dish: Lemon, herb and chilli-rubbed roast Bannockburn chook, $20/$39

Terry Durack is chief restaurant critic for The Sydney Morning Herald and senior reviewer for the Good Food Guide. This rating is based on the Good Food Guide scoring system.