Bitton Cafe & Bistro

Few venues embrace the family outing quite like this stalwart suburban hotspot. Welcoming staff, great coffee and an all-day breakfast menu bring flocks of prams through by day. A kids' playroom keeps them there for hours. And a casual but elegant French dinner menu brings them back after dark. Stuart Masters heads up the kitchen, but charismatic owner David Bitton is omnipresent, chatting to regulars, signing cookbooks, even hailing cabs. His self-titled condiments range features often on the menu, too. Rhubarb and apple chutney gives a tart kick to a superb duck liver parfait, while his tamarind-based monkey nut chutney adds an exotic crunch to a quail supreme. A classic beef eye fillet with peppercorn sauce is the go-to main, but a spicy eggplant relish offset by a cool yoghurt salad makes barramundi another standout choice. And if you're a dessert wine fan, it's worth coming here for the baked sauternes custard alone. But be sure to bring the kids.