Jardin Tan

Shannon Bennett's latest venture, a complete overhaul of the Royal Botanic Garden's tired Observatory cafe, has only been open a couple of weeks and it's already hard to find a table in the huge, stylishly renovated space just off the Tan track. 

The breakfast and lunch menus at Jardin Tan are an interesting departure from Bennett's signature fine-dining Euro fare, with the focus squarely - save for a couple of anglicised concessions - on traditional Vietnamese dishes, using ingredients from the cafe's own kitchen garden and produce from the garden at Burnham Beeches, the historic estate in the Dandenongs, now also a part of Bennett's empire.

Head chef Michael Reid, formerly the executive chef at London's Gaucho, concedes it was a bit of a risk.

"We weren't sure; people don't expect us to do Vietnamese. But it is buffered slightly by the salads and the dessert table, and we still get people coming for just coffee and a pastry. But the feedback and reception so far has been amazing," he says.

Given their location, which is clogged by 7am with thousands of compression tight-bedecked joggers, breakfast was always a consideration for Jardin Tan, but Reid says he and Bennett were keen to maintain the authenticity of the cuisine, regardless of the time.

"It won't be everyone's cup of tea but we wanted a typical Vietnamese breakfast," says Reid.

The most popular dishes so far are the banh xeo, a crispy pancake made with coconut milk and stuffed with bean shoots, pork and shrimp ($15.50, delicious, and big enough for two to share) and the Vietnamese fried eggs with pulled pork and noc mam cham (fish dipping sauce), $19. "The banh xeo, my favourite, is on the lunch menu too but it's flying out the door at breakfast," Reid says.

Breakfast also includes pastries from Vue De Monde's pastry team, delivered every morning, house-made granola with almond milk ($12) and Bircher muesli ($12), for the less adventurous, but most of the compact brekky menu has at least a Vietnamese twist. Like the coconut porridge with caramelised bananas, macadamia and palm sugar caramel ($11) and even the avocado toast - served with Yarra Valley Dairy feta on a toasted banh mi  ($10).

"I think if you don't have avocado on your menu in Melbourne you'd probably get shot," says Reid. "We wanted to do it in a way it was still true but Vietnamese - it's quirky and rustic but it's a nice touch."

And, not surprisingly, proving popular.

"But people are really embracing what we're doing - the dish selling the least is the poached eggs (with streaky bacon, avocado, shiitake mushrooms and toasted banh mi, $18). We're thinking of adding a congee soon as well."

While the dishes are all authentic, some do lack the true kick of Vietnamese spice; Reid says it was about finding balance.

"If I had my way, there'd be a lot of chilli in everything, but we had to work on a blend throughout the menu, so some have a kick but are not too offensive."

But every table comes with two sauces to rectify that for more spice-tolerant diners: the house-made "firecracker" chilli sauce and Jardin Tan's version of nuoc  mam cham.

Despite the already hectic crowds, Reid says Jardin Tan's location beats working in the CBD hands down.

"It's beautiful in the gardens, it's like a little haven here," he says. "And our kitchen garden out the back gets the last afternoon sun. It feels like you're working in paradise."