The Baker's Wife

The Baker's Wife is an impressive, energetic bakery and cafe in an eastern suburbs pocket that has been something of a desert for quality casual dining. Open a year, it expanded two months ago and is now a massive place with an edgy industrial aesthetic that's softened by a clever demarcation of zones. From couches to courtyard to communal tables, swift service also makes the large premises feel more intimate: when you know the waiters have your back the hospitality horizons draw closer.

Owner Beejan Degani has been baking for 27 years – he picked up plenty of tips during four flour-dusted years at Babka and, in 1999, opened the first Degani in Clifton Hill. Later, he ran Beejan's on Degraves Street in the city and, more recently, Provence Artisan Bakers up the other end of Burke Road. Beejan's wife Dora loves cooking as much as Beejan loves baking and she's been alongside him throughout the journey. Finally, she got a place that's named after her – well, almost.

Baked goods are a major focus here: the French toast is made with one of Melbourne's best challahs, and classy sandwiches (chicken waldorf, tuna with olive tapenade and herbed mayo) are available on baguette or sliced bread. Fluffy doughnuts are filled with custard and the currant-studded coffee scroll is stickily superb. Berry custard is corralled by a perfectly crisp shortcrust tart shell, blind-baked till it has 20-20 vision.

It's not just flour and sugar. A good lunch range includes burgers on a board and fries in cute baskets, plus an on-trend grain salad that's full of little flavour bombs (preserved lemon, crushed coriander seeds, torn herbs, dollops of labne stirred with cumin) and is thoughtfully presented (for example, seeds are removed from the cucumber and it's cut into careful wedges). It's an exuberant and satisfying dish that shows why the Baker's Wife finally deserves star billing.

Rating: Four stars (out of five)