Touchwood

Where and what

A novel addition to the duller, bed-linen-and-tapware end of Bridge Road, Touchwood is a collaborative effort from the partners behind Armadale's Coin Laundry, Port Melbourne's Station Street Trading Co, Tall Timber in Prahran and nearby Pillar of Salt (who also recently opened yet another cafe in Northcote). Taking on such a massive space (the place seats 120, and was formerly - what else - a recycled timber furniture showroom) might seem highly ambitious in more novice hands, but this already feels like a well-loved local.

Where to sit

The fitout of the cavernous space has been kept minimal - concrete floors, whitewashed brick walls dotted with hanging plants and planter boxes and wooden tables and chairs.

A massive communal table runs ''through'' a smashed-out brick wall separating the entrance and take-away area and beyond there's a seemingly endless room of two and four-seater tables. On top of that, there's an additional 40 seats out back in a courtyard that's going to be jammed come summer.

Drink

There's no liquor licence but quite a coffee and tea list.

Five Senses comes in every imaginable method, and the tea, from increasingly omnipresent artisan outlet Storm in a Teacup, includes everything from breakfast to ancient moonlight (a white tea from Yunnan, China). There's artisan Mork hot chocolate and juices include the terrifyingly healthy cucumber, kale, celery, apple, lime and parsley.

Eat

Former Ladro chef Tristan White spins cafe classics like good old smashed avocado (here with beetroot relish, burnt lime, pickled red onion, coriander and sumac salt, $15) and salmon and eggs (the salmon tequila and citrus cured, no less, with smashed peas, dill, lemon creme fraiche and sauteed endive, $17.50) and fashionable cradle-of-civilisation fare, like the Morning Grain salad of quinoa, freekah, wild rice, rocket, toasted almonds, cumin yoghurt and poached egg (which can be enhanced/ruined with a side of bacon, $16) and a quinoa and pomegranate salad ($15), which can also be ''beefed'' up with lamb skewers.

But it's not all super foods - dude food gets a look-in with the requisite wagyu burger on brioche ($19.50), an enormous herb-and-parmesan-crusted chicken schnitzel (although it's gluten-free and comes with farro), for $19, pulled pork tacos ($18.50) and a proper ''submarine'' toasted po'boy with fried prawns, grilled rockling, hot sauce and cabbage slaw ($20). None of this miniature po'boy caper here.

Then there's the waffles, already something of a signature dish. Perhaps the polar opposite of the grain-based dishes, the peanut-butter-and-jelly waffles (wholemeal!) are served with poached raspberries, whipped peanut butter ricotta and peanut brittle, for $16. Whoah.

Who's there

Given the size of Touchwood, possibly everyone.

Why bother

Did you miss the part about the peanut-butter-and-jelly waffles?