Just Open: Luxsmith, Seddon

Andy Smith, who has owned and operated Seddon cafe Le Chien since 2005, has closed the doors on the popular breakfast and lunch spot, reopening it as modern Vietnamese diner Luxsmith.

Smith has collaborated with long-time friend and colleague Denis Lucey, who owns CBD Italian restaurant Bottega and Thousand Pound in Rutherglen.

Why the change? "I've been watching all the cafes open around us in the past 10 years and started to think, 'Do I want to sit there or push myself to do something else?' "

He and Lucey have chosen a cuisine they both enjoy. "We love Vietnamese food and the modern interpretation of the cuisine that's taking on in Melbourne."

They employed chef Tad McLean, who grew up in Essendon but spent a few years at the Hanoi Bike Shop, a modern-Vietnamese diner in Glasgow. His menu is family-friendly, a must for the area, built on fresh, local produce.

Dishes that already have "signature" stamped all over them include a lemongrass, tofu and sesame banh mi and chicken congee for breakfast, and sticky lamb ribs with spring onion and ginger and salt-and-chilli school prawns with miso mayo at dinner.

Interior designer (and Ladro restaurateur) Ingrid Langtry has amped up the former cafe, opening up the space with loads of natural light, bright tiling and outdoor seating.

Open Wed-Mon 8am-late.

5 Gamon Street, Seddon, 03 9362 7333, luxsmith.com.au