Just Open: Magic Mountain Saloon, Melbourne

Moody murals by Melbourne artist-designer Misha Hollenbach and stretches of white marble and meshed-steel panelling by architect Phillip Schemnitz have transformed a former Bridie O'Reilly's Irish pub into Thai diner Magic Mountain Saloon.

The all-day diner, by Camillo Ippoliti and chef Karen Batson, who co-own and run city businesses Cookie and Boney and music venues The Toff in Town and Prahran's Revolver, takes the Thai influence from Cookie and transfers it into a breakfast, lunch, dinner restaurant and bar.

For breakfast you'll find ocean trout and ginger scrambled eggs, alongside roti bread with almond butter and grilled banana. The lunch and dinner menu, available over two floors, includes appetisers of pork scratchings with beer-battered mussels and wok-fried soft-shell crab with celery.

The menu's barbecue section is a strong point, Batson says, with lamb "handles" spiced with hot mint peas, sour sticky pork ribs, and half or whole turmeric and lemongrass chicken, which has signature dish charred all over it.

Open Mon-Thurs 7am-3am; Fri 7am-3am; Sat-Sun 8am-3am. Breakfast service starts on Monday, January 19.

Magic Mountain Saloon, 62 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, 9078 0078, magicmountainsaloon.com.au