Little Hugh is a big city gem in the 'burbs

The median house price in Fitzroy North? A cool $1.16 million. Consider Nunawading – you'd spend $858,000, it's barely 20 kilometres from town and the smashed avo is $17, compared with up to $24 in the inner city. Welcome to the eastern suburbs where the property prices are low and the coffee is hot.

Semi-industrial Rooks Road is home to Little Hugh, and not much else unless you're in the market for tiles or automotive repair. The cafe, which opened in late 2016, is a second project for Rob Salha and Nick Panagopoulos of Lilydale's Hutch & Co; you'll notice similarities in the branding but it's definitely not a franchise.

First impressions? We love the peacock blue banquettes, the geometric walls and the twisted metal light fittings. The luminous drinks fridge in the middle of the room? Not so much.

Little Hugh is supposed to have specialty coffee (they roast their own beans) but they're lacking some essential equipment. A Moccamaster sits unused on a back counter, awaiting delivery of a fancy grinder, so for now filter coffee is only available by request – on our visit a heavy-handed dosing of pre-ground Indonesian single origin is pushed through a Clever Dripper. It comes to the table with an apology. We send it back with one too.

The plucky young barista has technique; she just needs more to work with it. A ground-to-order Ethiopian yirgacheffe flat white is the best I've had in a while, all creamy stone fruit, and a long black is perfect. We order seconds.

Head chef Erik Koel made the jump from weddings (ex-Stones of the Yarra Valley) to brunch and you can still see fine dining elements here, particularly with his intricate presentation.

The aforementioned avocado smash sits on tomato-rubbed bread (similar to Spain's pan con tomate) but if you're after something decadent, check out chocolate custard-soaked French toast (brioche from Noisette) doused in chocolate mascarpone and raspberry coulis.

A generous trio of sweet potato and haloumi fritters is served with a strikingly yellow pumpkin hummus, charred corn and sweet potato crisps. While the dish isn't overly dry, it's better with the optional poached egg.

The Little Hugh team nail their take on a benedict: a pair of perfectly crisp, dense house-made potato hashbrowns stand in for traditional English muffins in a clever carb exchange, there's a generous helping of smoked salmon and two perfect poachies but the star here is the "bloody caesar hollandaise", a silky, eggy sauce featuring tomato and clam juice. Hail Mary.

It's hard to find fault in the food here (at a push … perhaps a bowl isn't the best option for a meal eaten with a knife and fork) and it's not hard to find a reason to return – Little Hugh is a big city gem in the 'burbs.