Just Open: Flower Child Cafe, Chatswood

Lush with plants and flourishing greenery, Flower Child Cafe certainly lives up to its name.

This new eatery, which opened on February 1, is a leafy hideaway for shoppers inside the Chatswood Westfield complex. You can find it above the new Hawker Lane development.

Located underneath the mall's glass ceiling, Flower Child Cafe is saturated in natural light - good conditions for Instagramming your French toast with banana mascarpone, dark chocolate crumb, fresh berries and salted toffee ($16).

Or perhaps the prosciutto and asparagus soldiers will take your fancy, with its poached egg, buffalo mozzarella, tomato powder and burnt butter hollandaise ($17).

There are also cakes and pastries delivered daily from The Grounds of Alexandria ($5-$7).

And just like the interiors, even your bill will have a botanical touch - it'll be paired with a flower from Florals by Silvia.

The space is designed by Acme & Co, the studio that gave The Grounds of Alexandria and Archie Rose their distinctive styles.

The terracotta tiles and wooden joinery is beautifully illuminated by huge arched windows that span most of the cafe.

Cafe owner Chris Lu says it makes him think of a patio in Tuscany.

"It's quite a unique space. A lot of natural light comes through, which in a shopping centre is quite rare," says Yu.

"People say it doesn't feel like we're in a shopping centre, which is precisely what we intended. We wanted it to be an oasis."

Flower Child Cafe is the latest venture by Lu, previously of Bondi Hardware and his partner Adam Choker, former manager at The Grounds of Alexandria. They've also been involved with the Happy As Larry pizza truck.

They didn't have to cope with floating gardens when handling crusts and cheesy toppings in that venture, but they're taking this in their stride. The greenery at Flower Child Cafe is dramatic, but dealing with it isn't.

"The suspended flowerbed is on a hydroponic system," says Lu. "It's all self-irrigated. A little bit of trimming here and there, but It's pretty much self sufficient."

So for anyone needing relief from shopping duties, this botanical haven is one to seek out.

"It's definitely a welcoming atmosphere," says Lu.

"It feels like you're outdoors, but you're indoors - like casual dining in a park. There's nice soulful music, a bit of buzz, but it's also a beautiful space to kick back and relax as well."

Open Mon-Sun, 8am-4pm, Thurs 8am-9pm.

Level 3, Westfield Chatswood, 1 Anderson Street, Chatswood, instagram.com/flowerchildcafe