Mr & Mrs Howell, Brunswick

Whatever else they may be, restaurants must be logistics businesses. Without systems and rigour none of the other branches of hospitality – nice food, an appealing dining room, friendly staff – can thrive.

I was thinking about that at Mr & Mrs Howell, a neighbourhood restaurant in Brunswick, while watching chef Mark Brozic toil in his open kitchen. He was there alone, feeding 40 or so diners from a menu of up to 30 dishes with hundreds of elements. At busy times, Brozic brings in a helper but it's still an impressive feat of efficiency and focus, especially as most of the menu turns over every season.

Mr & Mrs Howell (named after a posh couple on 1960s TV show Gilligan's Island) has been here since 2013. Brozic shifted here from Kamel, the Middle Eastern restaurant in Albert Park he owned from 2001 to 2012. Before that, he travelled long and widely, pursuing twin interests of eating and snowboarding, and the influences of his time in Asia, India and Europe are evident on the freewheeling, easy-sharing menu here.

Fried goat's cheese is dusted with crushed almonds, glazed with citrus and honey, and served with crisp bread and apple slices. The combination of sweet, creamy and crunchy is an easy win.

Minced duck spring rolls are a bit Canton-meets-Casablanca, with Chinese construction but flavours that recall bistilla, a Middle Eastern pigeon pie. They're flavoured with allspice, pine nuts and currants and dusted generously with cinnamon sugar.

An international array of salads, stir-fries, braises and curries offers good variety. The usual Melbourne gaggle of meat-lovers, carb-phobes, vegetarians, dairy-avoiders and cake lovers will all find stuff to eat.

Shredded beetroot is tumbled with pistachios and pickled red onion: it's fresh and bright and juicy. A soupy vegetable tagine is studded with chickpeas, topped with labna and sprinkled with sumac.

Prawn curry with vegetables, cashews and coconut gravy is enjoyably uncomplicated. Venison ragu is deeply meaty with nice fluffy mash; the jus is thick and sticky, the lean meat near enough to tender.

It's all good fodder, generally simple, with nothing a competent home cook couldn't wrangle.

The long shopfront restaurant is appealing and colourful, dotted with knick-knacks and easy to be in; there's a bar if you want to perch for snacks.

Brozic's Slovenian background gets play in occasional specials but I'd love to see it foregrounded on the regular menu to give the restaurant a clearer identity and, possibly, elevate the dining experience from fine to fabulous.

Rating: Three and a half stars (out of five)