Ripponlea Food and Wine

A good restaurant isn't always the most innovative or edgy. It can simply be a place that gives you what you want - a commuter coffee, great poached eggs, or a frisky glass of wine after a frazzling day. In essence, a good restaurant makes you feel good: it's as straightforward and as complicated as that. Ripponlea Food and Wine has been at it for only two months but it's making such a decent stab at being a welcoming local restaurant I reckon it's worth rolling in from other parts of town. The heritage corner site extends over four shopfronts and the cool fit-out finds a happy meeting place between rustic and industrial. Laptop-friendly window benches and a cosy gossip chamber near the open kitchen are big pluses.

The food is comfortable but engaging. The breakfast menu rolls out classics (smashed avocado, eggs your way, corn fritters) but throws in a few twists too. Eggs benedict is served on a slab of brioche (instead of muffin) and the ham is shredded hock (instead of the usual slices); the hollandaise has a nice acidic kick. I appreciate the attention to detail on a menu that notes, for example, "we butter our toast." Three cheers for chefs that butter toast!

At lunch and dinner time there are wine-friendly snacks such as oysters with champagne dressing, slow-cooked lamb ribs and wasabi-crumbed squid. Nothing too startling, nothing I wouldn't order with glee. Pasta dishes include ravishingly autumnal spinach and ricotta ravioli scattered with pinenuts, shreds of crisp leek and plenty of nut-brown butter. Easygoing main courses include juicy beef burger in a box and chicken breast on the bone with over-sized cous cous and minted yoghurt. It's all nicely done.

Button-pushing flavours clamour for attention in the desserts - my table erupted in fork wars over caramelised banana mousse and salted caramel popcorn piled in a bowl made of white chocolate. Cocktails are made with love, and there's a mid-priced wine list with enough annotation to make choosing easy. It's just one more way of making the hard job of pleasing people look delightfully easy.

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