Jethro Canteen, Melbourne, Australia

I'm not sure if it has something to do with the fact we are no longer in a certain age bracket, that our understanding of what fine dining really is to a 35-year-old.

It might have something to do with the fact that younger people are more inclined to eat healthier than we used to at the same age.

Or maybe it's rather art nouveau in a culinary sense because when I took the first look at this establishment's menu it made my brain spin.

It certainly has a lot of ingredients that I'd never used in cooking nor eaten in the regular if they could be called that, places we eat.  The accent here leans towards a health and well-being lifestyle.

What happened to steak, you know, the sort you threw on the griddle and char grill?  Apparently, that fare is no longer the vogue in the modern cafe/restaurant.

The decor Is cold and clinical with naked brick walls and arches and polished concrete floors.  The tables are wooden and the chairs solid but uncomfortably, perhaps a sign of the times, that only fit people with good posture are welcome.  It's austere but functional.

The staff is friendly and personable.  It's lunchtime but there's not a crush, good or bad depending on your side of the counter.

We start with coffee, while the waiting for the third diner, and it's a cut above the ordinary, and after reading their webpage and the statement they aim to provide excellent coffee, is a promise fulfilled.

The coffee is divine.

We have time to study the all-day breakfast and lunch menu.  A number of menu items feature two eggs, your style or poached.  They are free range, the modern trend away from battery hens, also part of the promise to provide fresh nutritional local products.

I'm not up for a late breakfast.

Most of the lunch items are a collection of ingredients I've not had before, or, equally, I'm not sure I'd like the taste of.  Then there are others like beetroot waffles.  Not sure about them.  Also, there's chicken but it's in black brioche bread.  I think not.

So it's down to a choice of two, a Japanese pancake with shredded pork or sweet potato bacon and poached eggs.  The Japanese pancake won.  Of particular note was the pickled ginger.

It was large, very tasty, and very filling.  If anything, the shredded pork was slightly overcooked but that didn't detract from the overall flavors of the dish.

We'll definitely be going back