Dovetail Social is the sequel to Adam and Rejoice Thomson’s petite Norman Park cafe Dovetail on Overend, which opened in 2014. The original has become an east-side favourite, especially for gluten-free diners (Adam is coeliac). The Norman Park cafe has 18 seats on the footpath only, while there is up to triple the capacity at Social, with seating inside and outside in the garden.

Housed in a dove-blue Queenslander on Laura Street, the space feels very warm and inviting, as if you’ve walked into the Thomson’s own home. The menu is almost the same as that at Norman Park, and includes the signature pork and chicken adobo bowl, a dish one Broadsheet writer can’t stop thinking about.

This site also features an old-fashioned high-tea room with antique chairs, a chandelier and retro wallpaper. And people can book out the six-seat room in advance. The high tea menu includes house-baked gluten-free treats such as pistachio macarons, salted caramel cream puffs, classic scones and Dovetail on Overend favourite, Filipino ube leche flan cake (purple yam cake with crème caramel).

For milk-based coffees, the Thomsons have developed a blend with local coffee roaster Almanac. As for black coffee, single origins from a number of different roasters, including Villino in Hobart, rotate regularly.