Second Home

Second Home in leafy Eltham is housed in a renovated 1973 building originally designed by Alistair Knox, a renowned builder and self-taught architect.

The scant furnishings allow the existing architecture, which is old and beautiful, to steal the show. Light comes in through the skylight windows, and the tips of the gum trees frame the space. It’s easy to feel as though you’re in the country.

The comforting triple-cheese toast has appeared in various forms at owner Jason M Jones’ (The Stables of Como, Friends of Mine) previous cafes, as has his “famous” herby, golden folded eggs. The tone of the menu is chatty, like Jones is sharing a joke with you: There’s “The Obligatory ‘Smashed Avocado’” and garlic bread with “tonnes of butter”.

There’s a fairly big breakfast and lunch menu (on weekends, flip over to see the “libations trolley” for all your daytime boozing needs), featuring some great Victorian producers, including Kinross farm-free eggs, Hopkins River Beef and the intriguing “Thomas, our main mushie man”.

The space (the interior was designed by Jones’ partner, Brahman Perera) also hosts an art gallery with bi-monthly exhibitions.