Hidden away in this relaxed Brunswick warehouse space you’ll find pretzel sandwiches, hotel-buffet-inspired brunches and nutritious speedy dinners.

Toasties are having a moment in the sun, and Lokall’s three-cheese open toastie – which combines cheddar, mozzarella and Grana Padano with gooey bechamel – is already a contender for the best in town. The other sandwiches on the menu shouldn’t be ignored though, especially the chicken katsu sando and the vegan cheese and broccoli number. These sandwiches (and more – there’s a Saturday brunch menu) are all served up in a beautiful space. This large corner spot (which seats 100, with 40 outside) has floor-to-ceiling windows and a clean, sleek fit-out.

For four years, Maker & Monger’s Prahran market stall was overwhelmed by crowds clamouring for Anthony Femia’s cheeses (and the toasties he was making with them). Demand had outstripped supply, so Femia decided to expand. Maker & Monger hasn’t moved very far though – its new permanent home is in the market’s heritage harvest hall. Favourites such as the All-American grilled-cheese toastie (two American cheeses, onion and parsley) are still available, but there’s now a larger menu that includes a ham and fondue number and Reuben made with Wagyu. Perhaps best of all, you can now have a glass of wine with your fromage.

Gathered is located in a cavernous space that was once a wool factory. With two walls of tall, steel-framed windows and a stripped-back fit-out, this stunning space breathes new life into the converted-warehouse-as-cafe concept. The menu is concise and veg-heavy (but not vegetarian). There’s an Ottolenghi-inspired salad bar; a beetroot smash served with smoked salmon; smoked-butter scrambled eggs; and a humble – but exceptional – egg and bacon roll with Sriracha mayonnaise and stretchy mozzarella.

It’s an interesting name, but thankfully this new Thornbury haunt is rodent free. Rat is an acronym for “root and tip”, the food philosophy where the whole vegetable is used and ingredient provenance rules supreme. The menu changes daily based on leftover ingredients – which are from nearby minimal-intervention farms. So yesterday’s unused sandwich bread becomes today’s French toast served with poached rhubarb. It’s in a humble corner spot. Inside, warm-white walls; outside, a cluster of bright-red tables.

This small Footscray spot does double duty as a bar and cafe. Regardless of the time of day, though, the atmosphere’s likely to be the same: friendly, comfortable, intimate. Thanks to its central spot less than 100 metres from the Footscray train station, Romans feels like it’s been around for far longer than it has. Get a sandwich with your coffee. A Meatsmith sausage patty served with fried egg and American cheese feels like a mature Macca’s brekkie; the meatball number comes in a crusty baguette, covered in chives and cheese.

We were sorry to see Pope Joan forced out of its Brunswick East home in 2018. We were relieved when it found a new home in the CBD, albeit as a pop-up, back in January. Now, Pope Joan’s pop-up has turned permanent, and it’s finally feeling settled and back to its best. The British lilt to the menu (reflective of chef-owner Matt Wilkinson’s background) is back, but this time it’s being applied to an all-day menu. So old favourites like the Reuben and soft-boiled egg with bacon chunks and soldiers are still here, but they’re joined by new dishes such as an excellent plate of pillowy gnocchi with caramelised parsnip.

Nigel is a tiny cafe in a non-descript strip off Camberwell Junction. There are plenty of other cafes in the neighbourhood, but Nigel’s managed to set itself apart thanks to its high quality coffee, and its jaffles. Beans come from St Ali (owner Daniel Dick was formerly head barista there) and there are six jaffles to choose from. They include a classic ham and cheese, a Reuben, and a tuna melt – which is quickly becoming a runaway favourite.

Egglab – which mainly serves breakfast burgers, which mainly feature eggs –feels like a super-specialised version of an American diner. There are tiled floors and bar stool seating overlooking an open kitchen sporting a wide commercial griddle as its centrepiece. It’s not really the sort of place that encourages you to linger – it takes on average just under three minutes for your breakfast burger to hit your plate after you order it. You won’t have any reason to stick around, though, because as soon as you catch a whiff of your breakfast burger, you’ll scarf the whole thing down within seconds.

Everything about Pie Thief – from the ’90s bowling alley-esque bright magenta and cyan walls and signage to having a party pie paddle and straight-up Milo on the menu – is designed to push your nostalgia buttons. But when it’s this well executed, does it matter? Melbourne is in the midst of a small-time pie renaissance right now, and we’re all the better for it. The lasagne pie’s received a lot of attention, but the vegan pumpkin and tofu-cheddar pie is another standout. A chicken parma sausage roll is also worth trying. There’s coffee by Code Black here, but you should order one of the old-school milkshakes, for your inner child.

This year, it feels like coffee in cafes has taken a back seat to the food. Saint Dreux comes courtesy of the team behind Slater Street Bench, so the coffee is inevitably good – but the reason you come here is for the sandwiches. Sorry, “sandos". With soft white bread, Panko-crumbed fried meat, mayonnaise and tonkatsu sauce, katsu sandos are a simple concept. But when they’re executed as well as they are at Saint Dreux, they’re truly noteworthy. Opt for the chicken or pork sando, or go for the Wagyu variant if you have $28 to spend on a small sandwich. It’s worth grabbing a castella with your coffee, they’re a small Portuguese-influenced sponge cake with Japanese flavours such as matcha and black sesame.

After more than 20 years of serving Murrumbeena, Middle Eastern bakery, cafe and grocer Oasis finally opened a second location, in Fairfield. After your shopping settle in at the cafe and order the shakshuka or a shawarma plate, or one of the Lebanese pizzas (chicken and spinach, lamb and feta, or a vegetarian version with extra za’atar). For coffee, there’s a La Marzoco in the corner that can pump out all of the classics, but we recommend the stove-brewed Turkish coffee, with the necessary accompaniment of a cube or two of Turkish delight.

Toast and English muffins are played out by now. Crumpets are the new dough-plus-toppings contender in town. And the doughy discs Holy Crumpets is toasting will ruin store-bought versions for you. The base crumpet recipe took owner Josh Clements six months to master. The results – made using whole-wheat and freshly milled stoneground flour – are chewy, crisp and moreish. Toppings include bloodwood honey from Gippsland or house-made jam. For something more elaborate, there’s a s’more-inspired option with chocolate, graham cracker and toasted marshmallow.