Lilac has plenty of quirks:comfy couches and copious plants,vinyl on rotation,a disco ball splashing light about the room. It’s giving dinner-in-a-sharehouse,albeit one with much better speakers and a kitchen that butchers its own meat.

The nose-to-tail approach sees blood-red mortadella and smoked pork rillettes paired with whisky mustard. French-inspired flaxseed-onion dip is a surprising highlight,brightened by farm-fresh radishes and best paired with charred,frisbee-sized flatbread.

Lamb rump is heady with smoke from the giant wood fired oven,as is a made-to-order clafoutis,cut through with lemon zest and plum. Capable staff steer diners around the playfully categorised wine list,and sprightly cocktails include a beeswax Old Fashioned and a liquified,boozy Iced Vovo.

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Melbourne’s Eastern Suburbs

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