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The Great Ocean Road begins at Torquay and ends at Allansford, and most people spend the drive looking at rocks. This list is for the passengers who would rather look at lunch, dinner or afternoon tea.

The service deserves its own paragraph. It was busy enough to excuse a lot and nothing needed excusing. Orders came out in the right sequence and water appeared without a request. The tables on the footpath where we sat were looked after as well as the ones inside, which is not a given on a morning like this.

Perched beside the ghostly bones of the former Pentridge Prison, The Glass Den is part greenhouse and part minimalist fever dream. There are so many hanging plants it’s unclear whether they’re decorating or plotting something. Either way, they frame what might be the best brunch in the north

Don’t bother arriving with a posse because this place isn’t built for brunch mobs or laptop loiterers, nor is it the haven of the pouty lipped influencer. It’s for those who appreciate the fine art of sitting still with a soft-boiled egg, anchovy-laced toast and something chilled in a stemmed glass.

Its like a little shopping mecca meets a middle eastern inspired cafe with some very contemporary sensibilities and some old world charm.

When you mention the name Stefano di Pieri, immediately you conjure an image of a jovial Italian man tossing things about in a pan on the banks of the Murray River, in Mildura. It's no longer the case - Stefano's is his only by name now. He is still a presence, known and loved by many, but the cafe that bears his name carries on a tradition of hospitality - for the most part. My two experiences could not have been more starkly different from a service point of view. The fir