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Some restaurants wear their influences lightly. Others are a fond homage to favourites near and far. JollyGood draws inspiration from specific places in Melbourne and North America, and the beloved diner genre in general, then crafts an experience all its own.

Familiar and fresh at once, it’s easy to have a good time here. The food and drinks are polished but not fancy, and thoughtful but not requiring deep thought. It’s a smart, joyfully derivative answer to the question “What does Melbourne want right now?”

The menu is a cherry-picked selection of American diner comfort classics, gastro-pubby bistro favourites, well-made cocktails and indie wine, and just-because-we-want-to touches such as rock oysters.

The JollyGood customer might be here for Monday lunch for an amped up toastie, and back with mates for Thursday’s steak night featuring free fry refills. Maybe they’ll pop in solo to sink a thank-god-it’s-Friday negroni, and roll in on Sunday morning with parents or kids to put buttermilk pancakes and crunchy-juicy fried chicken in the centre of the table, pour maple syrup over everything, and let chaos and conversation ensue.

That see-you-next-time feeling is the diner part of the equation. It’s also expressed in the aesthetic of comfortable booths, a communal table, and a counter that makes it a cinch for the waiter to hand over another carafe of Barbera, or a slice of sweet-tart-creamy key lime pie.

The details are exquisite: nostalgic Americana, Venetian blinds, window lettering and fluted glass panelling can make visits here feel like you’re inhabiting an art print, or writing yourself into an epic story about loners or lovers. (There is also merch: JollyGood wants you to buy the brand as much as the food.)

JollyGood Diner & Bar sprang from owner-chef Raphael Exton Pery’s sandwich pop-up, designed to bring cheer to long days of lockdown. Stuff between bread is still a focus – Aussie cheese and salad, or New York deli meats by day; roast beef with gravy dip by night – but this bricks-and-mortar iteration, co-owned by Exton Pery’s partner Meg McAulay and open since January 2024, wants to grow up and be more of an elevated lunch room, dinner spot and bar. (If you’re sanger-centric, there’s a JollyGood truck at Rocky Ridge Brewery in Brunswick on weekends.)

Exton Pery has worked across fine dining and wine bars, and was part of the opening team at Gimlet. He’s tapped into a strong local network to bring finesse to the venue, which means the burger patties are from Meatsmith (I love the crisp edges on the perfectly executed smash cheeseburger) and Rockwell & Sons former co-owner Casey Wall helped develop the springy pancake formula.

Bar wizards from Caretaker’s Cottage consulted on cocktails, including a bread-and-butter-pickle martini that’s basically a Gibson (a martini with a pickled onion) but cuter.

JollyGood also tips the hat to louche CBD basement den Bar Margaux (recently closed), and Los Angeles’ All Day Baby (also sadly departed) – the latter had a similar “bottomless coffee today, day-drinking tomorrow, pie always” vibe.

Speaking of coffee, if the immaculate slow-drip filter brew doesn’t work for you, JollyGood won’t hate you for bringing a takeaway flat-white from Terror Twilight cafe up the road. How collegial, realistic and generous!

I sensed a couple of spots where style outplayed substance. The prawn cocktail looks nice, for instance, and the flavours are good once you get to them, but the difficulty of dipping sweet crustaceans into a narrow bowl felt as though the dish had been lovingly designed, not sat down and eaten from.

The one thing a retro diner can’t install is the patina of age, which is what really makes places like this great. I guess it’s up to all of us to wear it in, buffing it into a homely Melbourne-style dining room one mug of coffee – one deli dip sandwich, one slice of pie – at a time.

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.