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There are the things you’d expect to find at Essendon Fields: shoppers frothing over bargain sneakers, a golfer wrestling clubs onto a jet as he heads off to play 18 holes on King Island, an office employee test-driving a hatchback. Such activities are normal at this 305-hectare business park with tenants that include DFO, ExecuJet and Kia.

Then there’s the surprise: in a precinct framed by the Tullamarine Freeway and defined by tarmac, concrete and shiny buildings, you come upon a charming wooden hut with a steeply pitched roof and stone chimney.

That’s Basq, an unexpected but pleasing all-day restaurant that draws diners from the precinct’s 6000 workers, plus locals from nearby suburbs.

Clad in toasted tulipwood, the venue makes use of the same warm, grainy timber to create an airy interior with vaulted ceilings, stone floor and a welcoming mix of nooks, tables and counter seating. There’s even an attempt at a European terrace with outdoor seating fringed by hedges that obscure the signs of adjacent car dealerships.

This site first opened in 2018 as the Hungry Fox cafe, operated by La Manna, the precinct’s fabulous Italian supermarket. A COVID-19 rethink saw the place re-tendered and chef Jaysen Veerapen and his accountant partner, Tijen Esat, open Basq.

The name suggests the Basque region that straddles France and Spain, but the press release I was sent last November referenced the Napa Valley in California. Veerapen is Mauritian. He trained in hotels, then travelled the world with Celebrity Cruises, including a stint with legendary chef Michel Roux. In Melbourne, where he’s been for 10 years, he owned La Poele, a French restaurant in Windsor. With all this country-hopping, what’s cooking at Basq?

The menu leans mostly Mediterranean, with pasta dishes, three kinds of steak and a meal-sized Caesar salad, but there are also Melbourne mainstays, such as slow-roasted lamb shoulder, Thai beef salad and soft-shell crab sliders with pineapple salsa. A menu mishmash can still tell a cogent story and, in this case, it’s that of a chef putting ego aside and giving the people what they want. Veerapen’s food is really good.

Fluffy focaccia is made in-house and served with olives and a daily dip ($12), sometimes roasted red peppers, maybe eggplant.

Paprika-rubbed lamb ribs are gently smoked until the meat slumps from the bone; then they’re grilled under a herb crust to serve ($18). I haven’t used “yum” in a restaurant review in 20 years, but it would be an appropriate word to trot out.

Can you ever go wrong with gooey cheese? Baked brie is seasoned with garlic and rosemary then crusted with honey and hazelnuts ($22). It’s an easy, oozy win.

You could point to deft touches on any dish to show how Basq excels, but let’s look at the pleasing seafood linguine ($38). Veerapen eschews the idea of a marinara mix, preferring to buy king prawns, mussels, clams and calamari separately so he can control the quality and proportion of each component. He also buys lobster shells to make a flavourful bisque that’s folded through the pasta, giving the dish a richness and balance that feel just right.

Most chefs would be happy if they never served chicken breast again – it’s dull and dries easily – but the white meat is prepared here with respect, vacuum-cooked to preserve moisture, the skin crisped and mushroom sauce served alongside ($36).

Steak is a passion: the porterhouse is perfectly cooked and served with a sharp, bright chimichurri salsa ($45).

I haven’t used ‘yum’ in a restaurant review in 20 years, but it would be an appropriate word to trot out.

Daytime dishes are simple. When Basq opened, Veerapen offered gruyere omelette, but Essendon Fields wants eggs benedict so that’s what it now has. At lunch, the bestseller is blue swimmer crab spaghetti ($29) and there are plenty of takers for the Reuben sandwich, made with house-smoked brisket ($24).

When a restaurant is run by a chef who is stuck in the kitchen, there’s a danger that waiters can be less engaged. I experienced cheery, helpful service until all staff vanished after dessert landed. So often, when you’re among the last in a restaurant, the drive to deliver a complete dining experience putters out as uninspiringly as a car running out of petrol.

At least the desserts left a glow. Veerapen extends himself with spectacular sweets inspired by Cedric Grolet, an internet-famous French pastry chef known for fruit facsimiles.

Basq’s signature is The Peach ($20), which looks like … you guessed it. Made in a silicone mould, it’s a spoon-by-spoon unveiling of peach-coloured chocolate fuzz, peachy mousse laced with Schnapps and peach puree. It’s a delight.

There’s also a tiramisu sphere ($20) with classic flavours in a fun form, which makes it rather emblematic of Basq itself.

This review was originally published in Good Weekend magazine