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Melbourne, we have a problem. Our cafes are too good. I’ll admit there are worse crises, but consistently excellent all-day brunching has squeezed the elegant possibilities of lunch, turning afternoon eating from a stand-alone occasion into an extension of eggs and extras with the odd sandwich and sushi roll thrown in.

Elster is an attempt to change this. It’s a cafe insofar as you can have a flat white and a granola or chicken sandwich. But it’s a restaurant in that your cereal comes with bruleed pink grapefruit, and your sandwich layers crumbed buttermilk-brined chook and oozy dill tartare between squishy milk bread.

It’s executed with flair, too: you can hear the crunch on that bird from two tables away. If you want to celebrate such great sandwiching, there are drinks on hand: a TarraWarra chardonnay would do nicely.

Plated lunch dishes are where Elster really shines. It feels more like a New York bistro than a southside cafe. Perfect rump steak comes with a jug of excellent bearnaise. Fries work but I recommend adding potato-and-leek rosti to the table’s order: intricately layered and deeply golden, this is my new favourite way to get in a serve of veg.

Chopped tuna salad is presented with aplomb, all elements separate, ready to tumble into healthy mouthfuls of fish, pickled beetroot and avocado. A raw broccoli salad feels like the great-grandchild of a Waldorf salad with its apple slivers and toasted almonds, made oh-so-modern with bitey miso dressing.

The Tudor setting keeps things classy: this 1935 garage was turned into a cafe called Glovers Station in 2015 by the accomplished team that now has Carter Lovett on nearby Glen Huntly Road. The pleasant outdoor terrace remains and the interior has been freshened: it’s moody and polished, with hard surfaces that lean to chatty rather than chaste.

Elster is owned by the close-knit team that runs Only Hospitality Group, which has more than 20 venues in Melbourne. Ironically, their success is part of the reason we need a place like Elster: they made brunch so seamless, it’s ready for a shake-up. It was a smart move to have chef Emma Jeffrey consult on the menu – this smart-casual magician has made menus sing at cafes including Mammoth and Levi.

The aim at Elster is for service to be as upscale as the food. A friendly and accomplished team keeps the room humming, but there are occasional slips, such as water glasses sitting empty and second coffee orders not solicited. They’re little things but they are the one-percenters you need to nail when lunch can easily extend to $50 a person. It will get there.

Elster is a necessary daytime dining development for Melbourne. I’ll be back to shrug off brunch ennui and embrace the delights of a proper lunch.