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There are two sides to The Bungalow, a new Petersham cafe-bistro whose exterior defies Stanmore Road’s busy traffic with potted orange trees, white linen curtains and a mustard yellow exterior of warming serenity.

From morning until afternoon, it’s a cafe offering breakfast and lunch with classic egg dishes, pancakes, shakshuka, an American cheeseburger and Middle Eastern wrap. There are also 32 varieties of savoury and sweet buckwheat crepes, from ham and egg, to pear, chocolate, whipped cream and roasted almonds.

But, come early evening, The Bungalow transforms into a place of white tablecloths, brass table-lamps and cocktails shaken at a bottle-lined bar. The menu becomes more borderless, too, with dishes inspired by many of the countries owner-operators Annick De Silva and Binura Jayasuriya have visited.

A husband-and-wife team with Sri Lankan heritage, De Silva and Jayasuriya are reasonably new to hospitality, coming to the industry after careers in medical technology. The Bungalow’s dinner menu – cooked by French-born chef Arthur Sanchez – reflects their favourite meals eaten in Mexico, Europe, North America, Singapore and Malaysia.

Expect fat-but-delicate duck spring rolls with sparky hoisin dipping sauce; golden mushroom risotto balls with truffle mayonnaise; and salmon and tuna ceviche with orange and grapefruit flesh, whipped avocado and pomegranate seeds. (The latter is good but its ring of corn chips, which sit in the dish, might be better served separately, or swapped with a thin bread to soak up the citrus juices.)

Medium and main plates range from excellently tender chargrilled lamb skewers with honey, mustard and lime sauce, to tortillas bearing lush pork belly, kimchi and a spicy bang-bang sauce. Seared sashimi tuna tataki – laid in a glistening sesame seed-edged grid between arcs of roasted onion puree – is a winner, as are the fantastic Sri Lankan prawns, served in a sweet and rich pool of spicy coconut sauce. This is swept up with triangles of warm, fresh roti and we request a spoon to finish.

For drinks, there’s a succinct list of beer and wine, and a fancier list of classic and original cocktails. Try the margarita with jalapeno, or the Rosy Spark – a non-alcoholic cocktail with cranberry juice, rose syrup and dehydrated orange slice.

Basque cheesecake makes an appearance on the dessert menu, as does a trembling, pistachio-edged creme brulee with a burnished crown. But, I would walk through a hot desert to eat Sanchez’s mousse de chocolate again, made with dark chocolate and fresh whipped cream.

The chef emerges from the kitchen from time to time, asking people’s opinion of the food, zesting lemon across the ceviche, and explaining the process of folding cream into chocolate for the mousse. He also reveals the ratio of butter to potato in his very fine mashed potatoes (its equal parts).

The kitchen’s finesse, along with De Silva and Jayasuriya’s drive to make The Bungalow an elegant neighbourly spot, is impressive. It’s also excellent for solo diners, with window bar seating and a book-borrowing shelf for reading at the table.

On the night I visit, The Bungalow is packed, full of chatting locals sharing diverse plates, drinking rose-hued cocktails, and sweeping spoons through Petersham’s finest chocolate mousse. Beyond the linen curtains, Stanmore Road’s traffic barely garners a glance.

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