New cafe Clementine has landed in South Melbourne with an all-day menu that lets you have duck waffles for breakfast and souffle pancakes for lunch – or a wholesome salad at any hour, if that’s your thing.

Manager Glen Bagnara is confident the genre-bending menu will tempt even budget-conscious food lovers.

“Melburnians are still spending money on luxury items when they dine out, not as often as before, but maybe once a week at breakfast or brunch.”

Eggs and toast, granola and omelettes are there for morning minimalists, but those splashing out might go for confit duck and waffles paired with orange compote. Later in the day, there’s 24-hour braised beef short-rib that’s presented dramatically on the bone alongside kimchi fried rice. Breakfast cocktails will start pouring in May, pending a liquor licence.

“We didn’t just want to do smashed avo and BLTs,” says Bagnara. “We wanted a bit more sophistication with the food.”

The cafe is the first part of Bagnara’s two-for-one play within a new commercial development by Fortis, with an underground bar-restaurant opening next month.The high-end developer has been busy here and in Sydney: it’s also behind the building occupied by Neil Perry’s Margaret.

Bagnara says despite being a lobby cafe by definition, Clementine will be anything but.

Design studio Co Aika have layered timber, terrazzo and concrete with tones of sea-green, red and ochre, and included a terrace that gives the cafe more connection to the street.

Other inventive dishes include a Reuben sandwich made with kangaroo pastrami, an ice-cream sandwich on a brioche bun and a Scotch egg made with a chilli con carne-inspired mince shell. Coffee is by Dukes, while pastries come from AM Bakehouse in Glen Iris.

Open daily 7.30am-3pm

67-69 Palmerston Crescent, South Melbourne, clementine3205.com.au