Oko Rooftop and Cafe

Oko is a bright, plant-filled cafe by mother-and-son duo Luciana and Sebastian Pasinetti (Chin Chin).

The pair recreate cafe classics with tweaks from their family cooking archive. First, they pick a staple: burgers, French toast or a salad. Then they add the broadly Mediterranean flavours they’ve been finessing for years. Take the cheese toastie, with house-made pesto, feta in place of tasty cheese, smoked scamorza and mozzarella. Or the baked eggs, featuring Luciana’s special sugo with an infusion of Moroccan spices, served with house focaccia.

Many of the dishes are straight from the Pasinetti family’s home kitchen, like the soft polenta they’ve been whipping up at functions for years. It’s transformed into a breakfast-ready stack topped with gooey egg, parmesan and chilli jam. You can also try Lucy’s signature meatball sub, a house favourite since the days Sebastian brought friends over after school. For takeaway there’s a pastry cabinet with laminated pastries, including Sebastian’s own lemon and olive oil tart.

Coffee is by Axil Roasters, and both the Spritz and house lemonade are zhooshed up with a strawberry-basil syrup.

The venue is relaxed and airy, sporting sherbet-yellow walls and cascading indoor plants. The retractable roof, a literal highlight, makes a delightful soundscape of Melbourne’s weather. There’s a small courtyard out the back, and the upstairs rooftop space can be hired for private functions.