DRUM ROLL PLEASE

This secret in the suburbs is serving sumptuous share plates and vino in a cosy, casual setting ... and you won’t have to fight for a park

COUNTER CAFE & EATERY CNR GOODING DRIVE & GHILGAI RD, MERRIMAC

Book it: 5525 3340 Open: Tuesday to Wednesday 7am — 4pm; Thursday to Saturday 7am — 3pm, 5pm — late; Sunday 7am — 3pm

EASY parking and modest pricing aren’t the only perks of straying from the strip.

The launch of cosy dinners at Counter Cafe has put firstclass French-style fare on the menu at Merrimac.

Served Thursday to Saturday night, the combo of share plates and vino in a comfortable setting is too good to stay a local secret.

While the enticing aroma from the kitchen says otherwise, the homey space feels like an extension of my dining room.

“Please take one,” our waiter encourages, as I browse the well-loved books that line one wall. They aren’t the only interesting reading, with a refreshment list that ranges from beer and cider to French fizz. You won’t have to empty your pockets, with Pike & Joyce Rapide pinot noir making for a very decent entry level.

As for the food, two to three small plates and one large plate will probably do the job shared between two … although with a menu like this there’ll be plenty of diners with eyes bigger than their stomach.

French-born owners David Humbert and Sebastien Ribola (pictured) believe in locally sourced produce, but familiar flavours benefit from a European twist.

Start nibbling on Lebanese black olives and creamy goat’s cheese labna ($6), or chicken terrine with house pickles and crispy toast ($16).

Piping-hot, golden-shelled arancini reveal a wild mushroom mix offset by a tarragon hollandaise ($14), while soft braised pork cheeks sit in a winter-warming white wine and ginger jus ($18).

Sand crab cakes ($19) are brought to life with a squeeze of lemon and a little pot of chilli jam that’s more sweetness than spice. Larger plates include confit duck cassoulet (the most expensive dish at $34), market fish ($31) and a hot pot of rustic mussels mariniere ($28) served with a baguette to mop up every morsel.

Bathed in béarnaise sauce, the brochette – grilled and skewered beef ($26) or chicken ($24) – is particularly share friendly and comes with the most decadent potato gratin imaginable.

The riches keep coming, with cheese plates (from $16) served with a toasty baguette, Counter’s own butter and preserved rhubarb.

Crunchy chocolate “soil” makes the smooth-as-silk chocolate mousse ($16) extra seductive. It’s finished with a generous handful of berries and a brandy snap.

The best part?

You can do it all again for breakfast, when Counter reopens with Blackboard brews and the best pastries in town.