Housed in a heritage-listed building that was once the State Savings Bank of Victoria, Vault Cafe Bar Restaurant has recently gained a new chef and a new menu. The red-brick Edwardian building is part of Yarraville Village, and sits diagonally opposite the busy Sun Theatre.

Irish barman Conor has just joined the Vault family, and is set to refresh the cocktail menu. We try a Honey and Basil Daiquiri, made with Havana Special, organic honey syrup, fresh lime, fresh basil leaves. One of his proudest creations is the Breakfast Margharita, with Herradura tequila, Daylesford Seville orange marmalade, cointreau, fresh lime, egg white, and flaming orange zest. It’s refreshing, and not as sweet as I imagined it to be, making it easy to drink.

We kick off the food portion of the night with mushroom crostini, sprouts and balsamic drizzle. The puree underneath the tasty mushroom mix is smooth, and the mushrooms have a touch of chilli. A good start to the meal.

Their Moroccan calamari is coated with chickpea flour, making them gluten free. They’re flavoured with a gentle spice mix with cumin undertones. The calamari strips are beautifully tender and long, though perhaps a little too long for eating without cutlery.

Tiger prawn and chorizo linguini is brightened up by sweet heirloom tomatoes and garlic chilli oil, and has added depth from caramelised onion. There’s a generous amount of chorizo here, which delights M as a chorizo-lover. Although there’s a tad too much sauce, it’s a satisfying pasta dish.

The highlight is the grilled lamb cutlets, coming with a salad of baby spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, broadbeans, baby beetroot and feta. The lamb is evenly cooked and lightly pink in the centre, and it possesses none of that gamey lamb flavour. Crushed chat potatoes are moreish. The golden skins are crunchy, and the insides deliciously soft. This was once a dish special that was so popular it was introduced as a regular dish, and we can see why.

The night ends on a sweet note with the rich, hot chocolate lava cake, which spills out its molten centre with pleasurable food porn ooze.

Vault has a courtyard, as well as an outdoors bar area with screens, umbrellas, blankets and heaters for the colder months, which will make way for natural sun during warmer weather. Yarraville station is just around the corner, making it easy to drop in for a cocktail, or coffee and cake after a movie.