There are not that many tables, as the space is divided into a number of small areas, and the main section up the front is dominated by a long display cabinet full of cakes and pastries. Despite this, we managed to score the last available table.

The menu covers all the standards, including some French classics, croque madame and l’oeuf et croûtons aux hollandaise, which is what my girlfriend and I ordered respectively.

The largest crouton I've ever seen

Both are very rich dishes, which suited us fine as we were quite hungry. My eggs were truly poached to perfection, and the crouton was a nice change from a muffin or standard piece of toast. It was made from soft white bread, toasted and with the crust removed. The hollandaise had a bit of a zing to cut through the richness. I also ordered a side of bacon, which was a bit greasier than I would have liked.

It’s hard to mess up a croque madame, and by all accounts they didn’t.

Neither of us had high hopes for the coffee, given the obvious food-focus of the place, but we were pleasantly surprised. My long black was reasonably full bodied, had nice layer of crema and had been extracted for just the right amount of time.

All up the bill totalled $34 from memory, which was reasonable value given the quality of the food. The service is efficient and friendly, with our meals arriving quickly and our water glasses continually topped up. I felt that the staff probably tried to push pastries and extra coffees on us a bit too much though.

Still, Depot de Pain is a welcome addition to the area, and given the demographic of the area should do well.

The menu is short, with just 8 tapas, 3 mains and 4 pizzas, but despite this, there should be something to tempt most people. There’s a pollo parmigiana, which seemed a little bit out of place on the menu, but with tasty crumbing and a good salad with what seemed to be house made semi-dried tomatoes, it’s a cut above the average parma. The hand rolled gnocchi with three mushroom (varieties) and sage butter could have done with a bit more seasoning and saucing, but otherwise was good.

Equally brief is the wine list, with just a handful of reds and whites, none more than $9/$39 by the glass and bottle respectively.

If there is a weakness, it’s probably the service, which was a little too anxious during our visit. With the bright, airy space, I’m also a little surprised it doesn’t open for breakfast on weekends.