One of Melbourne’s most perfectly situated cafes is hiding in plain sight

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You’d never find Perry’s by accident. It’s hiding in plain sight on the banks of a picturesque lake, close to Essendon Fields but on the way to nowhere. Valley Lake is a housing estate sculpted out of an old quarry that provided basalt to pave Melbourne’s roads between the 1940s and the 1970s.

After that, the big hole in the ground was a topic of fierce debate for decades: eventually, housing and community won, landfill and locked gates lost, and nearby Steele Creek was diverted to turn the mine into a lake.

When the first blocks went on sale in 2006, hopeful home-owners-to-be camped out to secure the plots. There are now about 600 homes dotting the hills around the lake in streets with rock-themed names such as Pumice Court and Limestone Avenue.

The building that now houses Perry’s was also built in 2006. For many years it was a land sales office, then it was empty, then community consultation showed 96 per cent of locals wished it was a cafe. Finally, their dream came true. Open since March, I reckon this indoor-outdoor hangout is one of the most perfectly situated cafes in Melbourne.

“Perry’s gets busy on weekends but the overall feeling is cheerful and grateful.”

And doesn’t Keilor East love it. Lake walkers browse the community bookshelf while they sip a coffee. Families sit under umbrellas with chips and shakes. Dogs trot in for free puppacinos. Friends hang out with horseradish-spiked Bloody Marys and tap beer. Mothers’ groups roll up with prams, while wheelchair users appreciate the accessible toilet. On Sundays at 8am, the activewear-clad arrive for Run Club. It gets busy on weekends but the overall feeling is cheerful and grateful.

The owners are the same community-focused trio that launched beer barn, eatery and event space Holmes Hall in Moonee Ponds.

I asked ChatGPT to write me “generic Melbourne cafe menu” and it came very close to the carte here: a list of cafe standards and staples. The eggs benny, smashed avo, cheeseburger and banana bread are all done well, though and co-owner David Bartl tells me they launched with some left-of-centre items but customers didn’t order them. Apparently folks around here just aren’t into chia puddings and lobster burgers, and who am I to argue with giving the people what they want?

It’s not just dogs and their humans making a home at Valley Lake. Peregrine falcons are among the native birds swooping and nesting here. The tall sculpture protruding from the rippled water shows a birdwatcher peering into the distance. Bring your own binoculars and you may spy perches in the cliff face with chirping babies waiting impatiently for their carrion while you wait down below for an oat latte.