Ten years on and Andrew McConnell and Jayden Ong’s two-floors-of-fun at the top end of town still has Melbourne – and so many of its visitors – sorted day through night.

Downstairs at Cumulus Inc it’s all about crumpets with whipped ricotta to start the day and baked-to-order lemon Madeleines at the end of it. It’s about hearty dishes: glorious gamey, pink duck served with just-firm borlotti beans and chestnuts, and hearty salads and cured meats and tins of Ortiz anchovies. It’s a menu as welcoming to the drop-in solo diner at the kitchen bar as it is a celebratory group, which goes some way to explaining Inc’s light and bright enduring appeal.

Head up the stairs come night and it’s all about dark and moody, sexy, sleek surrounds, elegant share plates – and the not-for-sharing famous duck waffle – and wine. So much wonderful wine. Switched-on staff are at the ready to guide you into something good to drink – perhaps a South African chenin, a crunchy Canberra gris, a Rhone Chateauneuf du Pape or maybe something funky from the Adelaide Hills – and makes it so easy to settle in and order another.

Cumulus – Up and down – is a true Melbourne icon.

Must-eat dish: Duck waffle