Now there’s another alternative: rope in some other parents for a cake degustation at Black Star Pastry’s new headquarters.

You can’t miss it — it’s the light, white, airy box in the middle of Moore Park’s Entertainment Quarter, with the cafe out the front and a brand spanking new production kitchen behind it.

The interior is a lot roomier than Black Star’s other shopfronts at Rosebery and Newtown, where cult pastry whiz Christopher The opened his first patisserie in 2008.

The new outpost’s design is minimalist monochrome, with clean lines and towering industrial ceilings softened by small details: table numbers sculpted out of copper wire, the stylish glass water decanter with wooden stopper delivered to the table with glasses, a green fringe of rhipsalis spilling down one wall, and a bright jazz soundtrack.

At first the food offerings in the glass counters look quite minimal too, until you have to try and choose. Fine herbs and mushroom quiche or lamb shank and red wine pie? Haloumi, egg and avocado slider or organic beef and pork sausage roll?

On the sweet side, Japanese forest cake with umeshu cream and plums beckons seductively next to pistachio lemon zen cake and choc torte. Continuing the monochrome theme, an enormous black sesame chiffon cake covered in black and white sesame seeds squats under a glass cloche; frangipane tarts, vegan chocolate cupcakes and croissants occupy another counter.

With the production kitchen also on show behind glass, loaves of bread for sale, and orders taken at the counter, it feels more like a bakery with tables than a cafe. Coffee is still taken seriously, however — it’s by The Little Marionette — and the tea is Tippity. The black sesame latte and Sticky Chai sound interesting too.

There’s also fresh watermelon juice that comes in a bottle, which goes well with the brekkie slider of halloumi, smashed egg and avocado with pesto, a surprisingly fine combination. The smallish slider is also a good option to leave more room for dessert.

The goat’s cheese and leek quiche is made with organic, free-range eggs and, as to be expected, fabulous pastry. The two chunky salads served on the side are terrific too, one with cauliflower, celery, whole hazelnuts and cranberries, one with capsicum, tomato, cucumber and golden-crisp croutons.

Then it’s time for the cake degustation. We try the pistachio lemon zen cake, orange cake with Persian figs, black sesame chiffon cake and a kouign amann, a French Breton speciality like a muffin-shaped sweet croissant with a crispy top.

It’s difficult to go past the raspberry and lychee layer cake, and Black Star’s signature strawberry and watermelon cake, but a line has to be drawn somewhere.

Finally, we grab a zucchini pesto breadstick to go – and when it’s time for the bowling party pick up, for once it’s not clear who had the most fun.