It’s goodbye fine dining, hello fun dining down at The Prince Hotel in St Kilda.

Stepping out of the high-end, pinky-up shadow of Circa, the new Prince Dining Room is a casual and comfortable offering with banquette seating snaking through the centre of the Art Deco main room.

Two Dans in the kitchen (exec chef Dan Hawkins and day-to-day head Dan Cooper) talk all the trends – sustainable, low-waste, seasonal, traceable happy produce – but they back it up with a well-priced menu strongly weighted to the plant kingdom.

Three seriously good flatbreads are on offer but don’t miss the fiocco (a prosciutto-like salumi) teamed with fresh mozzarella and purple and green basil on a chewy and charry base with an airy, bubbly crust.

A lamb tagine, generous with meat and sticky with plump prunes, is served with smoked yoghurt, minty tabbouleh, and puffy pita topped with nigella seeds. 

Come summer, you might find a fabulously sunny plate of grilled nectarines served with peppery mustard leaf, juicy sharp radish and manchego cheese. Equally vibrant, a rainbow of roasted beetroot teamed with segments of pink-tinged orange with aniseed adding a cool breeze.

Leave the car – for the cellar is filled with interesting, well-priced drinking – and some space for sweets, for an individual woodfired cheesecake topped with roasted peaches and gingersnap crumb is a deft delight.

Must Eat Dish: Fiocco flatbread