Juno and May is named after two cows. Really. Chef Henry Honner, one of six kids growing up on a remote farm, used to milk them before and after school so the family could trade all that full-cream goodness for local eggs and vegetables … and save up for a TV.

“We eventually got enough to buy a 24-inch Rank Arena,’’ Honner says.

Decades on, Juno and May are lending their name to a convivial diner in suburban Camberwell where country hospitality is the guiding force.

Honner’s crew is up early, preparing “farmyard granola’’ with poached fruits. Then busy at lunchtime building Juno Burgers. Then flat out at night doing everything from Americana ribs to Asian dim sum. Not a TV in sight.

Start your day at Juno and May with “Rumble Tumble”, a hearty serve of scrambled eggs with chilli, tomato and coriander on sourdough ($16).

Honner got the recipe from his sister-in-law and it’s a goodie, but look out for The Gaucho ($17), which goes down Mexico way.

Honner used to be head chef at nearby Italy 1. Wisely, his own slate is mostly pasta-free and Italian influences are limited to lunchtime pizza.

Nothing fancy, mind you. We’re talking margarita, pepperoni and — yep, it still exists — ham and pineapple ($20.50).

Honner’s dinner menu — which divides into street food, small plates, large plates and sweets — is more ambitious.

His dim sum ($4.50) — a steamed dumpling plump with chicken and shiitake mushroom — is a fine starter.

The smoky pulled pork slider ($7)? Not so good. Everything had visibly wilted by the time it reached us.

Honner had us back onside with butter-poached sand lobster ($17) lodged in its shell with cauliflower puree.

Then two pleasing mains. Ink-black beef short ribs ($29.50), riding clouds of mash, and five-spice roast duck with “money bag” dumplings and Asian greens ($31).

My duck could have left the kitchen a smidgen earlier — the meat was fast losing its pinky glow.

Juno and May leaves the best till last: a chocolate soft-centred pudding ($14) with English toffee.

It’s Henry’s favourite and it’ll be yours too after you’ve breached its warm, cakey heart and dunked its flooding chocolate into good vanilla ice cream.

Juno and May’s succinct wine list is anchored in Victoria but it takes passing glances at France, Italy and New Zealand. A lot of them come by the glass.

Beer? There’s Melbourne Bitter for traditionalists, 4 Pines Kolsch if you’re into microbreweries. Oh, and a few cocktails best enjoyed at the big bar.

The six-course chef’s tasting menu is just $50 and includes Honner’s “best dishes’’.

Juno and May could make more of its country connections, but this newish addition to Melbourne’s east is unpretentious and accessible.

This review originally appeared on heraldsun.com.au.