“Is it true, kind, and meaningful? Does it celebrate humanity, and care for its people, community, and environment? We measure returns based on yield, joy, well-being, and fulfilment.”

Hotcakes; spiced cauliflower with scrambled eggs, curry leaf, and roasted chilli; and free-range Bundarra Berkshire bacon sandwich.

To make a mark on the thriving, FOMOdriven Melbourne café scene takes some doing, but Higher Ground is unassailable in its lofty ambitions.

A benchmark of the blurring line between café and restaurant, the breakfast menu is decidedly non-standard: the signature nitrate-free bacon roll sits alongside Japanese-style steamed barramundi with kohlrabi noodles and mushroom dashi, and miso-roasted pumpkin with stracciatella, toasted seeds, and farro.

Waves of customers wash into this grandly proportioned former electricity substation at all times of day, charmed by the aquaponic Farmwall installation producing microgreens and the burlap coffee sacks repurposed into carry bags by Sudanese asylum seekers (who receive all proceeds).

Others are blithely unaware of the sustainability fundamentals underpinning the city’s hottest hangout, from indigenous social enterprises, to ethically sourced meat, to the ban on polystyrene and plastic straws.

All that and there’s great coffee and tea, too – Gulbarn, hand-picked by families in the Aboriginal community of Minyerri on Alawa country in the Northern Territory.

“This is what a world-class café looks like, and there’s not a gimmick in sight.” –Dan Stock, Delicious