Custard Canteen has been years in the making for owners Ursula and Ben Watts – and last weekend, it all came to life. The (mostly outdoor) cafe sprawls its mammoth 140 seats across the newly rejuvenated grounds that surround the recreation centre’s entry, shaded by greenery and eye-catching red-and-white striped umbrellas. Just like Bam Bam and Cubby, Custard Canteen is equipped with state-of-the-art baking equipment and ovens, making it self-sufficient when it comes to producing its hero product – the Portuguese custard tart. These flaky, melt-in-your-mouth custard-filled morsels are baked on-site in small batches at regular intervals to ensure perfection for pastry lovers at any time of day. Sitting in the shadows of the Portuguese tart is Custard’s other sweet specialty – almond croissant tarts, which are essentially a delicious hybrid of Bam Bam’s famed almond croissant and Custard’s buttery tarts (warning– you won’t be able to stop at one).

Although tarts reign supreme, the offering at Custard Canteen goes far beyond. There’s an all-day breakfast and lunch menu on offer, starting with classics like bacon and egg milk-bun rolls, Japanese-style avocado on toast with sesame dressing and crispy ginger on Cubby sourdough, and the signature dish – the Butter Boy Benny – which sees a handmade parcel of butter-loaded pastry topped with streaky bacon, poached eggs and hollandaise. If you can’t choose between sweet or savoury, there’s the French Toast Toastie – a leg-ham and Swiss cheese toasted sourdough sandwich, lovingly finished with lashings of maple syrup and a dusting of cinnamon sugar.

For lunch-style eats, tuck into the likes of a crispy buttermilk prawn po’boy roll with lettuce, tomato and remoulade, beer-battered hoki with chunky tartare and chips (there’s also a hoki burger with jalapeno slaw on a milk bun), a New York-style hot dog with sauerkraut and mustard, or a towering beef burger with Swiss cheese, chipotle mayo, barbecue sauce and pickles. Alongside the eats and treats, there’s Marvell Street coffee (including rotating filters), squeezed-to-order orange juice, milkshakes and grab-and-go cold drinks. Oh, and a handy side note – Ursula and Ben’s hole-in-the-wall Neptune Kiosk, which sits beneath the Neptune Royal Life Saving Club overlooking the water, isn’t going anywhere and continues to operate as normal with coffees and pastries from 5:30 am daily.

Keen for creek dips and custard tarts? Hit up our Stumble Guide for Custard Canteen’s opening hours and contact details.