Maxxii Moo

The peculiarly named Maxxii Moo is situated on Albert Street in Brunswick, not far from Sydney Road and just opposite the small but perfectly formed Randazzo Park. There's a huge table in the middle and big bi-fold doors open out onto a side street. It's decorated with quirky little touches and is extremely child friendly, with a projector screening cartoons on the wall, a discrete and well-equipped child area, numerous high chairs and a not-too-cutesy children's menu - zebra toast is Vegemite and toasted cheese stripes - though it could have done with some more healthy options, eg wholemeal bread. D ordered a pie and reluctantly eschewed the chips for salad - pie and salad! - on the grounds that our small companion should be nowhere near chips, he loves them so; I had smashed avo and mushroom salsa on toast, which initially came without the poached egg by mistake, but it subsequently arrived on its own plate like a plump little pillow of perfectly cooked goodness. The smallest member of our party had cheese and tomato toast which he gave every appearance of enjoying. We'd been before and parked the bikes outside; with the warm welcome, fast service and small but effective selection of lunch options, we will be back again.

Woodlands Hotel

The Woodlands Hotel is at 84-88 Sydney Road, Coburg, Melbourne. Unprepossessing from the outside, it's a revelation inside: generously proportioned and quirkily decorated with interesting details and a style all of its own, part Alice in Wonderland, part Gormenghast, with lots of wood, low-key industrial styling, cloister-like arches and a scattering of Asian touches thrown in: sombre wooden monks in a cavity, concentric wooden circles revealing nothing, devils' wings shrouding a chair, biplanes on the ceiling, giant toy soldiers standing guard upstairs. Staff were friendly and relaxed, and the service was snappy. We ate in the airy, plant-filled beer garden; the food was expensive for pub food but beautifully presented, fresh and very tasty; the only possible complaint is that there wasn't enough of it. A wicked lunchtime apple martini, Monster Mash Hopped Out red ale, grilled barramundi with dashi broth, beer battered flathead with chips: perfect Sunday dining.

Heide Museum of Modern Art

Heide (named after nearby Heidelberg) was the home of John and Sunday Reed from the mid-1930s; it became a mecca for artists from across Australia and finally became a public art gallery in 1981, just before the Reeds' deaths. As well as the art gallery buildings there are 15 acres of beautiful landscaped gardens with tin cows grazing in meadows and quirky sculptures everywhere. You can picnic (as we did) on the grass surrounded by beautiful trees, spending a lovely autumn morning there without even going in to the gallery, though plenty of people did and even more seemed to be eating splendidly in Café Vue. A wonderful place just at the back of the hideous three lane highways and bland industrial wasteland of suburban north-east Melbourne.