Deus Cafe is like a slick boy’s bedroom: there are guitars on display and lots of cycle gear and geeky paintings that would make a bike junkie weak in their leathers. It’s got an industrial yet clean-cut feel with large communal tables aplenty. I liked that they had The Conversation running in the background, muted but with subtitles so you could follow Gene Hackman’s sneaky conversation-tapping ways.

The breakfast menu at Deus is snappy and straight to-the-point, with your breakfast standards such as Eggs Benedict, Florentine, etc (but without the option to load up on sides) and Granola with Fresh Fruit and Yogurt ($7.50). Will, being the Responsible Breakfast Type, picked the granola (which came with vanilla and honey-hinted yogurt and a good crunchy serving of almonds, macadamias and other classy nuts). He rounded it off with some thick toasty slices with peanut butter and plenty of coffee and juice. Even though his choices were pretty virtuous (though the peanut butter has a touch of the cheeky inner-kid about it), they definitely weren’t boring and Will rated them well.

I felt a bit more menu-adventurous, so I had the Cinnamon Roti Pancakes ($8.50), which turned out to be a simple idea executed very well: roti bread grilled to a thin crisp, sprinkled generously with cinnamon. A good sweet kick to the day, without any of the cloying regret you get from venturing into the breakfast menu sugar zone.

Deus sticks mostly to basic, low-maintenance dishes, but it does it with unpretentious style. I’m glad I went there and strayed out of our usual breakfast comfort zone, it was definitely a refreshing change from simply spinning in our wheels.

Deus Cafe, 98 Parramatta Road, Camperdown, (02) 9557 6866