Cafe 45

Stand on the corner of Methven's Forest Drive and McMillan Street and two sights are hard to miss: the hulking peaks of the Southern Alps, and the duck-egg blue weatherboards of Cafe 45.

The café's original owners opened here in 2011 and, after it passed through a few pairs of hands, including the Topp Twins', they came back to reclaim it. The result is a light, bright and rustic café with a boutique clothing store to boot.

Though Methven isn't the busiest of towns, you'll still feel a sense of calm walking inside. Spacious yet cosy, the timber ceiling, walls and floor are the perfect setting for an old cable-spool table, decorative barrel and rattan chairs that mingle here and there. A jute rug sits before a plank-fronted counter, where a letterboard menu keeps things simple, while a leaner made of reclaimed wood rounds out the country cottage aesthetic.

Everything at Cafe 45, bar the custard square, is made in-house. On any given day you might find bacon and egg paninis, freshly baked slices and a gluten-free lasagne in the cabinet. The lasagne is a favourite of locals and repeat visitors, while the kitchen menu covers the rest with eggs Benedict and a hearty BLT. Coffee comes courtesy of Underground Coffee Roasters and is best enjoyed parked up by the fire while the winter does its worst, or out beneath the verandah when the sun's doing the work and the alps are in full view.

Back inside, past the fire and down the ramp, you’ll find women's fashion and homewares boutique Clothe. It's a collaboration that suits both operators. A flat-white can easily turn into a browse through new-arrival racks, woven baskets and chequered linens, or the other way round.

Small in size but big on homemade goodness, Cafe 45 and its aptly named neighbour make it easy to lose a morning, whether you're a local fuelling up for the day, a visitor waiting for the cloud to lift on the slopes, or just passing through.