Era Ora in Mornington is a colloquial Italian expression, it means something along the lines of it was time, about time, or simply finally. And in the case of Teresa and Gerard, it is hard to imagine a more appropriate name.

After years working in hospitality, talking about opening their own place, thinking about it, debating it and doing the usual um-ing and ah-ing that comes with deciding whether to jump into one of the hardest industries around, they finally did it.

That was two years ago to the month. Era ora. It was time. At the beach end of Mornington, directly opposite Mornington Park on the Esplanade, they opened a place of their own. There is nothing overcomplicated about Era Ora, and that is precisely the point. It is warm, familiar and generous, run by people who understand that hospitality is not just about what comes out of the kitchen. It is about how you make people feel.

There is an old-fashioned quality to the place. The kind that Cheers built an entire television series around — where people know your name, are genuinely pleased to see you and, after a while, you start feeling like your usual table was waiting.

Teresa works the room, Gerard runs the kitchen, and together they make the whole place sing. Teresa brings personality in spades.  Gerard’s end of the bargain is equally straightforward. Make great food. Make it fresh. Make it properly. And make sure nobody leaves hungry. You know the saying — behind every good woman is an even greater man 🙂

The menu covers everything you actually want for breakfast, brunch or lunch. Somerville free-range eggs, Eggs Benedict, avocado on sourdough, breakfast rolls, burgers, local fish and house-made cakes.

Nothing is trying too hard. Ingredients are fresh, local where possible, and flavour comes before fuss. And then there is Gerard’s BLT. A word of advice. Arrive hungry. Very hungry.

In fairness, that advice applies to much of the menu. Portions lean firmly towards generous, prices are sensible and the food feels like it has been made by people who want you to enjoy it rather than admire it from a safe distance.

Meals are prepared fresh to order and quality comes first. Simple. And very Mediterranean at heart. The location helps enormously.

Mornington Park sits directly opposite, right on the cliffs, and is something of a godsend if you have a young family in tow. There is space to run around, slow down, kick a ball or stretch breakfast into something resembling a morning out.

And if you cannot get a table, grabbing a coffee or something smaller to take across the road is hardly a hardship. Everything is within eyesight. The park. The water. The café. The kids. Ideally all still where you left them. But the real attraction is still the people.

It is not only that Teresa and Gerard know your name. Often, the patrons know each other’s names too. And in a time when the news feels relentless, money is tight and everyone seems to be carrying something, places like this become more important than they look.

You walk in, exhale a little, have a coffee, share a joke, talk nonsense for half an hour and remember that other people are muddling through much the same as you are. That sense of belonging — of stepping out of the noise and into somewhere familiar — is hard to manufacture.

Era Ora has it naturally. And perhaps that is why the name works so well. Era Ora, it’s about time you went and had a look for yourself.