The Shillinglaw Cottage re-opened in January 2016 under new management and is now a family owned and operated cafe focusing on locally sourced produce, great coffee, chef-made food and friendly service. It offers a dining room and a coffee area as well as an alfresco garden with large children’s sandpit, all shaded by a significant old oak tree. Head Chef Bruno Lima and his team have developed an eclectic and diverse menu, offering fresh, local, free range and organic ingredients where possible. All-day breakfast, lunches, coffee and cakes with gluten-free, dairy-free and paleo options are served, as well as a ‘Little Shillings’ menu for the kids. Open on both week days and weekends. Shillinglaw is also fully licensed and the historical cottage can be hired for private functions.

Shillinglaw is next door to the Eltham Library and close to Alistair Knox park. They are just a short walk from the Eltham town centre and the train station, plus the 902 bus will drop you off at their door.

A little about the history of Shillinglaw cottage, built by pioneers, saved by locals. The cottage was built in 1859 and is constructed from handmade bricks in a Flemish bond pattern. In the 1960s, it was marked for demolition to make way for new council buildings, but a group was formed by the locals to save the cottage. One of the fundraising efforts was the publication of a cookery book “Flavour of Eltham”, which was re-printed four times. Brick by brick, the cottage was dismantled and re-built in its original form in its current location.