Stepping into Taste on Rundle, you are immediately transported to another time and place – perhaps a rural French blacksmith’s workshop from the 1800s where, in their spare time, they bake beautiful breads and pastries and brew coffee.

Raw stone walls and huge cast-iron fastenings with knuckle-sized bolts give the space an air of strength – as if Saint Baldomar (the patron saint of blacksmiths) had passed on the name of his interior designer to the owners. Yet the space is surprisingly warm, despite the steel and the fact that rusty fixtures and fittings are intentionally scattered throughout the interior.

Taste on Rundle, which opened in the east end last week, is the second Adelaide offspring of the Taste Baguette chain of cafes after Taste Baguette opened in Hub Central at Adelaide University.

Taste Baguette is the creation of owner Hieu, who is known only by his first name. Originally from Vietnam, his lengthy career as a baker has taken him across the globe, from New York and Los Angeles to the Loire Valley in France.

The mixing of Vietnamese flavours with their regional French counterparts has resulted in an original and tasty selection of baguettes, including Vietnamese-style lemongrass beef and classic Vietnamese with pork, pate with pickled carrot and radish, cucumber, spring onion, coriander and soy dressing. Taste on Rundle also stocks French favourites such as chocolate croissants, escargot and almond tuile. To complement the baked goods, it is serving up freshly brewed coffee using either the espresso or filter method.

If you’re not au fait with coffee practice, espresso (flat white, long black, cappuccino et al) is created by forcing water through the coffee grounds under pressure, while filtered coffee is filtered through paper under no more pressure than gravity can supply – with filter aficionados believing it gives a cleaner and naturally sweeter taste.

Taste Baguette has around 20 bakery cafes in Sydney, where the idea was born.