The board of Abbotsford Convent has offered an olive branch to restaurant Lentil as Anything - placing a temporary stay on community action gearing up to save the pay-by-donation operation's east Melbourne site.

Lentil's founder Shanaka Fernando said earlier this month he had been threatened with eviction when his lease expired in January, causing a groundswell of support to save the ethical eatery.

Shanaka Fernando and head chef Errol Schwallie at Lentil as Anything yesterday. Credit:Joseph Feil

The board has dismissed the commercial tendering process as rumour and said Lentil had been offered help to seek an extension of its lease.

But the negotiations may be tense, with Abbotsford Convent Foundation board chairman Hayden Raysmith saying there were "issues" that needed to be addressed by Lentil before a new lease was signed.