When it opened in De Waterkant recently, Toro created a bit of a buzz. The progeny of friends Grant Greg Lynott (who apprenticed under Berthus Basson of Overture) and Italian designer, Matteo Conti, this spot promised to be a wine bar with a difference. One evening, I head to Toro incognito to discover exactly what that difference is.

The space itself is small and unpretentious: a handful of tables, a couple of couches and regulars are dotted around on this Monday night. What is it, I wonder, about this small wine bar that’s creating the hype?

The menu – based on Italian antipasti and bruschetta – is brief. Over large glasses of Vondeling Baldrick Shiraz and Noble Hill Merlot (it’s a chilly evening, after all) we agonise over the food options.

“I’ve got the most amazing camembert at the moment,” says Grant, who is waiter, barman and chef all rolled into one. “It comes from a guy who has a small cheesery in Constantia. He’s got a network of grannies that make cheese out in Tulbagh, Greyton and McGregor.” He goes on to tell us about his Black Forest ham and the chorizo, both of which come with their own mini-biographies. “There’s also an awesome sausage made with Everson’s Cider that I’ve just got in.”

Happily surrendering to his wisdom, we order an antipasti board of everything he recommends. The camembert is indeed fabulous, as are the burgers, which Grant rustles up from his lunch menu for us after we spot a couple of regulars eating particularly delicious looking ones. The burgers are improvised with ciabatta as he’s finished all the bread. “I buy my bread from Jason, fresh every day, so we sell out of it at lunchtime,” he apologises.

When the wine runs out, Grant tops us up with a Ladera Zafir Syrah 2009. “It’s made by this guy called Charles – he only sells at the Hope Street Market because the Biscuit Mill is too mainstream for him.”

"I try to champion the little guys," Grant tells me when I ask how and where he sources everything. “Everyone else uses the big catering companies, but the only thing I get from them is cans of Coke.”

Toro opens at 4pm on a Saturday so that he has time to hit all the local markets and buy up fresh produce.

“Usually I’ll have something on the menu for two days; once it’s used up I’ll go and source something else. At Overture, that was Berthus’s philosophy: If you cannot buy it from someone who appreciates making it, make it yourself.”

How do they go about building their wine list? I wonder. “That is a labour-intensive process that involves loads of hangovers,” Grant jokes. Although Toro stocks a rotation of wines that are available in stores, many of their wines come from friends, acquaintances and winemakers they’ve met themselves. “We have two shelves behind the bar with open wines that are off the menu,” Grant explains, which is where our glasses of Ladera come from.

To some extent, Grant and Matteo are fairly new to this restaurant game. “Everyone makes jokes about Matteo and me because we go into things kind-of without thinking, like bulls in a china shop,” Grant quips. This, then, is where Toro gets its name. (Their plan to start a car event entitled the Bull Run might have something to do with it too.)

There is something a little haphazard about the wine bar. But ultimately, I’m not sure this isn’t a good thing. Internationally, the trend is towards a much more relaxed way of eating out. “Essentially, what we have here is a cool version of your home,” Grant tells me.

Locals, it seems, are responding to the laid-back environment and expertly sourced ingredients. Come summer, I predict his lounge and sunny patio will be packed.

By Katharine Jacobs

We’re giving away an antipasti board for two and a bottle of wine at Toro, to one lucky Cape Town user, along with a case of wine. To enter, click here.