“Do you have space?” I say, seeing only one communal table and wondering where we’re going to fit.

“Oh, I don’t work here,” says the girl who opened the door for me. “But we’re leaving soon,” she adds helpfully.

Tamboers Winkel may only be a few minutes old, but already it has that friendly, neighbourhood feel. The little restaurant, situated on De Lorentz Street (just off Kloof), opened up on 2 June after owner Theo van Niekerk spotted the space for rent.

The people
Theo, who was the manager at Van Hunks before opening up his own space, says he wanted to re-create his grandparents’ farm kitchen, which was situated in the Eastern Free State. Clarissa Lee is the woman in chef’s whites. “She is very talented and passionate about food,” says Theo of his chef, who had her own deli in Pretoria before moving to Cape Town.

The food
Ingredients take centre stage here, and it’s an all-star cast. Cheese comes from Get Stuffed (owner Valerie Elder’s store The Real Cheese is an Eat In award winner), Fairview and Forest Hill Cheesery. Bread hails from Manna Epicure, while charcuterie comes from Twelve Pigs and Black Forest Butchery. Chickens and eggs (also available for sale) hail from Elkana Poultry Farm outside Montague.

This cast appears in a variety of guises, including inventive salads like apple and pea; butternut, sage and couscous; or roast tomato, chickpea and basil. There are scrumptious sandwiches such as Black Forest ham and poached pear, and a selection of cheese boards and snack plates.

Piping hot rotisserie chickens come out of the ovens at 12pm or 5pm, and they’re available to take away or eat in. A blackboard announces the day’s options. “This way I can keep things fresh and change often, depending on season and inspiration,” explains Theo.

Finish off your meal with one of the chocolate brownies, with a lovely crunchy crust and gooey centre.

The drinks
The restaurant is yet to receive its liquor licence, but they hope to be stocking craft beer and wine soon. In the meantime, have a cup of the delicious Deluxe coffee, or sip on the homemade vanilla and mixed berry iced tea.

The design
Capetonian designer Marcii Goosen and her team transformed this urban space into the cosy country kitchen of Theo’s memories with an abundance of beautiful wood and old-fashioned trinkets. Whimsical gold rings and dangling air plants make up the lighting from above, while no-nonsense clamps and bare light bulbs highlight the atmospheric clutter in the shelves (created, along with the signage, by Gareth McArthur and Niklaus Lutzeler).

Pot plants add a touch of green to the palette, and as for the rest, it’s the produce itself that creates the farm kitchen feel: farm eggs, fresh bread heaped into old suitcases, and salt crystals held in dainty floral teacups. Sit at the communal central table and make some new friends, or pull up a stool and people-watch from the bar seating at the window.

The service?
Personal and friendly. You may wait a minute or two in busy times, but any delays are handled well by the staff.

The verdict
A lovely, cosy neighbourhood spot for a meal. Twenty minutes after we arrive I, too, am standing up to help a customer with the sticky door. I have a feeling this place could easily start to feel like my own kitchen.

By Katharine Jacobs