After almost 20 years, tashas remains true to simple, quality dishes on their refreshed Classic Menu

“We’ve gone back to basics,” says Jill Okkers, Culinary Director for the Tashas Group, as she explains the update to the tashas Classic Menu. “We’re focusing on dishes that are simple to prepare yet rich in quality ingredients. Think uncomplicated, delicious, and nostalgic – the goal is to create timeless, comforting dishes that feel both familiar and elevated.”

With a passion for café classics at its core, and an almost 20-year track record, Natasha Sideris, CEO and Founder of Tashas Group and her team are demonstrating their continued commitment to innovation. Her most recent brief to her culinary team: bring together her favourite flavours while reflecting the way they love to cook as a culinary team. The result is a menu that is a blend of local and global influences.

South African-born entrepreneur, Natasha, has grown tashas from a single store in Atholl in 2005, to a group that now has 15 tashas locations in South Africa, six in Dubai, and one in London which opened in 2023. Each tashas has two menus: the Classic Menu, which is available at every location, and the Inspired By Menu, which is particular to each specific location.

“The classic menu remains the cornerstone of our approach at all our tashas locations. We focus on quality ingredients, simple preparation and making dishes fresh on order – pushing this philosophy as far as possible,” says Sasha Basson, Group Chef and Training Manager (BOH) for South Africa.

While the new Classic Menu dishes offer pared-back simplicity, they still embody the tashas philosophy of using the best ingredients and are made to order. Nothing is pre-made or pre-cut so that the taste, vibrancy and freshness of every ingredient is retained.

The new dishes to look out for are:

• B.L.T Sarmie: Streaky bacon, butter lettuce & tomato slathered in mayo, red pepper & tomato relish and served on toasted village bread with fries. You also have the option of adding egg mayo.
• Butternut Sage Pasta: A vegetarian pasta with roasted butternut, sage, cream, kale, sun-dried tomatoes, gorgonzola & toasted rye crumb.
• Restyled Salmon Trout Fish Cakes: Fresh pink salmon and smoked salmon trout mixed with red onion, potato, dill & chives and a fennel and baby potato salad on the side garnished with parsley, radish and lemon parsley mayo
• Restyled Panko Hake: Fresh crumbed hake with homemade tartar sauce, fries, peas, lemon and parsley.
• Spanakopita Scramble: A beautiful breakfast option of whipped green feta ricotta and herb scrambled eggs with baby spinach, spring onion, micro herbs and black sesame seeds served on grilled village bread with red pepper and tomato relish.
• The Steak Dip: A juicy 150g rump steak sliced onto ciabatta with rocket and pickled red onion alongside mozzarella cheese, grilled onions & Portuguese steak sauce for dipping.
• Tomato, Avo & Feta Toast: Vibrant heirloom tomatoes, lemon basil dressing, green tahini avo and creamed feta on freshly baked seeded bread.
• The Waldorf: Originally named after the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, this salad is a perfect blend of celery, apple, grapes, butter lettuce, candied pecan nuts, gem lettuce, radish and shaved cauliflower with a gorgonzola buttermilk dressing and a honey white balsamic vinaigrette. Add some optional protein by including a boiled egg.

For every dish that made it onto the tashas Classic Menu, there were many that didn’t. In developing new menu items, the tashas team follows a rigorous research and testing process. All dishes are prepared for consideration and shortlisting before being perfected and listed on the menu. The final nod comes from Natasha herself, who still tastes and approves every single item before they make their debut on the menu. Lastly, training is done by Sasha in face-to-face sessions across the group and focuses on respecting ingredients and refining the team’s skills.