Tashas hits a home run

Natasha Sideris, CEO and founder of Tashas Group, has been on something of a Cape Town tour these past few months. And, no, it’s not the sort that involves languid wine tastings or obligatory penguin selfies at Boulders Beach.

While more than a million tourists drifted through the Mother City this past season, Sideris – who has called Dubai home for more than a decade – was building her empire in the Western Cape, one stylish space at a time.

First came Café Sofi, the gateway to the City Bowl’s new Park Road precinct. Then, a few months later, Arlecchino opened in Sea Point, serving up a polished spin on old-school Italian flair. And just when it seemed Sideris might take a breather, enter Tashas Home, the group’s first foray into homeware, and arguably its chicest plot twist yet.

New as the store may be (it opened in February), the concept itself is anything but. It’s been percolating in the minds of Sideris and her brother – co-founder and group development director Savva Sideris – for more than 15 years. To put that into perspective, the first Tashas restaurant opened in leafy Atholl, Joburg, back in 2005.

Sibling sensibility

What took so long then, you might reasonably ask? The answer likely lies in the 10-plus hospitality brands the Sideris siblings have launched in the interim. On home turf, Tashas is a household name; and while Joburgers know Le Parc and Capetonians swear by Ouzeri (the group has partnered with its founder Nic Charalambous to expand the brand), it’s in cities like Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh that Tashas Group brands, including Avli, Flamingo Room, Bungalo34 and Galaxy Bar, steal the spotlight.

Which makes the more interesting question: why now? The answer rests, at least in part, with another pair of siblings, Cape Town’s Berman Brothers. Property developers Paul and Saul Berman have, since the start of the Covid pandemic, been reshaping much of Sea Point’s Main Road, trading character-rich landmarks for future-forward high-rises, most within a stone’s throw of the seaboard’s iconic La Perla restaurant.

One such development is Dolce Vita, a hybrid of residential and hotel living. It’s wrapped in the trademark retro-futurist curves synonymous with architect Robert Silke’s designs, seen in nearby buildings, including Flamingo Apartments, Tropicana Hotel and Mont Reve, under construction.

Flanking Dolce Vita’s chic lobby are two retail spaces, Arlecchino occupying the larger. Sideris explains how the smaller was initially earmarked as a coffee-and-juice offshoot. But when permission was granted to the restaurant for a street-facing hatch serving takeaway drinks, Sideris saw an opening – and Tashas Home went from slow burn to full rollout. “Choosing a smaller space within a high-profile building felt like the right way to gently test the waters, while remaining true to our aesthetic,” she says.

From their kitchen to yours

The biscuit tones of the irregular-shaped store make for an inviting and intimate retail experience, one characterised by backlit open shelves, display plinths and drawers, with a hand-laid mosaic floor grounding the space.

“The collection comprises crockery, glassware, linens and collectables sourced and used across Tashas Group restaurants over the past two decades,” says Sideris. Considered merchandising means that, rather than shelves crammed with product, displays boast an elegant sophistication. “We’re currently showcasing a curated selection of pieces from Tashas, Avli and Arlecchino. Over time, the intention is to introduce many of our 14 brands through capsule collections offering South African customers a glimpse into the broader Tashas Group world beyond their local footprint.”

Shoppers will easily connect with the Tashas range, its timeless crockery and understated glassware reminiscent of all that we’ve come to love about the 15-plus eateries dotted across South Africa. It’s serving effortless classic – the lines clean, the tableware as suited to chaotic pre-school breakfasts with the kids as it is to candlelit dinners.

Mediterranean chic

By contrast, the Avli range hints at the Greek aesthetic that defines the brand’s restaurants in Dubai and Bahrain. There’s a bolder, and more textured, Mediterranean look to this artisanal tableware, which nods to idyllic Greek island escapes. All one really need do to kickstart a love affair with the Arlecchino collection is dine at the adjacent restaurant. Its vintage aesthetic – which cleverly riffs on harlequin motifs (arlecchino is Italian for harlequin) – boasts playfulness and pops of colour that spill over into its tableware.

There’s a lot to love at Tashas Home, from dinner and side plates, to pasta and serving bowls, platters, chargers, trays and more – and that’s just the crockery flex. Materials here range from hand-thrown to slip-cast finishes in earthenware, bone china and stoneware. Glassware is equally varied, with flutes, tumblers, goblets and more so elegant they insist on a well-made drink.

Get in the mix

Shoppers whose cocktail game isn’t up to par would do well to get acquainted with Sideris’s latest (and third) book, Galaxy Bar Cocktails (Quivertree Publications), a 240-page compendium of celestial-inspired beverages that’s available in store. It offers a multitude of cocktail recipes with names as irresistible as Thunderbird, Aurora, Guardian of the Galaxy and Supernova that range in difficulty from weeknight-easy to mixologist-qualifications-required. There’s also an upfront chapter that details the tools of the trade (think the how and why of using everything from cobbler shakers and garnish tongs to bar spoons and strainers). Even the glassware gets its moment, matched to cocktails with explanations as to why.

For those who’ve admired the Tashas brand from within its impeccably styled restaurants, this is your cue to stop coveting and start collecting. In a country where truly refined tableware has often felt just out of reach, Tashas Home lands to welcome applause – its planned expansion even more so. With her characteristic clarity, Sideris sums the expansion up perfectly: “Good design should be lived with, used often and built to last.”

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_{All images: Adel Ferreira.}