tashas, an elegant dining destination coupling beautiful food with stunning environments, is now open in Battersea. The 150-cover restaurant is the first UK site for the South African born café concept, bringing its reputation for a warm and laid-back approach to a new setting.
Founder & CEO Natasha Sideris set up tashas in 2005, having grown up in the restaurant industry at her restaurateur father’s side, and built the brand around her love for the industry. Natasha says: “At tashas, we are passionate about curating memorable moments with great food in beautiful environments. We can’t wait to bring the tashas brand of hospitality to London.”
The food
For tashas Battersea, Natasha has worked collaboratively with Culinary Director, Jill Okkers and the head chefs for tashas, Sasha Pieterse and Jonathan Van De Merwe, to curate a menu of dishes that take inspiration from her travels around the world. Locally sourced products and ingredients feature in a ‘Classic Menu’ of timeless, all-day dishes, peppered with nods to Natasha’s South African roots. The menu includes a number of tashas’ best-loved dishes, including beautiful, fresh salads such as the Texas Salad, with corn, feta, cherry tomatoes, olives, basil, and rocket with a light basil pesto, lemon dressing and the Mediterranean Lemon Chicken, with lemon butter and rosemary sauce. There is also a ‘Healthy Appetite’ section, featuring the Dr Paw Paw, a dish that has been on the tashas menu for the past 18 years, consisting of papaya topped with yoghurt and chopped almonds and drizzled with honey, and the Citrus Sunrise, with citrus fruit, banana, oat crumble, honey cream yoghurt, pomegranate seeds, pistachios and rose syrup. New dishes created exclusively for tashas Battersea include the Sweet Toast, a classic play on French Bostock with homemade almond frangipane, apricot jam and spiced syrup-soaked brioche. For later in the day, diners can also try the Cornflake Pork Schnitzel – a cut of pork loin, coated in cornflakes – served with a creamy potato salad and a fresh slaw.
The drinks
Leading the restaurant’s drinks list are a number of signature serves developed by the team's Beverage Director, Krystian Hordejuk, and specifically curated for the Battersea location. These include the Fynbos G&T – a signature twist on the Classic Highball inspired by amber-coloured South African gin from the Inverroche Distillery, and the exceptional Battersea Fashioned with the distinctive notes of cocoa butter washed bourbon seasoned with demerara and bitters. An extensive range of non-alcoholic cocktails and a variety of red, rosé and white wines from South Africa are also available. For those enjoying breakfast or lunch, a selection of matcha drinks, healthy smoothies and freshly squeezed juices are available to pair with tashas’ fresh and vibrant food.
The décor
tashas Battersea pairs sleek and timeless interiors with warm, personal touches to create a sense of easy-going elegance. Intricate mosaic flooring, high gloss stucco walls, dark timber and brass details envelop the space, resulting in an inviting dining room reminiscent of the original tashas café that opened in Johannesburg over 18 years ago. A hand-embossed paper installation from artist Elonah O’Neil is suspended by gold wire in the centre of the restaurant, designed to move with the breeze as the restaurant door opens. Light touches from bronze artists Bronze Age adorn the room. Both the indoor and outdoor dining terrace, which seats 45 guests, create a welcoming environment for diners.
With 15 locations in South Africa and six in the UAE, each tashas is unique, inspired by a place or time that is reflected in both the menus and the design of the individual store to make each tashas experience distinctive.
tashas is now open at Battersea Power Station. The restaurant is open 7 days a week, for breakfast, lunch and dinner Monday - Saturday, and breakfast and lunch on Sunday.
