Pozzie offers gentler vibe in beat bistro
[caption id="attachment_38362" align="alignright" width="405"] COOL COMFORT: Tamz waitress Leasyl Toughey serves Simphiwe Veto (pepperoni pizza) and Ruth Mufalali-van Rooyen (homemade beef burger and chips/salad). PHOTOGRAPH: MIKE HOLMES:[/caption]
THERE'S nothing quite like a spot that is close to the madding crowd without being right on top of it.
So it was in Richmond Hill last weekend as lovers of a smorgasbord menu of sounds descended on the precinct's annual street music festival in the kind of sunny June weather that makes the Bay bliss in the middle of winter.
The crowds started descending early in the morning, meaning that parking was at a premium. But the City Slukker and Slukkertary-General – heading towards this bistro of beats – had an idea.
Tamz in Somerset Street is just a hop and a sluk from Stanley – where the main jol was happening – so why not spend some time soaking up a gentler early Saturday vibe (and sluk) before venturing forth into Big Band City?
The parking forecast proved spot on – there was a space right outside this very Capetonian-ish pozzie with its red umbrellas, spaciousness, smattering of trees and shrubbery, old-world lanterns, homestead look and very likeable open-plan ambience.
Mark Barwick is the publican here – he who launched Cafe Rouge in this same urban village yonks ago – and so you can expect proprietorship that is well versed in the art of hospitality.
In other words, he knows how important it is to serve a cold sluk fast and tasty value-for-money munchies.
When it comes to the latter, there's a full menu as well as specials on certain days like a burger and chips on Tuesdays for R18, which is the kind of value that takes you back about 10 years. Pizzas are also rated highly.
That value is carried through to the slukking front where a 750ml quart of an SAB beer will cost you just 20 bucks.
The courtyards – both back and front – are the big pullcards here.
Chilling with a frosty in a beer garden with good company and a roaring fire nearby is pretty much as good as it gets when it comes to sluk-dens.
Ablutions are limited and quaint (City Slukker speak for antiquated), but that's a wee quibble. As long as they're clean – which they are – and in good working order, then a pozzie is always good to go.
