South African restaurateur Natasha Sideris brings South African hospitality to Dubai

In a world of flashy fine dining concepts and revolving food fads, Natasha Sideris has remained steadfast in her mission: create beautiful spaces, serve incredible food, and deliver genuine hospitality. The founder of Tashas Group — a growing constellation of hospitality brands spanning from South Africa to the Middle East — has spent the last two decades perfecting the art of elevated, accessible dining. And she’s done it with style, soul, and a whole lot of feta.

Born in South Africa to Greek parents, Sideris’s culinary journey was practically preordained. “My dad was a chef, my mom and grandmother were incredible cooks, and my great-grandfather had a bakery,” she reflects. Despite initially studying psychology and vowing to never enter the family business, fate (and a part-time job at her father’s restaurant, The Fishmonger) had other plans.

In 2005, Sideris opened the first tashas in Johannesburg. The concept was simple but revolutionary for its time: all-day dining with global flair, served in thoughtfully curated interiors that felt more like living rooms than restaurants. The brand now has 15 cafés in South Africa, six in the UAE, and a location in London. Beyond that, Sideris has introduced several upscale dining concepts, including Flamingo Room, Avli and Galaxy Bar, which earned a spot on the prestigious World’s 50 Best Bars list.

Fast forward to 2014, and the brand made its Middle East debut in Dubai’s Galleria Mall on Al Wasl Road. Eleven years later, that very same restaurant remains one of Sideris’s most beloved and busiest locations.

“I’m still seeing tremendous growth out of that restaurant,” she says. “But our busiest tashas is in Abu Dhabi, where we serve nearly 1,000 guests a day.”

Bahrain bound

So, what defines a perfect dish in the tashas universe?

“Simplicity,” Sideris says without hesitation. “I don’t want a dish to be over complicated. There’s a trend now — people playing with their food in the name of fusion or Instagram. But food isn’t a toy.” Her philosophy champions freshness and restraint. “It’s about a few good ingredients coming together to create something incredible. And I love the classics. I’m an old-fashioned girl at heart. Sure, we have some modern, innovative dishes, but I’ll always be drawn to the timeless ones.”

And now, she’s setting her sights on Bahrain with the launch of Avli by tashas, a modern Greek concept born in Dubai and carefully reimagined for a new audience.

But how do you replicate the magic of a beloved venue like Avli — where every plate, every olive, and every brushstroke on the walls feels curated — with the same finesse in another country? The answer lies in something few hospitality groups invest in: an in-house academy dedicated to perfection.

“This wasn’t a mistake,” Sideris says, smiling. “I think we’re one of the only groups in Dubai that actually owns and operates a training space like this.” She’s referring to the state-of-the-art Tashas Academy — her Dh6 million investment in the future of luxury hospitality. Before its creation, staff and chefs would shuttle between borrowed kitchens, often working without essential facilities. “Now, everything is in one place. It’s focused. It’s high-spec.”

Each new dish for Avli Bahrain goes through rigorous rounds of development, testing, and refinement. The goal? Preserve the essence of Avli’s modern Greek fare while honoring the tastes and ingredients of Bahrain. From new business lunch options tailored to Bahraini professionals, to signature dishes that have been subtly tweaked to suit the local palate, each plate tells a story of cultural respect wrapped in culinary elegance.

“We train our front-of-house teams to embody warmth and sophistication,” she says. “There’s a finesse to service, and our Academy teaches that down to the last detail. Our teams are trained not just to serve, but to connect. That’s how we make luxury feel personal.”

The golden thread

At the heart of tashas success lies what Jill Okkers, Culinary Director at Tashas, calls “the golden thread”— a harmony that ties everything together, from the food to the interiors to the music. And Sideris’s palate plays a crucial role in mastering that golden touch.

“She’s known for her ability to fine-tune dishes with subtle, masterful tweaks — like adding raw mushrooms to a steak dish to bring a note of freshness or infusing olive oil with feta for a dressing that turns a salad into an experience,” says Jill.

The quality of ingredients is non-negotiable. “We use the best tomatoes you can find, the most expensive feta cheese in the UAE,” Sideris says proudly. Her old MacBook still houses a spreadsheet titled ‘Quality and Care of Ingredients’ with meticulous notes on how to boil an egg to perfection or slice an avocado just right. “If you’re buying a luxury car or a watch, you want to know it’s been made with care. Food is no different.”

Tashas isn’t a copy-paste brand. Each location is uniquely modified to suit its market while preserving 80 per cent of the core menu. “You can’t over-innovate,” Sideris warns. “But not every market is the same either.”

When bringing tashas from South Africa to Dubai, many suggested localising the menu with more Middle Eastern dishes. Sideris resisted. “I’m not going to teach people in the Middle East about their own cuisine,” she said. “That would be arrogant.”

Instead, she tailors the experience with subtle regional nods. For instance, the tashas in Bahrain, located right on the water, features a dramatic seafood display and an expanded selection of seafood dishes — modifications that make sense without diluting the brand’s identity.

Each restaurant has a main menu and its own signature menu — offering a touch of individuality without straying from the group’s essence. “At tashas, we do customised orders all the time. If a guest wants two boiled eggs, half a slice of tomato, and a chicken breast? No problem.”

Krystian Hordejuk, the group’s beverage director, brings Greek sensibilities to the beverage menu — infusing mountain teas, honey, and spices like cinnamon into creative fusions and tinctures. “We try to translate Greek tradition into liquid form,” he says.

Moments that matter

Ask Sideris about her proudest moments, and she doesn’t skip a beat. “Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum visiting our Galleria branch on opening day,” she beams. “Getting that kind of support from the royal family was a huge moment.”

Another highlight? Watching her team grow. “We’ve had staff who started by washing dishes and are now managers. Others have moved from the restaurants into head office roles. Those are the stories that stay with you.”

Even the early challenges — like the slow first four days after opening in Dubai — turned into defining moments. “Day five, everything changed. The place was packed. Word of mouth, amazing local support, and our wonderful partner Mubarak bin Fahad helped turn it around. And we’ve never looked back.”

And her contributions have garnered significant recognition. In 2020, she was named Restaurateur of the Year at the Caterer Middle East Awards, a testament to her passion and the success of her concepts. Furthermore, she was featured in Forbes Middle East’s list of “20 Leaders Behind Luxury Dining in the Middle East”, highlighting her influence and achievements in the industry.

“Restaurants aren’t just about food or interiors or marketing. They’re about creating moments,” she says. “We serve two things: food and hospitality. Everything else is just an extension of that.”

And in Sideris’s world, those two things are elevated to an art form — served with love, plated with precision, and always accompanied by a golden thread of care.