First question: so, who is Salma? Whoever she is, she’s one smart woman. And a great cook, brilliant pastry-chef and all-round caring provider of excellent things to eat. Go, Salma, we say, after visiting her little indoor-outdoor, super-casual eatery in a converted Art Deco building on busy Botany Rd.

Built in the 1930s, the heritage- listed former British General Electric manufacturing site is now a cool apartment complex conversion. It’s also where chef/ restaurateur Michael Rantissi and partner Kristy Frawley run a new commercial kitchen, supplying their Kepos Street cafe, catering events and their Carriageworks market stall.

And where they’ve teamed up with pastry king Andy Bowdy (ex-Saga) to serve the best in savoury and sweet- ness to local residents, workers and cross-towners lured by a mix of eat-in and take-home yumminess.

Salma, as it turns out, is Rantissi’s Israel-based mum. This eatery is a tribute to her. (She actually lives in the Israeli town of Jaffa, not Sydney!)

“She’s a feeder and nourisher,” says her proud son, “who brings people together to eat and talk, sending them home piled with leftovers”.

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Putting Salma/Rantissi/Frawley/Bowdy to the test, we queue for a very casual eat in lunch, lured by colourful piles of alluring vegie combos – eggplant halves topped with tahini and pomegranate pearls, beetroot tossed with walnuts, fetta, goats cheese, EVOO and white balsamic, and an eggy, sour cream and mayo-y potato salad, strewn with bacon and chives.

Also on display is a shiny date-glazed ham, just ready for slicing. The deal is a choice of “main” (ham, hot-smoked salmon or tomato-y meatballs), and salads, served in eco-friendly cardboard boxes.

We add a bottled juice from the fridge and squeeze into a surprisingly comfortable space at one of the dark-wood benches lining the canteen walls.

There’s a whole other display of amazing cakes, baked in the open kitchen. For later. It’s all easy, fresh flavours (most produce is from Carriageworks farm stalls like Block 11 Organics) and there’s no fuss or frills. People stream in, orders are taken, seats found inside, out on the footpath or, worst-case scenario, back in nearby offices and apartments.

Fat meatballs pair perfectly with the yolk- yellow potato combo and tangy-sweet beetroot, and the eggplant is a real treat with flaky, smokey salmon. And how to choose dessert?

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Bowdy is known for his creativity and it’s on full view here, from a magnificent cream-tiered carrot cake to passionfruit-drizzled palmiers and an alluring salted honey tart… Where to begin?

Also recommended, Bowdy’s perfectly textural tiramisu, or the passionfruit curd tart with a burned-buttery hazelnut pastry and praline. Divine. Or tall, quivering vanilla slices with a twist, ahhhhh. But wait, there’s more.

A wall of fridges will sort your every take-home need, with falafel, dips, sauces, whole, ready-to-roast marinated chickens, puddings, sauces (salted caramel? Yes, please), even an apple pie filling, burnt lemon curd, chermoula, pickles, and raw cookie dough.

We fill a bag or two and head back out past the customer line onto busy Botany Rd. We will be back to try more things. Meanwhile, thank you so much, Salma. We’re laden, not with leftovers, but the promise of several more pleasurable meals.

Very simple, very clever. We like your style.

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