Tulips on the tables, bitterballen and Oma’s snert on the menu, Netherlandish pop on the stereo. When it comes to the world’s great cuisines, Dutch is rarely cited by anyone but a Dutchman. But such are the talents of Rob Kabboord that a pop-up serving Aus-Dutch neo-bistronomy at The Hotel Windsor is one of the city’s best new dining spots.

Meaning ‘tasty’ in Dutch, Lekker marks the return of Kabboord – who has called Australia home for more than two decades but whose heart still beats orange – to the stoves of Melbourne after four years as head chef at Sydney’s Quay. Many here will remember him from the marvellous and missed bistro Merricote, and similar cheeky and approachable fare that hides its high-end technique in deliciousness is on offer here across a generous five-course $85 menu.

Those bitterballen – crunchy panko – coated orbs of slow-braised veal – are the beer drinker’s bar snack and there’s a tight selection of local microbrews in the fridge to go with. You get a couple of choices through the set menu, but everyone begins with a terrific salmon- cream cheese cigar and warm fennel seed-flecked rolls, and, midway, a (very) early contender for dish of the year. Shards of roasted chicken skin pierce an airy béchamel that is a decadent doona hiding chunks of chook in a rich broth around a sunshiny yolk. Called ‘Which came first? Chicken or egg’, it’s lick-the-bowl superb.

Beforehand, a hefty kingfish roulade topped with cucumber sorbet is the first time melon balls have been seen in the city since shoulder pads, while a Germanic snout-to-tail feast of pork – from roast belly to crunchy ears – with fresh peas and an artful garlicky pea velouté is Kabboord’s reimagining of a traditional pea soup.

Here for a good time, not a long time, the pop-up will run till Easter so get in quick to see what a clever clogs Kaaboord is and just how tasty Dutch food can be.