A breath of fresh air has wafted through the Tamar Valley in northern Tasmania, and it’s adding some serious cool to the region’s food scene.

Hailing from Josef Chromy Wines in the nearby city of Launceston, chef Matt Adams recently took control of Velo Vineyard’s restaurant with partner Shannon Bushby.

They’re young, respected and believe in good, classy food without the pomp.

The restaurant, now called Timbre (pronounced tamba) is perched beside Velo’s cellar door and smack bang in the middle of some of the region’s oldest vines.

Lounging in round wicker chairs against a simple backdrop of white walls dotted with local art, and amid wine barrels and ranunculus, we’re confronted by a pastoral scene of local dairy farms beyond floor to ceiling glass.

It’s Sunday lunch service, and while the place isn’t swimming with wait staff, those who are hitting the floor in familiar-branded trainers and skinny jeans know what’s what. There’s function, calm and plenty of care shown toward a crowd of all ages. Behind me, there’s a rather mature blonde lady in hot pink, her beau dressed in plaid. Beside me, a group of young darlings are all checking Instagram and nibbling a cheese plate.

Approachable seems to be the word du jour as Matt extends an invitation to local punters, families and snack-seekers. He’s perfected a soda bread jaffle and does classic oysters natural, fries, a pork belly special, and, as mentioned, cheese and bickies.

The list of offerings has words like, ponzu, furikake and wakame, which are married ever-so-cleverly to a bunch of simple local goodies like pumpkin, radish and free-range googies.

We stroll through a selection of dishes including gochujang devilled eggs and black pepper greens. Roasted in a wood-fired oven, which Matt says is used for everything, including clotted cream, is a chunk of pumpkin joined by caper dressing and curd from Matt and Shannon’s flock of goats kept on their property further down the Valley.

Our stripy trumpeter is meaty and dressed in crisp cos, and the salty confit chicken does a neat little number with date puree and toasted grains.

When you’ve got award winning plonk on site, you’re naturally going to put it on your wine list, so we sip Velo bubbles and 2010 Reserve Chardonnay, trying to find room for dark chocolate semifreddo, mandarin and thick caramel made from the milk of those goats.

The booze offering is set to take a bit of a turn in coming weeks, with international and quirky local tipples being introduced alongside some hero ciders and the perennial beers.

On Sundays, you can swing by for brunch: how about smoky rice porridge with sticky glazed hock and pickles or waffle with bacon, salted butterscotch and thyme? Friday night feasts at Timbre will follow the similar sharing approach of lunch.

The Tamar Valley may have nailed its cool climate vinos, but it’s yet to catch up in the contemporary dining stakes. There are a couple of good options, but Timbre is definitely a new asset to this incredible part of the world.