This charming little eatery in mystic McGregor should be raking it in

We met Kurt first. In a stone house at the top of a chilly mountain, he was ladling out steaming bowls of soup to warm us. Later, we came across Andre in a candlelit wine cellar, sharp in his black chef's jacket, listing for our benefit the secrets of his deliciously textured wild mushroom risotto.

It was part of the Robertson Slow weekend, where visitors get to eat and drink with the locals and Kurt and Andre Middleton-Le Roux had been called in to do the catering for a fynbos-and-wine function. Usually, they're to be found in their own milieu in Karoux, a restaurant in McGregor opened last June. "Restaurant" may be a bit misleading, though, as Karoux is more of a "front room" opening onto a tiny fountain courtyard, into which everyone spills out in summer. Features inside are a pre-war kitchen dresser, sideboard with fitted gramophone, Mona Lisa bead curtain leading through to the kitchen, protea heads and candles in bottles. The most popular new addition is a 16mm movie projector, which flickers old black-and-white Clark Gable type movies silently on the wall while LPs spin on the record player.

For Andre and Kurt, Karoux - a play on their initials, surname and the town's location - is an extension of home (a small Georgian cottage close by), where they can reciprocate when neighbours have invited them for dinner. For everyone else it's a "local" where they eat well, socialise and seemingly feel equally at home, judging by the length of time they've been known to stay.

More or less next door is an off-street coffee shop, where we chat over a beer with Karoux Inc and find out where they're coming from, food-wise. Andre trained at the Warwick Cookery School in Hermanus and, until about a year ago, was chef at Temenos, the inter-denominational retreat up the road. Before that, he taught life skills, cooking and wine appreciation at a school in the Eastern Cape.

Kurt, by contrast, was in the family fork-lift truck business for some time before training at the Institute of Culinary Arts in Franschhoek, followed by internships at the Mount Nelson and Terroir. The two met working at Temenos - where catering for all cultural tastes is imperative - then took the next logical step and started up on their own.

It's an experience to visit Karoux, see the hanky-sized kitchen where sometimes people sit and drink wine at the chef's table while the guys, who do all the booking, buying, cooking, and serving themselves, orbit round them. But now it's lunchtime and we watch how quickly people make themselves comfortable at the handful of tables, which take around 30 in total. We weren't able to stay and join them - but having partaken of Karoux catering the night before, highly recommend the special Karoo lamb chops (R75) and clam chowder (R40). Signature dishes include deep-fried brie (R35), duck spring rolls (R30), fresh salmon (R110) or fisherman's pie (R65), depending on the season.

Given the heightened spiritual consciousness of McGregor, Andre explained: "There are lots of vegetarians living in town, so the mushroom risotto is hugely popular, as is the cashew korma and we do a special plate of six or seven vegetables. The locals are also very fond of a bargain, so sometimes we do a special on something affordable like a bake or fish cakes for R50 and a glass of wine included."

Being in the heart of wine country, they've also teamed with some of the nearby wineries, such as De Wetshof, on wine-and-food pairing evenings and jewels on the menu are Kurt's kiwi fruit and crème brûlée-flavoured ice creams. Word is spreading about this hot little food find just off the well trampled Route 62, and it's certainly worth making a detour to McGregor for, if not relocating. In fact, if you're looking for a location, Karoux was the site of a launch recently for Hester se Brood, a book about hand-made breads and Modjaji Books publisher Colleen Higgs called the team "warmly hospitable hosts who sure know how to organise a fabulous party".

• Karoux is open for dinner from 6pm daily, except Wednesday and Thursday. Lunch available on Saturday and Sunday. Phone 0236251421 or 0849243324; visit www.karoux.co.za or e-mail info@karoux.co.za.