Tamper, Sheffield: It might be noisy but this Yorkshire restaurant has inventive dishes packed with flavour

I had no idea what a v60 drip filter was, but at £4.50 and one pound more than any of the other coffees I thought I should give it a go. It turns out it’s the fuss-free way I’ve been making my own coffee for years. It involves what I’ve learned is called a ‘coffee dripper’ – a V shaped cup with 60 degree angles – the V60 - with holes in the bottom that you line with filter paper, load with coffee and pour on hot water so that it drips through into the cup.

The life-changing beauty of this system is not only a good cup of coffee, but also the utter convenience of being able to lift out the filter paper complete with coffee grains to chuck straight in the bin, with none of those pesky grains clogging up the sink. I didn’t realise I’d captured the zeitgeist nor did I begrudge the extra pound for a really good cup of coffee.

It came in its own coffee pot, with a charming ceramic beaker alongside and a glass of iced water, all served in a little wooden crate At Tamper (the name comes from tamping or pressing down the coffee grains in the filter basket before putting it in the machine) they know all about coffee, they’ve been brewing it in Sheffield since 2011 when Sheffield-born Natalie Perry and her Kiwi husband Jonathan arrived back from New Zealand to open first in Westfield Terrace then in 2013 here in this lovely whitewashed former silversmith’s workshop in what the developers like to call the Cultural Quarter.

It has been sensitively converted, retaining the rustic brick and adding industrial lighting, trailing greenery, old school chairs and rough wood tables. You know the look. Both had the vision, based on the relaxed coffee shops of New Zealand but it’s head chef Thomas Donald who creates the magic in the kitchen starting at 8am with breakfast.

A veggie one with haloumi (of course) and the full Kiwi with bacon, eggs and so on. On the counter fabulous flaky almond croissants, fruit filled pastries and the latest trend, a muffin crossed with a croissant for the cringe-worthy named cruffin. You can offset the calories with freshly juiced celery and lime.

Then it’s brunch. Arriving at 12 noon it is already packed and the acoustics aren’t great if you find noisy restaurants troublesome. It’s worth battling on for a fabulous menu that puts layer upon layer of flavour on the plate.

My order of corn fritter brings two substantial corn fritters infused with chilli and chives, sandwiched between them is smashed avocado that is then topped off with a poached egg, goji berries and a scattering of crunchy corn.

Somewhere in there is a lime and chilli dressing and around the plate is some rather worrying black charcoal-infused yoghurt. I’m not sure what it adds in flavour but charcoal I learn l is supposed lower cholesterol and improve kidney function so I guess we can all do with a bit of that.

It’s all a bit of a car crash once you dig in, but I love the hot and cool, the smooth and crunchy, the fresh punch of lime and the soothing yoghurt. I ordered a side of bacon, but it really didn’t need it.

I've never been sure about Turkish eggs – poached eggs in Greek yoghurt – it always sounded a bit slippery to me. So I was pleased that my chum Charlie ordered it so that I could take a look and steal some in the interest of research.

Two perfectly poached eggs and sweetly roasted squash had been gently napped with warmed Greek yoghurt infused with garlic then finished with a nutty, spicy, chilli and hazelnut dukkah butter and some chopped red chillies. Sourdough toast was there to mop up all those beautifully melding flavours. It was another fabulous dish.

You may have guessed by now that mushrooms on toast would not be straight mushrooms on toast. Sure enough the fried chestnut, button and flat cap mushrooms had been combined with softened onions and cream – so far, so traditional, but it was the finish that lifted it to another level with a chestnut gremolata, a heady mix of chestnuts, herbs and those thin, stringy fried enoki mushrooms, the plate then swirled with vivid green chive oil.

We had sides of crispy halloumi fries with a lovely red pepper, lime and chilli sauce, and charred broccoli, with more of that dukkah butter, they were both lovely and we discovered unnecessary given the generosity of the mains.

Prices are spectacular value ranging from £6.80 for cranberry and almond granola to £13 for scrambled egg with blue swimmer crab. I could have eaten everything on the menu: eggs Florentine, kedgeree, the French toast special of chocolate, rhubarb, ginger crumble and miso crunch.

There are a few meat and fish dishes served after 12 noon, lamb ragu, Korean fried coley tacos, a kiwi burger and New Zealand’s favourite comfort dish, mince on toast, here given a spicy sauce, a poached egg and yuzu hollandaise, but it’s predominantly meat-free.

What the Perry’s bring to Sheffield (and now with Tahi in Manchester) is an exciting menu full of diverse, inventive dishes, packed with flavour all in a relaxed (if noisy) setting. Your vegetarian friends who all too often are offered a choice of one, will thank you for bringing them here. Kia Ora Tamper.

Opens Mon-Thur 9am-4.30pm Fri 8am-4.30pm Sat 9am-4.30pm Sun 9am-4pm

Tamper Seller’s Wheel, 149 Arundel Street, Sheffield S1 2NU www.tampercoffee.co.uk