By the time Tony Brooks was five years old, he had a pan in his hand and knew how to fend for himself in the kitchen. So says his mother, who sometimes tends to the seasoning and simmering at Coast Café, Tony’s first culinary endeavor, which opened in February, in Cambridge, the city where his mother raised him. Now he’s raising his 15-year-old daughter and, it seems, teaching her how to navigate the kitchen. On any given night, Tony, his wife, and their daughter make their new business a family affair.

The menu emphasizes down-home Southern cooking, if you take note of offerings like meat-loaf sandwiches ($5.25), fish cakes ($8.50), and chicken-wing boxes ($6.25–$7.50). But Tony is really a dabbler at heart, and there are strong island accents to much of what he cooks. Most of his grub derives from old family recipes, but you don’t have to take his word for it. Scan the kitchen — on full display through the window at which you order — and you won’t spot a single cookbook. Just about everything is prepared from scratch, so the cuisine merits the only classification Tony is willing to give it: "Food from the soul."

Take, for instance, any of the barbecue selections, like the barbecue-chicken plate ($8.50; $9.95 for spare ribs). The homemade sauce slathered over the meat may be piquant enough to pique your interest — and appetite — but we’ll also tell you that the generous portion size extends beyond the sandwich itself: all plates come with a choice of two sides, and this is where those island accents come in. There are sweet potatoes finished with a sugary glaze, a soupy, spiced black-eyed-peas concoction, macaroni and cheese as thick as ice cream, and collard greens flavored with smoked turkey, which might drive you to call your mom to apologize for all those times you whined when she made you eat your greens. If that all sounds too good to pass up, forgo the main dish and try a smattering of sides, tapas-style ($5.95/three).

The flavor here is large, but the location isn’t. Tony plans to start delivery service in a few weeks, but for now it’s mostly take-out. So clear your table; Tony’s home cooking is a soul revival in your own kitchen.

Coast Café, located at 233 River Street, in Cambridge, is open Tuesday and Wednesday, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Thursday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Call (617) 354-7644.