In 2003, Giorgio Nava opened 95 Keerom at that address in Cape Town’s City Bowl, the start of a mini-empire that would see him open a slew of eateries in central Cape Town and Constantia. The pandemic and its lockdown took its toll on his business, as it did on restaurateurs everywhere, but in the wake of Covid-19 he has forged ahead once more.

Nava is reinvigorating his restaurant portfolio post the global pandemic by reopening 95 at Parks in Constantia, Carné on Keerom and Carné on Kloof, both in the city. His authentic Italian pâtisserie and coffee bar, Caffé Milano Pasticceria & Bar, has also found a new address at LOCAL on Heritage Square, also in the CBD, making for a city pitstop for continental pastries and coffee.

Nava’s Milanese flair (though he is Venice-born) and his faithfulness to traditional north Italian cuisine using South African field-to-table provenance is well established in the city’s restaurant-going community.

He has cooked alongside world-renowned chefs at international food conferences and expos such as Identita Golose and Expo Milano in Italy, Flemish Primitive in Belgium, and Seoul Gourmet in Korea, and counts numerous Michelin chefs as his friends. In 2013 he triumphed on the international culinary stage as the winner of the World Pasta Championship of the Academia Barilla in Parma and continues to be an ambassador of the academy. He also works as a consultant in various African countries, China, Japan and Dubai, as well as the USA with links to two impressive restaurant franchises in New York and Miami. 

Taking his lead from classic Milanese cuisine, Nava has specialised in genuine Italian cuisine since 2003 and was one of the first to introduce a wide selection of fish and beef carpaccio, delicate handcrafted pastas as well as the decadent chocolate fondant to South Africans.

With the opening of Carné on Keerom in 2008, he pioneered a new approach to enjoying diverse prime cuts, allowing the meat to do the talking in the true Italian minimalist tradition. Carné on Keerom was a natural extension of his passion for Romagnola beef, Dorper lamb and venison sourced from his own farm in the Karoo and elsewhere. 

His South Africa story began in 1999, when he decided to make Cape Town his home with the idea of producing mozzarella. Despite creating a top-quality product with the guidance of two cheese makers from Italy, the venture turned out to be ahead of its time. With a non-existing fresh cheese culture in South Africa, it was simply too early for mozzarella. Not one to be defeated, Giorgio soon came to realise that there was a real opportunity to establish a high-quality Italian restaurant in Cape Town.

Born in Milan in 1964, Nava’s passion for cooking began early and by his early 20s, he was working the kitchen coalface as a trainee alongside some of the finest Italian chefs. He completed his training as a Certified Master Chef of Italian Cuisine.

Nava was featured on the Netflix destination food series Somebody Feed Phil. Included in the 2nd series, episode 4, entitled “Cape Town”, presenter Phil Rosenthal orders the ‘Safari Platter’ and takes a wanderlust taste trek through a range of African wild meats. DM

Carné on Keerom: 70 Keerom Street, Cape Town. 021 424 3460, email [email protected] or reserve your table online at www.carne-sa.com

Carné on Kloof: 153 Kloof Street, Cape Town. 021 426 5566, email [email protected] or reserve your table online at www.carne-sa.com

95 at Parks: 14 Constantia Main Road, Cape Town. 021 761 0247, email [email protected] or reserve your table online at www.95atparks.co.za

Caffé Milano Pasticceria & Bar: 100 Shortmarket Street, Heritage Square, Cape Town.