Coming Soon: The Suze Team To Open Nina, a Northcote Pasta Bar

Talk about a one-two punch. In March last year former Marion restaurant manager Giulia Giorgetti and former Napier Quarter head chef Steve Harry opened Fitzroy North wine bar Suze, one of our 14 best restaurants of 2025.

Next month they’ll follow up with Nina, a more casual counterpart on High Street, Northcote, in the space that previously housed Vex Dining. Giorgetti, who grew up in Umbria, is responsible for the name, a reference to the affectionate Italian jibe “fare la Nina” (“be a Nina”), meaning to behave cheekily or out of character.

“When the Vex site came up, we just jumped on it, because we love the space,” Giorgetti says. “We’re not big dogs, you know? Our strategy is always finding a site that doesn’t require too big of an investment. This one as has good bones.”

The duo is excited to seat diners at a long communal table inside and in the jasmine- scented courtyard for keenly priced handmade pastas, five or six simple entrees and a single dessert. Whole fish and the large cuts of meat will come on the menu every now and then.

“The main inspiration came from our Sunday project at Suze,” Giorgetti says. “Every Sunday, we come up with a new menu that gets decided basically between Sunday morning and Sunday night. It’s based on pasta. Steve’s always loved pasta. It’s not that I’m Italian so we’re doing a pasta bar. Actually, I wanted to open a Mexican place. So it’s completely the opposite.”

Drinkers will be sorted with Martinis, Negronis, spritzes, highballs and a collection of vermouths from Australia, France, Spain and Italy. About 20 wines will be available by the glass, drawn mostly from Italy and Australia.

“We’re excited to explore a different suburb compared to Fitzroy North,” Giorgetti says. Even though they’re very close, we feel they’re a completely different market – there’s a lot of young families [in Northcote], it feels very casual, or more casual than Fitzroy North.”

Nina will open at 66–68 High Street, Northcote in September. Sign up to our free newsletter, Today, to get the full opening story, including original photography.