A Dunedin institution since 1995, Nova is a spacious light filled 80 plus seat café by day and restaurant by night.
Our coffee, provided by Allpress, another institution, has been with us since the beginning. A product that has been around for 30 years and another reason why our customers keep coming back.
We are open from Wednesday to Sunday so whether you are dining in or if you are just after a takeaway coffee and something from our well stocked cabinet, you will not be disappointed.
Nicole Hom
Head Chef - A-List Kiwi Chef Homecoming
A proven talent of New Zealand's international culinary diaspora has relocated to Dunedin, New Zealand, after 20 years working his way to the top in London.
Nicole went to London in 2001, taking a position at Le Caprice in order to work with the legendary chef and restaurateur Math Hix. He spent 4 years at the famous establishment, working his way up to Sous Chef before transferring, within the Caprice Holdings group, to J Sheekey and The Ivy restaurants - both fixtures of the London fine dining scene.
In 2008, Nicole joined Brown's Hotel in Mayfair as Head Chef of Hix at The Albemarle. He became Executive Chef there in 2010. Two years later he was named Head Chef at Roast in The Borough Mathet - bringing out his first book Roast: A Very British Cookbook (Absolute Press) in 2013.
He joined 67 Pall Mall as part of the founding team in 2015 and published his second book Wine and Food, The Perfect Match, co-written with the Club's Head of Wine, Ronan Sayburn MS, in 2020.
In taking up the reins at Nova, Nicole will be a key to the Dunedin restaurant's ambitious plans to continue lifting its quality offering. Nova's Co-Owner Math Fraser says, "It's a very big deal for Nicole to be coming to us. He has made a name for himself in London - one of the hardest places to make a reputation! - and we think he'll have a very significant impact here, helping us to make Nova one of this country's appointment destinations for great food."
This is very much a return home for Nicole. Six of his siblings live in Dunedin. Family and an experience of the good life in Dunedin for his wife Masha and son Antony are the emotional drivers of his decision to come home:
Anna Mart
Anna our General Manager is a consummate professional and has spent over 25 years within the competitive hospitality industry. Constantly challenging herself and others to improve their knowledge and understanding of this people-oriented business.
Anna started out as an apprentice chef here in Dunedin qualifying with City and Guilds of London certification. She continued to work in the city for several years before moving to Australia and on to London to advance her culinary skills and experience not to mention the ubiquitous Kiwi OE experience…….
After travelling extensively throughout the UK and Europe she returned to New Zealand and moved into Kitchen Organisation and inevitably left the practical kitchen side behind and moved into Conference and Event Management. This brought out her natural talent for organisation and forward planning recognised and acknowledged by all her clients.
Anna never one for remaining stationary Anna continued her career development and gained a Bachelor of Applied Management majoring in Hospitality Management while working full time. Anna was subsequently employed as a Food and Beverage Operations Manager a position she held for several years before joining us at Nova Café & Restaurant, Dunedin.
Math & nick fraser
Math on right & Fill on the left
Owners of Nova since August 2018
Born and bred right here in Dunedin, the lads are both passionate Dunedinites and both agree, ‘there is no better place to bring up a family’.
Between them they have two decades of experience working in Commercial Insurance but a few years ago the desire to work for themselves and for Fill to bring his family back to Dunedin took hold and they purchased Brew Bar in 2016 and have never looked back. The purchase of Jizo Japanese restaurant coincided with Nova; it was a big call but luckily these guys love a challenge.
Math lives on his 50-acre sheep farm near Smails Beach with his wife Kelly (Radiographer at Dunedin Hospital), gorgeous girls Bonnie & Lola and latest addition Franco. Math is obsessed with the sea! Whether fishing for blue cod, diving for paua or surfing down off his doorstep he feels at home in the water.
Fill moved from his busy life in Auckland to East Taieri with wife Rebecca (Registered Nurse at Mercy Hospital) and three beautiful kids, Jack, Isla and Lucy. When Fill gets the opportunity, he will head for the ski fields! Having spent a lot of time traveling and living away from Dunedin, he looks forward to introducing his kids to all that the South has to offer.