Founded in 1994 by GianCarlo Pironi, intimate Italian eatery Osteria Tre Nonni has stood the test of time.
This year the restaurant celebrated its 20th anniversary by building a wood-fired pizza oven, updating its decor, and joining forces with another local Italian restaurant, Modo Mio.
“Pironi owned the restaurant until 1997, and trained all the staff to cook good Italian meals his way,” said co-owner Emidio Coelho.
“But the restaurant never served pizza. This is a new introduction for our 20th anniversary. We’ve also taken away the formalities of the dining area, having decided to go a little more casual.”
Coelho’s business partner and Modo Mio owner, Marc Letzler, added that the menu had also been revised, in keeping with trends reflected in South African’s eating habits.
“It’s a work in progress… We’ve reduced the meat and grill options, added traditional and more modern pizzas, and made a few minor changes here and there. We’re going to re-look at the menu in the spring,” he said.
Customers new and old can still look forward to popular sellers like orecchiette filletto ai porcini (earlobe pasta with fillet and porcini mushrooms), spaghetti di mare (seafood spaghetti), paillard di vitello (veal with olive and lemon), the other-worldly risotto nero (arborio rice with squid ink and calamari), and dolce della nonna, a dessert created by Pironi’s mother.
The well-stocked wine cellar will remain a feature of the restaurant.
“Not many restaurants in Joburg can say they’ve been around for 20 years,” said Letzler.
“Those that have, kept reinventing themselves, and a lot of it’s trial and error. We hope this change, and our belief in accommodating the customer to the best of our ability will keep us going for another 20 years.”
He added that “consistency” was crucial to a restaurant’s success.
“You’ve got to be good six days out of seven, not just every now and again,” he said.
The restaurant’s highlights of the past two decades include its participation in the American Express Platinum Fine Dining Programme, and a number of celebrity diners during the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
“We’ve had John Legend, John Travolta, and Trevor Manuel eat here, which is something special, considering we’re a little off the beaten track, and most of our marketing has been by word of mouth,” said Coelho.
Details: 011 327 0095; www.osteriatrenonni.co.za; info@osteriatrenonni.co.za
