Duo Behind New West’s el Santo and Amaranthus Launches NOX Italian Restaurant in Downtown Vancouver
NOX, a contemporary Italian restaurant with West Coast flavour, will be opening at the end of the year in Coal Harbour at West Georgia and Cardero. Created by Alejandro Diaz and Sam Fabbro, the owner-chef duo behind el Santo and Amaranthus in New Westminster, this new eatery will offer a West Coast take on Italian cuisine with a strong emphasis on local and seasonal ingredients.
“As a second-generation Italian immigrant who grew up on the West Coast, I wanted to create a restaurant that captures and celebrates the two worlds I grew up in,” says Sam Fabbro, Corporate Chef at NOX. “I wanted to combine the best of Italian cooking with the exceptional produce that we have here in B.C. to create something that is unlike any other Italian restaurant in the city. This isn’t your nonna’s Italian”.
Beyond local ingredients, the restaurant will also make all of its pasta and bread in house while the wine list will feature a curated selection of vintages from top Italian and B.C. producers. In terms of the interior, the restaurant will be divided into two distinct spaces – an upscale dining room and a more casual lounge area – with separate menu offerings to match each space.
Joining Chef Sam in the kitchen will be Executive Chef Michael DeGrazia who counts 20 years of experience leading kitchen teams at well-known restaurants in Vancouver and Toronto. Managing the bar program will be Kate Bohn who is also the mastermind behind the cocktails at el Santo and Amaranthus.
The restaurant will be located in the Cardero building on West Georgia Street that will also house And-Co – a private office collective, amenities hub and business community. And-Co members will have access to exclusive menu items at NOX and will be able to request in-office catering.
“I’m really excited to be partnering with And-Co to bring an Italian restaurant to the Coal Harbour neighbourhood,” says Alejandro Diaz, managing director of NOX. “With all of my restaurants, I have wanted to give diners the chance to experience well-known cuisines in a new way and I think we will certainly achieve this at NOX”.
The restaurant’s name is the Roman name for Nyx – the Greek goddess of the night renowned for her exceptional power and beauty.
About Alejandro Diaz
Alejandro Diaz moved to Canada in 1996 from Mexico City and has worked in the hospitality industry for over 20 years. An accountant by profession, Alejandro wanted to trade numbers for people as that is where his true passion lies. Living in New Westminster, he recognized the community’s desire for fresh and innovative cuisine available close to home and opened his first restaurant, el Santo, in 2015, which combines the dishes of his native Mexico with the ingredients of the West Coast. He then went on to open his second restaurant, Amaranthus, specializing in plant-based cuisine in 2019.
About Sam Fabbro
Sam Fabbro has been cooking since he was tall enough to reach the kitchen counter. He got his first experience in a restaurant kitchen at Cobre in Gastown while he was still in high school. After graduating and completing the culinary arts program at Vancouver Community College, Sam joined the team at the West Coast-inspired Restaurant 62 in Abbotsford, before moving on to Raincity and CinCin in Vancouver. Sam has been the Executive Chef at el Santo since 2017 and Amaranthus since its opening in 2019. He is especially enthusiastic about incorporating locally sourced ingredients into his dishes – a hallmark of his menus at el Santo and Amaranthus that he will carry over to NOX.
About Michael DeGrazia
Originally from Toronto, Michael trained at the Stratford Chef School in Ontario. After cutting his teeth at Ellipsis and Auberge du Pommier in Toronto, Michael embarked on a tour of Europe, visiting kitchens along the way. He set his bags down in Paris where he spent a year working at a Michelin-starred restaurant before returning to Canada. The next 18 years saw him work in kitchens in Calgary, Victoria, Bowen Island and Vancouver. Mike is excited to return to his Italian roots with NOX and draw upon his considerable experience in Italian cooking.
