By Molly Magennis
Julian Hills, owner and chef of Yarraville restaurant Navi, is excited to finally be serving his customers again after lockdown. Even better, Navi has just expanded and opened a new bar lounge, so that more people can come down and enjoy the amazing food he has to offer. He speaks to Molly Magennis.
What’s your connection to the Western suburbs?
I moved to the city from Warragul when I was 17, moving into Kensington. I straight away discovered and started to explore what Footscray had on offer. The first time I walked through the market, I was amazed at what was available.
What do you like about living in the area?
I love the sense of community in the west. Everyone seems to be invested into their own little communities but also proud to wear the “west” badge as a whole.
What, if anything, would you change about the area?
I know I’m part of the change, but I don’t want it to change too much.
When did you open your restaurant Navi?
We opened Navi on 14 July 2018.
Tell us about Navi…
When my wife and I decided to move back to Melbourne after a six-year stint on the Mornington Peninsula, the one thing we knew was we wanted to live in this little pocket of Seddon and Yarraville. My dream was to open a small tasting-menu restaurant with a fully open kitchen where I could interact with customers. We were lucky enough to find an empty shell (now Navi) and house to rent on the same day. We lived 150m from where Navi is and came up with the name because Navi means ‘local’ in Cherokee (a nod to my Dad’s heritage). The food, the produce and even the team were local.
What does it mean for Navi to finally be open again after so long in lockdown?
[Finally opening was] a bit emotional, it was the first time since 21 March 2020 that we’d had a full restaurant. Again the community of the west has kept us alive. Helping us through by purchasing our takeaway over all the lockdowns. It’s great to actually be plating the food for them again, chatting and seeing their reactions to the food and space. I hope this is the end of lockdowns and we can get some momentum back to Navi.
Tell us about the new lounge bar and expansion…
We’ve just expanded Navi to include a new lounge bar which operates on a walk-in basis only and serves a snack menu. The renovations have also meant we could add another eight seats in the restaurant which is great. We’ve been pretty much booked out since opening the restaurant so I really wanted to create a space where people, especially locals, could experience Navi more easily and more regularly. The lounge achieves that and really takes everything to a new level.
