New restaurant Lucia in South Melbourne is a bit of Italian and a bit of French

A restaurant crew with a knack for creating loyal regulars is spreading the love from the suburbs to the internal metropolis with their fourth restaurant, Lucia, now open in South Melbourne.

Following on from Riserva in Malvern East, Sandringham’s Baia Di Vino and San Lorenzo in Scoresby, Lucia is a spacious restaurant 10 minutes from central Melbourne with plush options suited to the regular tide of company diners that may move in from the workplaces upstairs and close by.

The meals is much less Italian and extra Mediterranean than their different venues, however house owners Anthony Silvestre and Frank Ciorciari aren’t letting go of their repute for old-school, personable service, the place employees bear in mind which desk diners choose, their children’ names and the wine they like.

“We thought our suburban eating places have been about bringing metropolis eating to the suburbs. Now, I feel we need to carry that suburban model of hospitality to the internal metropolis,” says Silvestre.

Lucia bolsters the upmarket eating choices in South Melbourne, becoming a member of newcomer Castlerose, additionally a part of an upscale workplace constructing, and modern Korean wine bar James.

Right here’s the inside track on what to eat, drink and know to get essentially the most out of a go to to Lucia.

What’s the vibe?

With its tender furnishings and well-spaced tables, that is business-lunch heaven. However there’s sufficient persona within the employees and the collage-style artworks on the partitions – that includes glam Italian photographs – to make it a viable possibility for leisure visits, too.

The place’s the very best seat?

Don’t overlook the horseshoe-shaped bar, with 10 stools round an etched marble entrance and front-row views of the cupboard of uncooked seafood, from which beneficiant platters of cured trout, king prawns, pickled Portarlington mussels, sea urchin and extra are assembled.

Right here you’ll be able to order from a bar menu that includes stated platter – and fried zucchini flowers, crab linguine, and the Lucia burger made with wagyu. Or from the principle menu, should you’re settling in. The remainder of the restaurant is a snug sea of linen-clothed tables, rust-coloured leather-based chairs, thick carpet and herringbone timber flooring.

What ought to I order?

For the very best snapshot of French-born chef Jordan Clavaron’s Mediterranean strategy, go for plump prawns wrapped with a basil leaf in a lightweight brik pastry that’s paying homage to spring rolls, adopted by crab linguine in bisque, and maybe an entire flounder with beurre blanc sauce. Clavaron (ex-Cape, Cutler & Co, Society) grew up in a household of cooks – his father earned a Michelin star – however right here his cooking model is extra rustic than it could have been earlier in his profession, at Joël Robuchon and Marcus Wareing’s eating places in Paris and London.

Clavaron has developed an obsession with Australian substances, which he’s channelled into his lamb tartare. Bolder in flavour than your normal beef tartare, it really works surprisingly properly with the warming spices of dukkah scattered excessive.

What about drinks?

Don’t cross go with out ordering the two-sip negroni or, even higher, the two-sip martini made with By no means By no means’s Oyster Shell Gin. After that, if the boss is paying, there’s a protracted checklist of barolo and burgundy. However should you’re not so fortunate, the wine checklist continues to be your pal, with loads of sub-$100 bottles.

Favorite element?

It is a restaurant that’s all concerning the little particulars, from the rippled edges on the leather-bound wine checklist to the tiny jade-green bud vases on every desk. However the custom-made linen jackets for the waiters, impressed by these in Venice (solely a bit of extra relaxed), are the winner.

Open Tue-Sat noon-late.

11 Jap Street, South Melbourne, 03 9765 6444, luciamelbourne.com