Chris Lucas’s Swanky Italian Steakhouse, Grill Americano, To Open on Flinders Lane This Month

As the CBD begins to get busy again, eagle-eyed Melburnians may have noticed “Grill Americano” inscribed in cursive – along with several royal-blue awnings – on Flinders Lane.

Alongside the laneway entrance to the 101 Collins tower, they mark the spot at Chris Lucas’s latest, a swanky Italian-inspired steakhouse. He’s just announced that it’s finally opening on Monday March 21, with online bookings open from today.

The prolific Melbourne restaurateur is also behind Chin Chin, Baby Pizza, Kong, Hawker Hall and Kisume, plus the hotly anticipated Society and Yakimono, which opened at the multimillion-dollar 80 Collins precinct last year.

But his new bar and restaurant will take a different direction, with a focus on dishes from the north of Italy. The menu will rely on a woodfired grill and Naples-imported wood oven. Expect silky handmade pasta and exceptional bistecca alla Fiorentina – flame-licked steak on the bone – one of Tuscan cuisine’s most popular dishes.

When Broadsheet visited last week, the team was putting the finishing touches on the grandiose dining room – filled with striking white marble and plush, bold blue banquettes – while the centrepiece wood oven was already filling the space with warmth.

“The opening of Grill Americano exemplifies my determination to rebuild Melbourne’s famed restaurant culture following two years of lockdowns that saw our beloved restaurant industry suffer so much,” Lucas said in a statement.

“Grill Americano speaks of the rich cultural heritage of Melbourne as one of the best food cities in the world.”

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Grill Americano opens at 112 Flinders Lane, Melbourne on Monday March 21. Book online.

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