“First and foremost,” says Chris Lucas, “Grill Americano is an Italian restaurant.”
The restaurateur behind Lucas Collective (Chin Chin, Maison Bâtard, Kisumé, Society and more) makes the distinction to quell concerns about how the new Sydney outpost of his glitzy, Venetian-inspired venue will fit into its CBD locale, with noted steak restaurants from key operators around almost every corner.
From Wednesday 19 November, the historic No. 1 Chifley Square building will be home to Grill Americano Sydney — a blue velvet-fringed restaurant made to mimic the Melbourne original, which opened in 2022, with added Harbour City style. At 130 seats across its two-zone dining room, Sydney is the larger sibling with a 30-metre-long marble bar, four Josper grills (versus Melbourne’s one) and two tucked-away private dining rooms for up to 18 — a luxury the original restaurant’s site didn’t allow for.
“I love heritage buildings because they impart an individual character,” Lucas says of why he was drawn to the space, and considered Grill Americano a fitting tenant. “This is a very unique space in the restaurant world; you rarely get a building of this style, which basically owns a whole corner.”
Creative director of the Lucas Collective, Sarah Lucas (Chris’s wife), and collaborator Samantha Eades have brought the stylistic core of Grill Americano to Sydney, with the signature royal blue textiles, softly pleated cafe curtains, studded details and halo pendants throughout the grand space. While the effect is visually impressive — sparkling and spacious — Lucas says it’s important that diners know Grill Americano isn’t exclusive.
“My restaurants look so beautiful, people can assume they’re a bit formal — so we go completely the other way. It’s about a very simple, down-to-earth, hospitable attitude, like a sophisticated trattoria.”
Largely echoing the original Grill Americano offering, the Sydney restaurant’s menu makes use of the more generous kitchen space, which spreads out through its unique, narrow footprint from the wood-fired oven at its core.
“We put the wood oven in the centre of the restaurant, because I wanted to speak of cooking Italian food, in a traditional Italian way,” explains Lucas. “We keep the food very simple. It’s olive oil, lemon, citrus and chilli.”
In a move that surprised the owner himself, executive chef Vincenzo Ursini, Simone Giorgianni (who has overseen Grill Americano’s pasta program since launch) and head pastry chef Michaela Kang have all made the move to Sydney, permanently. Ursini (Ristorante Reale, Le Calandre, Mugaritz), who has been with the brand since 2024, has focused on sharing Grill Americano’s culinary DNA and favourite dishes (including a wood oven-grilled scampi on saffron pilaf, and Italian-style steak preparations) with a few additions for the Sydney market, including prawn panzerotti, and buffalo ricotta and lemon ravioli. One end of the 30-metre-long bar features a chilled display for oysters sourced from around Australia, as well as market fish for a daily crudo, and chilled crustaceans.
15 steak selections (as well as a bar-only steak sandwich) cover key cuts, individual serves and larger formats, and top producers (including Chauvel and Kidman) and Sydney’s snack obsession is served by an assortment of cicchetti and small plates including lobster croquettes, stuffed and fried Sicilian olives; and baccala crema-filled cannoli with caviar.
Grill Americano is, perhaps, most recognised for its signature tiramisù Americano. “Michaela is my secret weapon,” Lucas says of Kang. “She created our famous tiramisù.” In addition to the luxury of space, Grill Americano Sydney adds a morning espresso bar to its offering, in addition to lunch and dinner served seven days. “As one of the conditions of our lease, we have to open for breakfast,” Lucas says. “So we’re doing a Milanese-style breakfast. People can come in for a little cappuccino at the bar, Michaela and her team are making beautiful Italian pastries and focaccias… just simple things.”
The wine program is on display along a sizable, glowing wine wall in the centre of the venue. “Our wine list is in three parts,” says Lucas of the range. “There’s our amazing, top-end wines, but that’s not for everyone… So we’ve also created a short list of picks starting at $70. Then, there’s a list of about 50 wines by the glass, all from Coravin so you can have a glass of something really good.” Cocktails stick to Italian classics, including an homage to Venetian icon Harry’s Bar.
Lucas Collective has restored the hand-beaten copper facade and awning of the site, which was designed by Sydney architect Felix Tavener and completed in 1957, and in poor condition after being vacant for around 15 years. “I’ve never seen so much damage,” Lucas says of the work. “You’ve got to be a little bit crazy to do heritage spaces.”
Grill Americano Sydney opens on Wednesday 19 November, joining Lucas Collective restaurant Chin Chin (which opened in Surry Hills in 2017) in the group’s New South Wales portfolio. Bookings are available online.
Georgia Condon
Acting News Editor
Sign up for our newsletter
Sign up to receive the Gourmet Traveller newsletter and offers we choose to share with you straight to your inbox
By joining, you agree to our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use
About your privacy Are Media Pty Limited collects your personal information through this site to process registrations, send out newsletters, communicate offers, discounts, competitions, or surveys, and to provide you with targeted advertising based on your online activities. Our Privacy Policy contains information on how you can access or correct your personal information, which entities we may disclose your personal information to (including overseas recipients), how to opt out of targeted advertising, and how to lodge a complaint.
Dining and Cooking