To passers-by, it looked like any other night at a restaurant. But inside Grill Americano, Chris Lucas’s elegant new Italian-American steakhouse, anticipation framed every face and inflected every conversation.
It was the inaugural Editors’ Preview Night, a private event that saw the restaurant opened early and exclusively for Broadsheet editors and Broadsheet Access members, days before welcoming the public.
Under the grand chandeliers and seated on deep blue velvet, diners worked through top-grade hunks of Parmigiano-Reggiano drizzled with Piedmontese chestnut-honey; monstrous bisteccas rubbed in olive oil, rosemary, garlic and chilli; grilled scampi atop saffron risotto; numerous handmade pastas; and a sublime tiramisu Lucas waggishly claimed to be “Australia’s best” when he and Broadsheet editorial director Katya Wachtel chatted later, in front of the crowd.
Among other things, an animated Lucas talked about his bloody-minded dedication to building the perfect bar – from handpicking white Italian marble to paying for its vast, graceful curves to be cut (at great expense). The 14-metre stretch, he explained, is the heart of Grill Americano, and the restaurant’s most prominent reference to the iconic New York steakhouses that it so perfectly riffs on.
Editors’ Preview nights are exclusively available to Broadsheet Access members. Broadsheet Access brings you the best experiences in Melbourne, including rare first looks like these. Sign up here from just $6.50 per month.