One of Melbourne’s great Thai restaurants has been given a second lease on life.

When renowned chef and restaurateur Scott Pickett heard the news that 15-year-old modern Thai institution Longrain would be closing its doors for good, he immediately reached out to the current owners to discuss the possibility of a takeover.

“I have always loved Longrain, it’s a wonderful brand and venue, and I wanted to see it live on,” he said.

In early July, Pickett took over the reins of the former horse stables and has spent the last three months bringing it up to speed.

A few changes have been made to the venue, but nothing crazy, he insists. “We’ve just shimmied things up a bit.”

The interiors have been given a light cosmetic lift, including new feature pendant lights in the hallway and above the tables, and a fresh lick of paint in the original colour scheme of palm leaf green. Using the Japanese technique of shou sugi ban, the beautiful oak front door has been charred and rubbed back, with new brass plates installed at the entrance.

Pickett has also been working with the kitchen, in particular head chef Arté Assavakavinvong, on a new menu. “They are the experts really. I want the kitchen team to have complete freedom to try new things, and I’ll just be there to help tweak and refine things, as needed,” Pickett said.

The new menu will feature two banquets, one ‘old’ and one ‘new’. The signature banquet will be a line-up of Longrain’s greatest hits, from the lacy egg net stuffed with prawns and pomelo to the betel leaves with seared scallops, lamb Panang curry and duck egg custard, with only a few slight changes made, mainly to the plating and presentation, says Pickett. The second offering will be the royale banquet, made up entirely of new dishes. The soon-to-be modern classics include a stir-fry dry red curry of kangaroo, Moreton Bay bug cake wrapped in crispy beancurd, and a spanner crab lon with lemongrass, sea blite and fried bun.

The restaurant is ready to reopen, with the only hold up being the current lockdown restrictions. “The biggest challenge for us has been not being able to operate. The staff are all chomping at the bit to give Longrain 2.0 a go,” Pickett said. “We are not covered by JobKeeper so there’s been a huge financial investment and we’re trying to find as much work as we can for our staff through our other venues, pop-ups and collabs so we can keep everyone employed and motivated.”

Longrain 2.0 is slated to reopen in the coming weeks, exact date to be announced.