Some things are better together – and Luci’s pairing of Italian-inspired dishes together with Australia’s resplendent produce is undoubtedly one of those instances.

While harbouring a limoncello spritz, inhaling the aroma of expertly prepared Italian dishes emerging from the kitchen and seated in a light-filled heritage setting, you’d be forgiven for temporarily mistaking your backdrop for a grand corner of Rome.

Though Melbourne’s sophisticated new restaurant Luci – housed within the historic Equity Chambers Building on Bourke Street – pays tribute to Roman leader Lucias Lucullus by name (a figure known for his love of lavish banquets and affectionately named ‘Luci’), this venue is proudly and quintessentially Melbourne. With a menu inspired by its city’s history of Italian immigration and its residents’ unwavering devotion to Italian food, Luci’s dishes employ Australian produce to tell its appetising story.

Executive chef Sam Moore ensures high-quality local producers are the star of his Italian-inspired provisions, with a menu spanning breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Bringing the best of (advanced) Australian fare and Italian culinary creations together is Moore’s Yarra Valley mushroom ragu with smoked cheddar polenta and hazelnuts, alongside his Clarence River prawn tagliatelle, and – save room for dessert – a rhubarb bombolone with apple, vanilla, and Meredith goat’s milk gelato. Or, opt for the Wandin Valley blueberry semifreddo with frozen lemon curd and Tahitian vanilla. And would it really be an Italian meal without a digestif for good measure?

As for breakfast, feast on the likes of the chilli-crab benny or brown butter pancakes with caramelised banana topped with smoked chocolate fudge sauce. Or, the muesli, if that’s your inclination. Team it, of course, with coffee from Dukes Coffee Roasters.

The name Luci also translates to ‘light’, which is a term perfectly fitting for this expansive 1930s-built space recently renewed by Hilton Melbourne.

Chic line drawings and warm, terracotta hues, the handiwork of The Eatery’s conceptualists Melissa Gardner and Drew Fellows, speak to the restaurant’s connection to both its locality and its reverenced heartland: Italy. Throughout the restaurant, golden accents hint at the building’s previous life, and refined furnishings allow the structure to reveal its historic (and ornate) splendour.

Opening soon, Luci’s sibling (and neighbouring) bar, The Douglas Club, is set to embody the spirit of a 1930s cocktail lounge for a modern patronage – celebrating the ‘Golden Age’ of travel.

Luci
472 Bourke Street, Melbourne
lucimelbourne.com.au
instagram.com/lucimelbourne