After a short 18-month stay, Luci head chef Sam Moore has checked out of the Hilton Melbourne Little Queen St. Stepping in to fill the vacancy is well-credentialed chef Jason Lear, who comes from Italian stalwarts Grossi Florentino and Cafe Di Stasio.

Lear must be happy with his room. The dining room, that is. The respectfully restored Equity Chambers Building is one of Melbourne’s grandest halls. Ornate columns come together with black and white marble floors to create a Romanesque room that feels straight out of the forum. Brushed gold lamps cast a soft, warm glow, while velvet banquettes are the perfect shape and size for reclining emperor-style.

Which brings us to the restaurant’s name. Luci pays tribute to Lucius Lucullus, a Roman general and notable gourmand who was known for his love of lavish banquets. Us too, Luci.

Those without a Hilton key card can enter via Bourke St, passing under the historic timber archway and past the ultra-plush Douglas Club. Or if there’s time, slip inside for a sneaky pre-dinner spritz or maple-smoked whisky.

As his first order of business, Lear has spring cleaned the food menu. The new line-up is made up of modern Italian plates with a focus on fresh, seasonal produce. Diners can follow in Lucius’s footsteps with the eight-course banquet menu or for something a little less extravagant you can also order a la carte.

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A complimentary bowl of gnocchi fritto kicks the evening off to a great start. Who needs bread when you can have pasta puffs covered in a snow of truffled parmesan cheese?

The cichetti selection is small but mighty. Of the simple one-bite snacks, we’re smitten by the pumpkin and leek arancini with its molten mozzarella core. Meanwhile, a spring bruschetta swaps out the usual suspects for peas, broad beans and mint, artfully assembled on a chevre-spread toast.

For the ultimate dinner party centrepiece, a moulded asparagus custard adds a little spectacle to the meal. A wobbly pea-green turret is surrounded by a wreath of freshly picked crab meat, snow peas and nasturtium petals, finished with a shave of cured yolk. It’s even better with the salty crunch of gnocchi fritto on the side.

As you can probably gather, this is not the place for carby comforts. There’s only two pastas on the menu, a spirulina tonnarelli with prawns, capers and pangrattato and the tortellini, packed to its pleats with softly-shredded duck.

While bistecca Fiorentina has become a staple of Italian restaurants Down Under, few venues manage to secure the traditional Tuscan-bred chianina chop. Try the rare meat here, with crispy duck fat potatoes and chargrilled broccolini on the side.

From three classic Italian desserts, the most gluttonous is the bombolone. A single serve includes four deep-fried dough balls filled with mandarin conserve and crusted in crushed pistachio pieces. For the ultimate Lucius experience, you can even have them delivered to your suite.

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