Chris Lucas bets big on Sydney as Grill Americano opens to a frenzy of bookings
Melbourne hospitality heavyweight Chris Lucas has officially planted another flag in Sydney, throwing open the doors to Grill Americano in the CBD – and the city has responded with a 4,000-strong avalanche of bookings before service even began. For a man who already has Chin Chin humming at the opposite end of town, the move signals something bigger: Lucas is betting big on Sydney, and he’s calling it as he sees it. “I think Sydney is probably, at the moment, the hottest marketplace in Australia,” he told the Daily Telegraph. “It’s really surpassing Melbourne.”
The Sydney outpost mirrors the original Melbourne dining room but somehow amplifies it. Crisp-coated waitstaff move with the confidence of a venue that’s been operating for years, not minutes. The signature blue leather booths are even more striking set against the vast ribbon of glass lining the room, pulling in natural light like a spotlight on Lucas’ arrival.
Of the menu, the mozzarella is flown in fresh from Naples every Tuesday. The apple pie is a recipe gifted to Lucas by an elderly Italian restaurateur whose aromatics, he says, make it unforgettable.
Soft-launch services have gone smoothly, and Friday and Saturday nights are booked out for more than a month. Lucas sees the momentum as validation for deciding three years ago to take the concept north.
The one Sydney trait he isn’t keen to inherit, however, is its reputation for turning in early. Post-lockout and post-lockdown, the CBD still quiets quickly after dark. But Lucas has plans for that. In Melbourne, Grill Americano will happily serve a steak at 10pm, and he wants the Sydney restaurant to follow suit. Nocturnal diners can also expect the Maison Batard cult cheeseburger – “we’re doing the same burger at the counter so you can come in, have a quick burger with chips and it’s $25,” he told The Daily Telegraph.
That burger is the entry-level option beside dishes like the impressive 1.2-kilogram Bistecca Alla Fiorentina, which glistens with olive oil, rosemary and garlic after a meticulous process of marinating and dry-ageing. It’s a bold signature in a neighbourhood already thick with steak competition: Rockpool, Alfies, Chophouse and Bistecca are all within striking distance. Lucas doesn’t mind. “I don’t think so,” he said when asked whether Sydney is reaching steak saturation. “I think people do generally like this kind of food. I think steakhouses can be a bit over-masculine, a bit bulky… So here we have steak, but we are also Italian, which is a bit more feminine.”
Lucas plans to base himself in Sydney through Christmas, greeting regulars and watching the venue bed in. He’d even relocate permanently if not for his wife. Yet his ambition doesn’t stop at Grill Americano. The early momentum has him eyeing a Sydney interpretation of Maison Batard – the sprawling, multi-level Melbourne venture with a supper club, terrace and main dining room.
Jonathan Jackson, 15th December 2025
