Chris Lucas to open Hong Kong-inspired restaurant as 13th Melbourne venue
Melbourne restaurateur Chris Lucas is set to expand his empire once again, with a new Hong Kong-inspired dining concept slated to open in the city's CBD later this year. This will be Lucas’ first foray west of Swanston Street.
Wishbone is due to launch in October and will occupy three levels of a newly completed $1 billion office tower at 435 Bourke Street, bringing Cantonese-influenced cuisine to a precinct Lucas believes is on the verge of a major transformation.
"Midtown feels like it's on the cusp of something new, with people like [beauty retailer Mecca's] Jo Horgan helping drive that shift alongside major projects like 435 Bourke Street," Lucas told The Age. "The opportunity to work on something of this scale, something that is transformational for an area, is incredibly exciting."
The venue will be Lucas's 13th Melbourne restaurant, adding a Chinese chapter to a portfolio that already spans Japanese, South-East Asian, French and Italian. Leading the kitchen is Hong Kong-born chef Dan Chan, currently of Windsor's Tombo Den, who has made clear that strict authenticity is not the goal.
"[Wishbone diners] will be eating Cantonese food but also we'll have other elements in there. It's not really traditional Cantonese food," Chan told The Age.
The menu will draw on the energy of Hong Kong's dai pai dong street food stalls, the ritual of yum cha, and the theatre of roasted meats — think glossy char siu and crackling pork. Weekend yum cha service and dim sum at lunch and dinner are confirmed inclusions. More experimental dishes include a mapo tofu riff pairing a mala dressing with stracciatella, and a prawn toast reimagined with youtiao doughnuts and yuzu kosho mayo.
Group brand general manager Celia McCarthy describes the concept as distinctly Melbourne in its outlook. "Like all of Chris's restaurants, it's a take on Hong Kong, on street food, on Cantonese — and a very Melbourne take on all those things."
Designed by DKO Architecture — the firm behind Tombo Den — the 120-seat space draws heavily on mid-century Hong Kong aesthetics, with sweeping archways, a striking red Perspex staircase, and furnishings sourced during a dedicated research trip to Hong Kong. The mood board references Wong Kar-wai's 1960s-set film In the Mood for Love, the buzzy Temple Street Night Market, and the older inner-city neighbourhood of Wan Chai.
One operational challenge will be executing wok cookery in the building's all-electric kitchen, though Chan noted the group's Geelong Chin Chin has already navigated that learning curve.
Lucas is also understood to be developing a second restaurant within the same tower, with reports indicating a Greek concept — a nod to his own heritage — is in the works for later this year.
Jonathan Jackson, 22nd April 2026
