Chris Lucas's new Melbourne restaurant Grill Americano brings an Italian twist to the US steakhouse

Melbourne's suits just hit the jackpot with Grill Americano, Chris Lucas' new high-gloss Flinders Lane restaurant, which opens on Monday. The Italian-accented steakhouse with royal blue, marble and chrome finishes is the ideal spot for deal-making dinners and long lunches, now that those are back on the cards.

For his eighth venue, Lucas has looked back at great Melbourne restaurants such as Marchetti's Latin and Grossi Grill, marrying them with the American steakhouse as well as Venetian design flourishes.

"We had quite a rich history [in Melbourne] of these sort of Euro or Italian bistros or steakhouses. I just decided to take another step beyond that," he says.

Leading the kitchen is Douglas Keyte, who is putting five years of charcoal cooking at Gold Coast's Hellenika to use on a menu driven by a Josper grill and wood-fired oven.

Steak choices run to nine, including an Angus beef chateaubriand cooked in pizzaiola, an oregano-heavy tomato sauce, in the wood-fired oven. The dish is one of several Lucas childhood favourites reimagined for the restaurant. A premium take on the Aussie mixed grill is another, featuring rib-eye, Tuscan sausage, eye fillet and more.

Italian traditions and a smattering of American ones are also folded into the package, with veal saltimbocca, 10 different cicchetti (Venetian snacks) and side dishes such mac and cheese and onion rings all on offer.

The Florentine signature of bistecca is cut to 4cm thick and brushed with olive oil and rosemary, while other grilled dishes include swordfish steak on the bone, Rome's lamb scottadito and even a cauliflower steak, a smart play in Melbourne.

Wagyu comes from Gina Rinehart's 2GR herd, Angus beef is Riverine and veal is from White Rocks in Western Australia. Buffalo mozzarella arrives from Sydney's La Stella each day, the olive oil is from Chianti, while Melbourne's own That's Amore supplies stracciatella and other fresh cheeses.

Cocktails include a vermouth-enhanced Bellini, a smoked negroni and the restaurant's namesake, the Campari and vermouth-fuelled Americano. The wine list includes premium reds like Barolo by the bottle or Coravin, and 2000 other choices from Italy, Australia and beyond.

A 20-seat white marble bar commands the room, designed for Grill Americano's all-day dining ambitions. Dark timber dining tables, blue leather upholstered chairs, and scalloped blue banquettes dot the 120-seat dining room, with terrazzo underfoot, marble walls, and starched white cafe curtains also present.

"This is supposed to be a very warm, familiar, rustic restaurant," says Lucas.

Open lunch Thu-Fri noon-2.30pm; dinner Tue-Sat 4pm-late.

112 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, (03) 8616 8010, grillamericano.com