It’s not Sydney or Melbourne, so which city are the big restaurant names flocking to open in?

Chris Lucas, the restaurateur down Chin Chin successful Sydney and Melbourne, volition articulation the Canberra nutrient enactment erstwhile helium adds Carlotta to his edifice unchangeable successful spring. The large question is, wherefore person immoderate of Australia’s large nutrient names chosen present to march connected the nation’s capital?

Earlier this month, Matt Moran swung unfastened the doors astatine Italian steakhouse Compa, portion Manny Spinola, the seasoned Sydney restaurateur down Lola’s Italian successful Bondi and the stalwart Tea Room astatine QVB, is already feeding bare Canberrans astatine The Marion, connected the borderline of Lake Burley Griffin.

Chris Lucas is opening a caller edifice successful Canberra, his archetypal foray into the nation’s capital.Eamon Gallagher

Lucas, who volition unfastened the 150-seat Carlotta “in the bosom of Canberra” astatine Scotts Crossing, says he’s agelong toyed with the ACT market, and came adjacent to doing an earlier deal, which was derailed by the pandemic.

The metropolis has competitory advantages that person budding operators licking their lips. Lucas points to its younger demographics, “the highest disposable income successful Australia” and a little saturation of restaurants to colonisation compared with Sydney oregon Melbourne.

Such and Such edifice successful Canberra.Rohan Thomson

“It’s a metropolis that takes nutrient seriously, it has a large nutrient culture,” Lucas says. There are large producers astatine its doorstep that Lucas intends to tap. And Canberra has already enactment itself connected the nutrient representation without immoderate extracurricular help, with Such and Such edifice pipping much fancied Sydney rivals to beryllium named SMH Good Food Guide’s 2024 New Restaurant of the Year.

“It felt similar the stars were aligning for Canberra,” Lucas says. He skipped the evident way of opening 1 of his existing brands, but hasn’t ruled retired a aboriginal play: “I’d emotion to person a Chin Chin here, but astatine the moment, each our vigor is focused connected Carlotta.”

An outer render of Carlotta, which Chin Chin proprietor Chris Lucas volition unfastened successful Canberra.

“I wanted to bash thing conscionable for Canberra. It is its ain metropolis with its ain culture,” helium adds.

Carlotta volition instrumentality successful a wide expanse of the Mediterranean, and portion the sanction hints astatine an Italian skew “there’ll beryllium a spot of Spain, a spot of Greece, a customized wood oven is being built successful Italy, the eating country volition instrumentality plan cues from mid-20th-century Italian.”

Lucas says the clincher for the woody was the engagement of QIC, the concern institution helium antecedently collaborated with connected the 80 Collins Street precinct successful Melbourne, wherever Lucas opened the high-end Society restaurant, Lillian Brasserie, and “high-octane” Yakimono successful 2021.

“We person a shared imaginativeness connected however nutrient – with world-class restaurants and bars – tin alteration a precinct,” Lucas says.