Grill Americano makes dressing for dinner great again. Plush royal blue velvet chairs, white-jacketed waiters, mood lighting and Martinis…there’s a good chance Dickie Greenleaf might walk in at any moment. A full-throated homage to the great dining rooms of New York and Paris, it leads with a triumphant parade of wood-grilled steaks, yet there’s accessible joy in the Italian classics done oh-so-right: beef carpaccio with a squiggle of tuna mayo; impeccable king prawns in a rich, tomato-driven bisque; rugged tubes of rigatoni in a sauce like the love child of carbonara and cacio e pepe. Order the puffy focaccia with green-olive butter as your perfect wingman and prepare to dive into a wine list going steady with Barolo, Barbaresco and the full quiver of Italian excellence. Restaurants that set the dial to unadulterated indulgence are Chris Lucas’s great gift to Melbourne, and Grill Americano is the ace in his pack.
