Luc Lac to open at Queens Wharf on October 23

The team behind some of Brisbane’s most recognisable restaurants will this week open their latest venue in the city’s hottest location.

The interior design of Luc Lac at Queens Wharf

The next restaurant to start trading at Star Brisbane’s Terrace Dining level will throw its doors open this week.

Ghanem Group, hospitality powerhouses behind Brisbane institutions like Byblos (reopening soon), Donna Chang and Blackbird, will open the tropical inspired Lúc Lắc on Wednesday.

The venue will draw its greatest culinary inspirations from a research trip through South East Asia, with Vietnamese and Thai flavours to dominate, including one dish inspired by the restaurant’s namesake Bo Lúc Lắc, or Shaking Beef

Ghanem Group executive chef Jake Nicolson and Lúc Lắc head chef Dann Rowell have spent months perfecting the menu, and are eager to have Brisbanites at their tables.

Whole Crispy Fish with Tamarind Sauce at Luc Lac

“Guests can explore a delicious pairing of local produce and Asian flavours … we’ve incorporated tropical Queensland fruits such as pink pomelo, green mango, green papaya, jackfruit and dragon fruit; splashes of house-made nahm jim and nuoc cham dressings; scatterings of locally produced Thai basil, perilla, Vietnamese mint, and coriander; and sprinklings of roasted peanuts, toasted rice, and fried shallot,” Nicolson said.

If that doesn’t get your mouth watering, then perhaps the promise of a Viet-misu, a spin on a classic tiramisu, championing the rich aromatic flavours of whipped Vietnamese coffee, mascarpone, dulce de leche, sponge and Vietnamese chocolate, will.

Rowell has crafted a stirred and shaken portion of the menu that includes wok-tossed dishes like the Bo Lúc Lắc-inspired Kampot Peppered Beef with Cherry Tomato and Capsicum.

Rowell has worked in some of Australia's finest luxury lodges, including Longitude 131 at Uluru and most recently at Spicers Balfour in inner Brisbane.

“Red, crispy, whole roast ducks hang in a traditional display with the rich meat featuring in dishes such as our signature Roasted Red Duck Curry with Lychee and Beansprouts, and several dishes showcase baby goat from Meredith Dairy in Victoria, which is renowned for its goat cheese and has recently started selling the beautiful meat,” Rowell explains.

Crispy Snail Spring Rolls at Luc Lac

“In addition, we’re using native tamarind in a Thai-style three-taste sauce to accompany our showstopping Whole Crispy Speckled Blue Grouper, and we’re sourcing hand-caught periwinkles from Port Fairy and the youngest commercial diver in Australia, which feature as Periwinkle Escargot with Ginger and Garlic.”

Brisbane hospitality-venue favourite Space Cubed Design was responsible for the interior, drawing on the vision of a Ghanem family member, also in the interior design industry.

Sophia Klemenz Ghanem crafted a vision that featured Asian materials like rattan and warm timbers, alongside sacred Vietnamese iconography.

Jill Chilton, Associate Interior Designer of Space Cubed Design, described the space as a maximalist fusion of eras, which is evident from the moment guests step through the doors.

“Layers of both contemporary and traditional elements mingle with contrasting patterns, and bold styling, combined to create a lavish, sub-tropical-inspired interior,” Chilton said.

“Much like the five flavour elements of sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami when mixed in the right proportions, somehow, they just work.”