Media Release
The Lucio’s story continues with the opening of Lucio’s Marina, a seafood trattoria and bar, at Noosa Marina on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Opening in November, the restaurant is a partnership between restaurateur Matteo Galletto, his wife Dieuwke Albertsma and his sister Michela Galletto.
Located at Noosa Marina, and overlooking the Noosa River, Lucio’s Marina will specialise in freshly caught local seafood and the superb produce of the Noosa hinterland and surrounding regions. The venue will feature a 60-70 seat trattoria as well as a 50-seat all-day aperitivo bar.
Italian fine diner Lucio’s in Paddington was a much-loved Sydney restaurant, which closed in January after 40 years. At its helm was restaurateur and consummate host Lucio Galletto; his wife Sally, son Matteo and daughter Michela were all actively involved.
With the Lucio’s closure imminent, Matteo and Dieuwke began their search for a new venue and a new home for their young family, eventually finding the ideal location in Noosa. The absolute waterfront site at Noosa Marina, overlooking the Noosa River, has high bifold doors that open onto a deck running the length of the restaurant.
Matteo says: “Being on the water was very important for us. It just immediately adds an ambience to the experience that is impossible to replicate. Diners can even arrive by ferry.”
The menu will include stuzzichini (snacks) and antipasti, ideal for sharing, handmade pasta including Lucio’s famous tagliolini alla granseola (crab pasta) and fresh, locally caught seafood including Mooloolaba prawns, Hervey Bay scallops and Moreton Bay bugs. The team is delighted to have this produce, which was often served in Paddington, right on the doorstep.
Seafood salumi, made by Dieuwke (who was a chef at Lucio’s for seven years), and an oyster and raw seafood bar will feature. There will be a daily selection of dry-aged whole fish, which will be filleted and served tableside, bringing a popular element of the original Lucio’s to the new location. A trio of steaks will also be on offer.
Matteo says: “Lucio and I had always been drawn to the idea of a great Italian seafood restaurant, a place by the water, where amazing Australian produce was the star of the plate and everything was served and presented with care. We’re also inspired by the seafood restaurant in Bocca di Magra in Liguria, which opened in 1951 and is still run by our extended family, where Lucio started his career.”
Lucio’s presence will not only be felt through the trattoria’s name. He is already playing an important mentoring role at the new venue and may occasionally play host when he’s in the region.
Matteo says: “Lucio has already put together concepts for dishes, bar snacks and panini. He has a wealth of ideas that never would have really worked within the constraints of our old Paddington terrace that we are both very excited to share with our new customers.”
Noosa-based Zest Design is creating the interior at Lucio’s Marina, which will have a Riviera vibe and will pay homage to the art that was a defining feature of Lucio’s in Paddington. Although most of these works were sold at auction after the restaurant closed, the family kept a small selection and several of them, including sketches of fish by Luke Sciberras, native flowers by Salvatore Zofrea and a striking portrait of Lucio by John Beard, will be part of a feature wall in the trattoria. Sciberras, who collaborated with Lucio on two cookbooks, is also designing the menus. The team will also work with local artists and ceramicists to create unique tableware.
Matteo hopes Lucio’s Marina will appeal to both Sunshine Coast locals as well as weekenders from Brisbane and holidaymakers from Melbourne and Sydney who visit the Noosa region. “In Paddington our local clientele sustained us for 40 years, so we know how important they are.”
He stresses that they are not trying to recreate Lucio’s but to reimagine it with a new set of criteria. “It is Lucio’s reborn as a modern seafood trattoria: a great space on the water, a wonderful dining experience, a menu just big enough to offer variety but concise enough for us to give great care to everything we do.”
Lucio’s Marina will open in November.
Lucio’s Marina
Noosa Marina
Tewantin QLD 4565
