St Lucia has been the restaurant on everyone's lips since it opened on Newcastle's Honeysuckle Drive in May.
Before it opened, in fact.
Opening weekend tables sold out a couple of weeks prior to the menu being released to the public.
St Lucia is the latest dining venture by Dudley couple Garry and Melissa Risteski, who also own and operate The Swordfish Co at Budgewoi and Warners Bay, and three restaurants on Honeysuckle Drive: The Kingfish, Blanca, and now St Lucia.
The Risteskis want to share dining experiences. Each venue has to be more than just a restaurant.
They had a firm vision in mind when it came to St Lucia: it had to be contemporary Latin American in flavour and it had to be fun, drawing on the vibrancy of eating out in Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Argentina.
"We want to be able to give it the feel of a party, rather than making it feel like anything too specific," Garry told Food & Wine in April.
"We want to push the boundaries of hospitality and dining in Newcastle and give diners a feeling of escapism, and we're crossing our fingers that St Lucia hits that mark with the overall decor, vibe, drinks, food and experience."
St Lucia hits that mark.
From the colours and textures of the fitout to the smoke from the grill, the rhythm of the music and the hum of conversation, there's a real buzz in the air.
Then there's the menu, cooked simply over flame and designed to be shared: everything from yellowfin tuna tostada and oysters with pina picante to tacos, beef cheek barbacoa, whole achiote snapper and melt-in-your-mouth scotch fillet.
You can order from the snacks menu, a la carte, or from one of two set menus: the Fuego ($99) or the Sabor ($69).
The flavours are adventurous but accessible ... layered and delicious, and not too spicy.
The cocktail selection flirts with rum, smoky mezcal, Latin citrus and spices, and there is Latin beer on tap and by the bottle. Wines hail from Chile and Argentina as well as South Australia and the Hunter Valley. There's even sparkling from Champagne, by the glass.
Head chef Jordan Weaver is in his element at St Lucia.
"My cooking style is simple but playful. There's no bicep flex of unnecessary techniques," he said.
"I've got a lot of experience with South American cuisine and I like to cook over fire, so it was a good fit.
"Risteski Group has a culinary director that they use across all their restaurants, Tomislav Martinovic, so he and I worked together for six to eight weeks before the opening date, coming up with ideas and flavour combinations - we tried to play with traditional without bastardising it too much."
The most popular dishes on the menu?
"The lamb skewers and the king prawn tostadas are far and away the favourite, every table orders them," Weaver said.
"When it comes to larger plates, the pork belly always sells well."
Weaver was "born and raised on the south coast of England, a city called Portsmouth" and says he was quite young when he started being creative in the kitchen.
"A lot of my family are chefs but my mum and dad were both appalling cooks," he said, laughing.
"Between the age of 14 and 18 I did lots of different jobs, like roofing or working in supermarkets - anyone who would pay me money, really.
"When I was 19 I was walking past a restaurant and it had a 'need help' sign out the front. The owner was a self-taught chef and he was very patient, and he taught me everything I needed to know.
"I've travelled a lot and worked in kitchens all over the place. What started as me thinking that cooking was a reliable job I could get anywhere to fund my next move, suddenly became my career."
Weaver considers cooking a creative outlet; one that he loves to share with others. He is a fan of Japanese food and enjoys exploring its crossover with Latin cuisine.
He also loves British comfort food ("It's been given a bad rap. There's nothing better than a pie or a toad in the hole on a cold day, is there?").
"It's nice to find something you are good at, when you're in the rhythm and you know what you're doing, and you've got a team around you that knows what they're doing ... the feeling of moving with momentum with other people. I like that," he said.
"We got lucky with the team that we found. We kept finding really strong chefs! Front-of-house too. We'll keep playing around with the menu, keeping it seasonal and adapting it to demand, and mixing up the specials."
On Saturday nights at St Lucia, from 8pm until late, there's a rotating line-up of entertainment including DJs, live percussion, dancers and Latin-inspired performances. You can also celebrate Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) at St Lucia on November 1 (keep an eye out for details, tickets will sell out quickly).
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