Guy Grossi is an old hand when it comes to opening restaurants. The Italian-Australian chef and media personality is the head honcho of a heavyweight hospitality group that operates Melbourne institutions Grossi Florentino, Ombra Salumi Bar and Arlechin, as well as Roman-inspired osteria Garum in Perth. Thursday February 23 marks the official opening of Guy’s seventh venture (and his first Brisbane-based concept) Settimo, a ravishing 150-seater restaurant that sees the hospitality veteran once again returning to the deep well of inspiration that is Italian cuisine. This time he’s drawing influence from the coastal region of Campania on the peninsula’s southwest stretch, known by holidayers all over the world as the home of the Amalfi Coast. Celebrating the grandeur of coastal destinations like Positano, Ravello and Amalfi, Settimo’s stunning Mills Gorman Architects-designed interior hints that a fully formed idea for Settimo may have been rattling inside Guy’s brain for a while. But when we asked the restaurateur where his ideation process for a new concept usually begins, he tells us that it’s all dictated by the space. “It’s about sitting around a table and thinking. Sometimes you just stare at a place and you get it, you know – the venue gives you the story,” Guy informs us. “They all develop their own personality and start to grow. That’s what it’s all about, you know, just letting it grow organically.” That said, when Guy was approached to open a restaurant at The Westin Brisbane (Guy already has a prior relationship with the hotel brand – Garum opened at The Westin Perth in 2018), it didn’t take long to connect Campania’s seafood-heavy cuisine to Queensland’s own coastal cornucopia.

Taking over the space previously home to Eden’s Table, Settimo boasts a texture-heavy materiality that pays homage to the Amalfi coastline, its crystal-blue waters and Mediterranean architecture. Think terrazzo, split face and Fibonacci stone, custom-designed terracotta and ceramic tiles, flax linen, rattan and splashes of blue and lemon yellow, which make for a striking and cohesive setting. The restaurant, which can be accessed directly from Mary Street via an elevator, boasts a flowing layout that moves from the main dining room, kitchen and bar to a more secluded a wine room and an 18-seat private-dining space in a separate wing. “I think the design intent has really come out well, it feels very smart and elegant but still very relaxed,” says Guy. “It has beautiful finishes that are very rustic.” Settimo imbues its considered aesthetic with a personality couched in sprezzatura, the quintessentially Italian notion of considered nonchalance. Within the restaurant, that manifests as a seemingly effortless form of hospitality. “It’s about having a structure and making it seamless,” Guy elaborates. “But it’s meant to feel nonchalant – just a simple way of delivering things.” Guy cites iconic Italian film star Sophia Loren as Settimo’s muse, saying “she’s sophisticated and elegant, but she’s also a little cheeky and has got a bit of attitude”.

Settimo’s menu is produce-driven, using local and imported ingredients to pull off a near-authentic rendition of Amalfi cuisine. Alongside head chef Alessandro Pizzolato (formerly of Hellenika), Guy has crafted a menu that stretches from assaggini and antipasti to house-made pasta dishes, and seafood and protein mains.  “This sort of food is homely, simple and beautiful,” says Guy, “It really relies on awesome produce that’s been looked after really well”. The Settimo team is proud of its produce, celebrating the provenance of everything from the colatura di alici (anchovy extract) from Cetara and the locally made buffalo-milk mozzarella, to the Queensland fish (Spanish mackerel, coral trout and barramundi) and Fremantle octopus. The a la carte menu is flush with appetising options, starting small with the likes of pizza fritte, Mount Zero olives, fiori di zucca, fish crudo and palle del nonno (a mild dried salame flavoured with wine). Of Settimo’s primi plates, early standouts include the pasta al limone, scialatielli all’Amalfitana (an Amalfi specialty that is loaded with seafood) and the cappelletti (ring-shaped pasta stuffed with snapper). Seafood addicts will no doubt be drawn to the impepata di cozze (steamed mussels with pepper) or the grilled calamari with wild greens, while carnivores can sink incisors into Amalfi lemon chicken, slow-cooked lamb or bistecca. Settimo’s dessert menu caps of feasting festivities with house-made gelato, rhum baba with limoncello and heavenly tiramisu. There’s even a breakfast offering that showcases Amalfi-inspired day starters like cacio e pepe omelettes, frittata, tomato and ricotta tarts, and salata di zucca. Settimo’s wine list is overseen by sommelier Deniz Hardman, who is showcasing a savvy mix of old- and new-world wines, with Italian vino (particularly Taurasi wines – a red variety made from the agliancio grape native to Campania) celebrated alongside Australian winemakers dabbling in Italian wine styles. Rounding out the beverage program is a selection of cocktails led by a classic limoncello spritz. All told, Settimo is a big-name addition to Brisbane’s thriving dining landscape. At a time where Brisbane’s national profile is on the rise, that a chef like Guy Grossi is choosing to expand his interests is a testament to our city’s growth. “Brisbane is just a great hospitality city at the moment,” Guy gushes when talking about Brisbane as a food city on the rise. “It’s alive, it’s abuzz, it’s exciting and doing well with lots of great restaurants. It was really attractive for us to be part of the sort of scene – we’re really humbled and happy to join it.”