It's been a remarkable month for two of our region's most loved restaurateurs. July kicked off with Maria Luciani and Keana Lufe winning the 2025 Outstanding Restaurant Award at the Illawarra and South Coast Local Business Awards. On Saturday night they threw open the doors at their latest venture, a smart all-Italian restaurant with a view to die for overlooking Wollongong Harbour.

Lu Mare (pronounced Loo MAH-ray) occupies the space which since 1980 has been home to The Anchorage, one of our city's most iconic dining venues, a part of the historic Boat Harbour Motel.

Lu Mare  co-owners Maria and Keana are best known as the smarts behind K.Malu Kitchen and Bar in Keira Street, which for the past few years has dished up classy European and Australian fine dining "without the fuss". It's quickly become such an institution that no one was much surprised when they took out the region's Best Restaurant Award.

Last year Maria and Keana created quite the stir when, within days of opening, they had people queuing down Kembla Street to feast on the daily delights produced at the now famous Casa Lu. Their sumptuous Italian-style sandwiches made with stone oven baked schiacciata bread quickly became the talk of the town.

Opening night excitement 

And now, this adventurous duo has tongues wagging again, and we were fortunate enough to be amongst the opening night diners with their latest venture Lu Mare ('The Sea' in Italian).

We took an early table booking, early enough to enjoy the last rays of daylight, and our widow seat provided a stunning view across Osborne Park to Belmore Basin harbour, looking its gorgeous best in the fading late afternoon glow.

Maria admitted she'd never eaten at the former Anchorage but couldn't hide her excitement when she had the chance to take charge of her new venue. "It's so beautiful; it's a little gem," she said.

The menu has everything you'd expect at a quality Italian. Classic flavours from both the coast and countryside of Italy, prepared with the refined touch of head chef Keana Lufe.  "We decided to do traditional Italian, without a twist," Maria said. "We just want to make people happy."

Young Italian Chef set to make his mark

While Keanu steered the kitchen through a very busy and very successful opening weekend, Maria is excited with the arrival this week of a young chef from Italy to put his touches to the menu.

Diners are encouraged to share and there are two generous set menus to get your mouth watering, priced at $67 and $80 (minimum of four people). Certainly, that's how our adjoining table went, with lots of approving noises as the dishes were delivered by the attentive staff.

Seasonal, locally sourced ingredients are at the heart of every plate, served with that welcoming Italian spirit.

Our waiter, Sam, admitted being "excited but a little nervous" as the restaurant gradually filled. By 6.30pm, there wasn't a spare seat in the room as the first sitting was in full swing.

"It's my first time hosting a grand opening," Sam said. "Maria has prepared us well. She's done a great job and I'm just so grateful for the opportunity."

An experience to remember

As with all of our experiences at K.Malu, the staff are such caring people, genuinely welcoming and keen to give us an experience to remember.

We chose to share, beginning with the Antipasto Misto ($24) the chef's selection of tasty, cured deli meats and cheese with the best home-made bread I've ever tasted. This was followed by Capesante ($8 each) plump pan-seared scallops, semi-dried tomato, garlic butter and herb crumb. They were complemented beautifully by a glass of Italian chardonnay from Puglia.

For mains, we couldn't resist sharing the quite spectacular Cotoletta alla Milanese ($60) a crumbed and fried flavour-packed 400g veal cutlet, in a tasty, tangy lemon and caper butter sauce. The protein was perfectly matched with a robust red, also from Puglia.

The all Italian wine list is extensive without being overwhelming and there's a bottle to suit every budget.

As we made our way out after a thoroughly enjoyable dining experience, you could sense the excitement in the room, and not just because the majority of diners seemed to be from Wollongong's wonderful Italian community.

Restaurant openings usually present some teething problems but all credit to the team at Lu Mare for a seamless service with a joyous vibe and a food offering that will quickly establish our newest restaurant as one of the city's 'go to' place for a memorable dining experience.

Lu Mare is open Thursday 5pm-late, Friday-Sunday 12pm-2.30pm and 5pm-late.

Jeremy Lasek and his partner attended Lu Mare as normal paying guests.