When three-hatted chef Martin Benn announced that his lauded Sydney fine-diner Sepia was closing more than three years ago, heightened levels of anticipation surrounded his next move.

Combining with Melbourne restaurateur, Chris Lucas, Martin Benn and Vicki Wild kept their cards close, only revealing that an upcoming venue would be housed at 80 Collins street in Melbourne’s CBD.

Today, the trio announced the launch of Society – a 300-seat landmark establishment of dining and drinking due to open in late March 2021.

“This year we have been challenged like never before, but we have proven our resilience and in 2021 we will celebrate our achievements,” says Lucas. “Society is a restaurant for Melbourne and Australia, it will signal a rebirth of our great city and I hope it will be a restaurant that places us comfortably on a global stage.”Three venues will complete the offering at 80 Collins Street, with the centrepiece, the Society dining room – to also offer customised private dining – alongside the Lillian Terrace and a luxurious lounge bar.

The fit-out, by leading Melbourne design firm Russell & George will see the lounge bar connect the two restaurants, acting as a perfect hideaway for a Martini and a pre-dinner taste of what’s to come. Elsewhere, the main Society dining room sees lofty ceilings for a grand, yet intimate experience and the Lillian Terrace enjoys a leafy, open-air terrace experience for indoor-outdoor dining.

Martin Benn’s avant-garde cooking style will continue to evolve on the plate however the menus in all three environments will be entirely unique to each setting and will be a la carte throughout.

Societyrestaurant.com.au