St. Lucia is the new Latin American restaurant at Honeysuckle, the waterfront area of Newcastle. Opened in May 2026 by Garry and Melissa Risteski of Blanca and The Kingfish it features Latin American cuisine and drinks in a stunning setting. Come along and see what it is like!
It's a Friday lunchtime when Mr NQN and I arrive at St. Lucia (pronounced SAHN-tah Loo-SEE-ah). Newcastle is a halfway stop between Sydney and our stay on the Mid North Coast so it fits in nicely with our drive home. St. Lucia is located right next to their sister restaurant Blanca and is a minute's walk from their other restaurant The Kingfish.
The decor is stunning with yards of striped overhead fabric resembling waves and striking yellow and white chairs and an open kitchen. St. Lucia's Head Chef is Jordan Weaver who works with culinary director Tomislav Martinovic.
We start with drinks. Pisco is a Latin American drink that has been claimed by both Peru and Chile. Here they make it into Pisco pops with lychee, apple and mint in a little thin-skinned pop that melts in your mouth in one delicious mouthful.
You can also go the more traditional route with the Santa Lucia Pisco sour made with tropical passion fruit and citrus for a sweet and refreshing drink. Mr. NQN goes for the Mexican chilli ale which has a nice but subtle finish of heat right at the end.
The food menu has everything from small plates, crudos, tacos, medium plates and the grill. We focus mainly on the small plates because we love fresh flavours and share a meaty main.
Take the king salmon tostada made with king salmon, aguacate (aka avocado) chilli oil, jalapeños and carrot alino (finely chopped Andalusian marinated carrots). The only mistake is that we got one to share because I would happily devour this to myself so my biggest tip is order at least one per person!
The king prawn tostada is paired with chilli crema, cucumber, salsa macha (like a chilli oil) and lime and has a beautiful balance of fresh from the finger limes and cucumber and richness from the prawn and salsa macha.
The Hiramasa Kingfish ceviche is such a clever treatment of a fish that is usually done in a very similar way across many restaurants. This one is paired with pepino melon, jalapeño dulce (candied jalapenos), coconut cream and tiger milk (citrus marinade) and hearts of palm finished off with crispy kale on top. This is a definite must order and Mr NQN especially loves the sweet accent from the melon and jalapeno dulce.
The Hokkaido scallops are paired with aguachile Amarillo (chilli water with yellow chillies), thin slices of tomatillo, ancho chilli oil and maiz or corn. The standout is this texture of the silky raw scallops. It is fresh and crunchy with a hint of gentle sweetness from the corn.
A very tasty starter is the sweetcorn elote ribs with chipotle sauce, smoked paprika and cotija cheese on a bed of chilli crema. The corn is succulent and grilled perfectly so that it is charred but still juicy. This could also be a good side dish for the mains.
It's a hard choice with the mains as we watch the whole snapper and pork belly go past but we go with their recommendation of the Barbacoa paired with root puree. No beef cut falls apart quite like beef cheek and it is so luscious and soft with a gorgeous caramelised top. I do recommend ordering this with the St. Lucia Arroz Rojo, latin spiced rice ($14) to help soak up all those delicious juices.
And for good measure the cassava chips are a really nice riff on potato chips. These are denser but sprinkled with a delicious smoked paprika seasoning with a pot of ancho chile crema on the side.
Whilst every plate was polished off, we only really have room for one dessert and we go with their recommendation of the Tres Leches cake. This one is made with creme anglaise, whipped chantilly cream and diced apples for a refreshing component. The cake is soft but not overly wet and Mr NQN polishes off the plate.
So tell me Dear Reader, do you like Latin American food like this? What dishes would be your pick?
NQN and Mr NQN were guests of St. Lucia but all opinions remain her own.
St. Lucia
1/11 Honeysuckle Dr, Newcastle NSW 2300
Open Wednesday-Sunday: 12pm until Late
Phone: 02 4070 9997
https://stluciadining.com.au/
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