Light was the first ingredient.

Lucente opened on JP Road with a simple idea: build a room the light wants to be in. The rooftop was given a glass ceiling so the old tree above could stay, and its leaves now shift across the tables through the afternoon.

Below, the dining room takes the opposite mood — brass sconces, plaster walls, marble tables trimmed in gold and deep olive banquettes for evenings that run long.

The kitchen is unfussy and generous: a wood oven at its centre, small plates meant for the middle of the table, and a bar that keeps pouring until 1:30 am.