WHERE: 20 Gemmill Lane, tel: 6221-4468, open: noon to 3pm, 5pm to 1am, last order at 11.30pm (Monday to Wednesday), noon to 1am, last order at 11.30pm (Thursday to Saturday), closed on Sunday

REOPENING: At 22 Gemmill Lane in October

When an insurance firm vacated its office space next door to Luke's and the new landlord offered him the space, chef-owner Travis Masiero, 36, could not say no.

It was an opportunity to have a restaurant with more seats and storage space, but more importantly, he was able to get a long lease.

He says: "The reality is that we are not the owners of the building. So to guarantee that the restaurant can be sustainable, we would need a long lease. I had no intention of moving at first, but now is the time to do it. The space is great."

The new, bigger Luke's is set to open in early October, and the current space will be turned into Italian-American restaurant Angeleno.

Although there will be 50 seats compared with the 38 now, chef Masiero wants to keep the intimacy and personality of the restaurant and says it will not look drastically different.

The menu will be slightly expanded and he will offer whole roasted fish and the jumbo lobsters that are on the menu at Luke's at Robinsons The Heeren in Orchard Road.

Prices are expected to remain the same.

He says: "Our goal is for the restaurant to be here for the next 10 years. It's going to be built to last."