Welcome to the Lounge Room at Kingsborough

Posted on 30 June, 2025

It’s a pretty relaxed affair promising the vibe of a lounge room with some elevated food and drink – celebrating all things local.

Co-owned by Maheer Prasad and Lachlan Exton, who is also behind Highroad in Dickson and On Lonsdale in Braddon, Lounge Room will soon be followed by another Kingston venue under his new hospitality venture, Home All Day.

And while all of that might sound stressful, Lachlan promises Lounge Room is chill.

Taking out the sunny corner position once inhabited by the Tumut River Brewing Company and Axis Roasters, it is a natural magnet for apartment dwellers in the Kingsborough development as well as those who want to wander down from the Kingston Foreshore.

And while Lachlan is keen to keep the vibe relaxed, his pizza chef Raphael is amping up his competitive mission to create the city’s best pizza.

He is so obsessed that he has formulated two different doughs, one for the 9-inch pizza served onsite and one for the 13-inch, which is available for delivery. (His science is based on hydration levels and how well the dough travels in a box…)

Toppings, meanwhile, will range between the Diavola – tomato, mozzarella, two kinds of salami, and chili; the Hot Honey – salami, tomato sauce and hot honey, basil, and chili; the Tartufo – truffle cream, mushroom, mozzarella, wild roquette, and gorgonzola; the Mortadella e pistachio – mortadella, pistachio cream, mozzarella, basil; and a stack of others.

With a massive wood-fired brick pizza oven taking over a corner of the space, it makes sense to focus on pizza.

But for those who pop in earlier in the day for a coffee (ONA, of course), there will be some special treats prepared on site by group pastry chef Teddy.

Italian sandwiches, bagels, salads, protein balls, granola bars, financiers, and fruit salad will all be on offer through breakfast and lunch.

Ideally, Lachlan wants residents to feel welcome in the space at any time of night or day. And if it has been a gruelling day, the long bar and wine list may come as a welcome comfort.

Nick O’Leary, Clonakilla and Collector and Canberra Region wines will feature exclusively.

“We want it to feel a welcoming space for all, but we are taking the food and drink offering very seriously. We want to be a place for residents to come and hang out and really love the experience and also for new people to discover,” says Lachlan.

Inside will be bar seating, tables, and, yes, lounges, while a row of sturdy wooden benches and seats outside take advantage of the courtyard sun.

Lachlan said Kingsborough is growing into a cool precinct, and it is going to be fun opening up Lounge Room in the middle of it.

There will be a soft launch next week with locals invited down on Friday night for their official housewarming to taste their new local pizza.

Lounge Room will be open to the public from Saturday.