An iconic Douglas restaurant has celebrated its 60th anniversary in a glamorous party on Monday night.

The town’s biggest names turned out for the night including mayor Julia Leu, Chamber of Commerce head Phoebe Kitto and Member for Cook David Kempton. 

Nautilus Restaurant, nestled in the foliage of Island Hill, was founded in 1954 by Max Bowden, a former agent of Her Majesty’s Secret Service and his wife Dianna. 

It was the only restaurant in town at the time. 

Nautlius was leased by legendary Danish chef Mogens Bay Esbensen in 1986, who revolutionised the restaurant’s - and Australia’s - palates by introducing new forms of Asian cusine. 

The venue has since become an icon of Douglas and counts then-US President and First Lady Bill and Hillary Clinton as customers.

Nautilus was purchased in 1989 by current owner Grahame Wearne along with other members of his family. 

Newsport sat down with Mr Wearne to discuss how Nautilus had changed over the years, including how consumer demand for a restaurant nestled in tropical rainforest has also varied.

Mr Wearne said it wasn’t about trying to please all the people, all the time.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - some people come here and see the place for what it is: beautiful because nature has been our greatest friend; other people come in and because we aren’t all stainless steel and glass they pan us.

“You can’t be all things to all people, you have to find a specific niche and you have to do that niche better than everyone else.

“There’s three things in this restaurant - the food, the service we provide and the ambiance of the place, but the whole is greater than the sum of thos parts.”

Mr Wearne said the influence of Esbensen meant Nautilus had early in developing into a modern Australian restaurant. 

“[Esbensen] was very into Asian cuisine, he had spent his whole career in Asia learning their food, when he came here he fell in love with the place,” Mr Wearne said. 

“He’s known as the Father of Modern Australian Cuisine - he introduced the Asian influences that came in the 90s and is part of the whole scene today. 

“[Nautilus] is a modern Australian restaurant, the food we serve here isn’t Asian, it’s modern Australian - it’s got a little bit of an Thai influence, a little bit of a Italian influence and so on. 

“It’s what people want and it’s what we’ve evolved into - as a country we are very multicultural and that has had a big effect on Australian cusinine.”

Check out the Newsport’s gallery from the glamorous night below: