La Luna - CARLTON NORTH

An excellent little restaurant tucked away in leafy Rathdowne street Carlton. We arrived and were instantly seated at our table and went through the usual ritual of ordering sparkling or still water. The wine selection was impressive and of course so too was the menu. A good selection of starters, mains across several platforms and of course a good selection of steaks. We ordered garlic prawns for starters which I must say were delicious. They came with a generous serving of bread which was very practical to soak up all the delicious juices in he serving pan. We ordered a number of mains consisting of a pappardelle with a spicy chilli beef ragu, potato gnocchi with mushrooms, cream and hazelnuts, 2 orders of Filet Mignon (220gm) and I got the 550gm Rib Eye. We also ordered sides consisting of house fries, sautéed spinach with garlic and a little chilli and crushed potatoes with garlic and lemon. Mains all were delivered at once and given the place was full with diners it didn't take too long for the food to be served. One meal was wrong and was quickly returned to the kitchen with a replacement delivered quite quickly... these things happen. Anyway, all diners reported their meal was delicious. My rib eye was excellent, juicy, tender and perfectly cooked slightly under medium. All portions were generous. We were too full for desert but one member of our party managed to fit in a chocolate pudding and by the look of content on her face I'd wager it was very nice indeed. The service was good and the ambiance was nice however the room was a little on the toasty side in terms of temperature. In all a brilliant restaurant and one I would gladly recommend. Extra point awarded for deducting one of the Filet Mignon off the bill due to the error.

Make that resey we went in and were seats were too full for the night tasty wines good shrimp like the steak I really liked the salad dark environment males for a great date night

Had a family dinner here recently, cant really fault the restaurant at all, whilst not a large menu it had variety, fantastic drinks menu, staff were exceptional and pretty reasonably priced. The slightest criticism could be directed at the chairs, they weren't very comfortable

Love, love, love this place! But be warned, if you aren't a meat eater, this place is unlikely to be your cup of tea! On my most recent visit I was in a party of four and we had the Chef's Choice menu. Being pregnant there were some minor changes made to some of the share dishes to accommodate me and I also received a couple of little dishes of my own. Recent stand outs for me were the garlic prawns (best I have ever had), the terrine and house made pickles and of course the steak (I had my own little section which was cooked for slightly longer to ensure it was pregnancy approved). Deserts were AMAZING and just enough sweetness to finish off the night. Staff are fantastic.Friendly, eager to help and know all the ins and outs of the dishes.

La Luna has been around for yonks and I mean YONKS. We 're talking over a decade here people, so they must be doing something right, yeah? Yes they are. Chef Adrian Richardson, connoisseur of meat and regular on Ready, Steady, Cook (my secret shame) is the owner of La Luna and has been keeping it popular all these years. In fact, it was his regular appearances on my guilty pleasure that first made me want to check out this Rathdowne street restaurant. The food is what one would call Modern Meditteranean lots of in house cured meats, crackling roast pork and their famous steaks which are dry aged for 8 weeks, grass fed beef the absolute cream of the crop in steak. If you 're a vegetarian, I suggest you head elsewhere because the menu is very 'meat heavy '. But if you 're like me and appreciate a good steak and plenty of protein oh and good service, a gorgeous wine list and a romantic and intimate venue then La Luna is for you.