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GASTRO WORDS Conor Stevens PHOTOS Killian Broderi
ck PALE MOONLIGHT Luna Even as I bear down on the state of early middle age (a kind of semi-fermented overripeness that precedes withering) I still like to pride myself on the keenness of my recall. Regardless of what others might regard as persuasive evidence, I retain the ability to convince myself of the faithfulness of my account. Quite why there was no food whatsoever served at the grand opening of Luna back in 2015 continues to confound me though. Worse still, neither do I seem to remember the presence of any other guests. My pre-frontal cortex insists that owner John Farrell was there, as was lefthand man Leo Molloy and original head chef Karl Whelan. But as for the flotsam of food writers, boulevardiers, even the free booze crews, I can’t remember one. Perhaps we got the date wrong, or maybe it was the gas lines in the kitchen, but we had a swell time regardless. We drank some stiff drinks at the bar and just marvelled at the room. The fit, the finish, the feel of it. Designed by ODOS architects and lavishly appointed, it was hands down the most handsome dining room in all of Dublin. The super-luxe, maximalist Italian food wasn’t half bad either. It would go on to win ‘Best Restaurant in Ireland’ at the Irish Restaurant Awards in 2016 (for what it’s worth) and when Whelan left in 2019 to have all kinds of fun at Hang Dai he was replaced by Vish Sumputh. Revisiting my review (for this magazine) penned shortly after made me weak at the knees all over again. The show-stopping Watercress Risotto made on Acquerello rice. The Filetto Rossini finished tableside with a flurry of grated foie gras butter. I signed off with a reference to the (surely imminent) Michelin inspectors. And then, when the 36