Luna Caprese ~ 14 North Parade, Tel. 554812

Reviewed
23 Dec 2003

We returned to Luna Caprese for a second visit in early December for a friend's birthday, and impressions of the restaurant remained as good as the first time we visited a year and a half ago. The food is of an excellent standard, and the staff are very friendly and knowledgeable about the menu on offer, which is extensive.

There were six of us in the party and we were shown to a table in the middle room of the ground floor, the first room being the entrance with the bar and the third the back room with rather more tables. Given that we were between the two other rooms there was not too much feeling of a thoroughfare which could have been the case.

Whilst making our choices from the menu we were given a selection of bread rolls and grissini, a welcome selection to keep a hungry party going. It turned out we didn't need to stock up on these as portions at the Luna Caprese are very generous. For a starter I chose the Italian antipasti, a section of cold ham, prawns, olives, sardines, and mozzarella, all of which was very tasty. All other starters received good feedback. Two of the party decided to include a pasta course in between the starters and mains, and both opted for the special of cannelloni with crab meat. We all had a try and were suitably impressed. The pasta dish is definitely a meal in itself, and would fill even the hungriest of diners. Nevertheless we all ploughed on to our mains, including the two who had consumed the cannelloni in full, and were greeted once again by fabulous choices. I opted for the tuna, and despite being a little dry it was delicious. Two opted for steaks and they arrived beautifully cooked.

Given the choice we would probably have been too full for the pudding option, but one of the group had arranged a cake for the birthday boy which arrived in the form of a large tiramisu, complete with candles. A rendition of Happy Birthday followed, in both English and then Italian, and sung by both diners and staff alike. We were then all served a portion of said tiramisu, and despite being full beyond belief at this point we dutifully forced it down - needless to say, it was delicious. The whole escapade must have made a good impression on the other diners, because they piped up that it was also the birthday of one of their party, and were duly subjected to the same treatment. I hope the couple sitting in between the two groups were not expecting a quiet, cosy night out, but as they too willingly joined in the singing on both occasions it would appear that they were enjoying it as much as the rest of us.

We ended the meal with coffees and petit fours, which looked too tempting not to at least try them. A word of warning - you will not need to eat for a week after a visit here.

All in all I would thoroughly recommend this restaurant, and you will not be disappointed with either the food or the service. The bill was quite pricey, coming in at just under £300 for six, including service and wine, but for a special occasion I would argue that it is worth it.

Nicki Sneath. .