Just off the beaten track, near Grand Anse Beach, you will find Laluna Hotel. This boutique accommodation offers sixteen cottages by the sea. As the name suggests the hotel has an Italian theme and a restaurant to match.
After a short taxi ride from our hotel, we found ourselves at the Laluna Restaurant, in a quiet and secluded area of Grenada. Although the food here is certainly on the cusp of the fine dining category, the atmosphere is very laid back and unpretentious.
We were very flattered to receive a pre-starter plate of treats, compliments of the chef. This was an absolutely delightful assortment of classic Italian miniatures: tiny pizzas and calzones, olives, sun dried tomatoes, porcini mushrooms and mouthfuls of crumbly parmesan. It was immediately obvious that all these ingredients had been shipped directly from Italy… as I’ve shopped in Grenada’s supermarkets and there is definitely wasn’t fresh parmesan of this calibre for sale.
The chef came over and told us about the specials (Mahi-Mahi fish and Tuna Carpaccio) and noticing my bemused expression kindly recommended a superior white wine to compliment our meal. The Donna Giovanna 2010 from Tenuta Tuzzolini was a very individual and palatable light white with a slight sweetness and lovely apricot undertones.
To start I chose the Antipasto Italiano and my guest ordered Bresaola Condita. Both were very fresh and simply prepared and presented. Again I particularly noticed the delicious cheese and how well it contrasted with the peppery salami.
Meat, fish or pasta categories are available for later courses. With the hot weather and humidity, we avoided heavy meat dishes in favour of lighter choices from the pasta menu. The homemade ravioli (with daily changing fillings) was sublime, light and perfectly assembled, it was my ideal main course. The filling was Callaloo (a Caribbean spinach like vegetable) and parmesan (my favourite), lightly dressed in a buttery basil sauce. My guest opted for Sea Crab Linguini; deep sea crab meat sautéed with olive oil, sweet peppers and tomato sauce. The spectacular presentation of this dish is inspired, a huge mount of linguini with a giant crap claw for the diner to crack open themselves. It was delicious but required a big appetite to clean the plate as the portion was very generous.
Desserts were the only slight disappointment. My Tiramisu, for which I had great expectations, was a little bland and lacked the chocolatey coffee flavour I hoped for. I must mention though – the quirky knife and fork shaped cocoa powder pattern which was very cool. The profiteroles were pretty standard, nice fluffy choux pastry filled with vanilla ice-cream and topped with dark chocolate sauce.
I can’t imagine anywhere in Grenada beating Laluna for Italian style, flavour and authenticity. We loved our meal there, and by the sounds of it, I think I’d love the accommodation too.
More information here.