EAT: LUNE LAB, JULY 2019 EDITION

I am no stranger to the croissant delights of Melbourne’s famed Lune Croissanterie and have willingly pulled myself out of bed in the wee morning hours to make that early pre-work croissant run on several occasions. Which is saying a lot as I am not a morning person. Luckily there’s coffee on site!

We recently made another somewhat early visit but this time for their Lune Lab three course croissant degustation experience. 8.30am on a Saturday morning to be exact… because the 11.30am session had sold out within 2 minutes after bookings were released. I thought I was on the ball but WOWSERS. Seating is extremely limited (I counted 8 seats during our visit) so it makes sense that these go quickly.

The experience kicked off with a freshly baked batch of the classic original, the selection ranging from super crispy to soft - take your pick, whichever best tickles your fancy. Those who saw my stories on Instagram would have heard the impeccable crunchhhhhh of my super crispy pick.

Our host explained that course two, the savoury, was something they had been wanting to explore for quite some time now - a croissant brioche club sandwich created from the same mother dough used for their croissants. Served with hand-cut chips (alongside a tomato relish and aioli), this was quite a substantial course, and most of us could only get through half, especially with another course on the way. The club sandwich itself was laden to the T with buttery goodness topped off with a gentle crispiness, and the creamy chicken filling and accompaniments was incredibly flavoursome. While this was without a doubt an excellent sandwich, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of disappointment/food envy comparing this to past savoury Lune Lab creations.

The absolute best was saved for last with a beautifully plated, sensationally tasty lattice apple pie served with croissant ice cream. The croissant lattice packed great buttery crunch, giving way to a blend of tender stewed apples and brown butter+hazelnut cake base underneath - the perfect winter comfort dessert. But the house-churned croissant ice cream, infused overnight with croissant, also commanded equally high praise - super creamy and the croissant flavour was nailed perfectly. Failing to fully utilize our second dessert stomachs so early in the morning, most of us had to abandon some of the dessert (with GREAT sadness).

Ahhhh Lune, you’ve done it again. A solid croissant feed as per usual, but with the creativity taken up several notches and executed faultlessly. Would I go again? Definitely yes, ninja booking, early-ish wake up and all.