Kate Reid’s Lune Launches Multi-Course Croissant Dinners

Kate Reid ’s croissanterie Lune launched its intimate pastry degustation offering Lune Lab 10 years ago. At the eight- to 10-seat tasting, guests were treated to three courses that always followed the same structure: a plain croissant served straight from the oven, followed by experimental savoury and sweet croissants. Tickets were known to sell out almost as soon as they were released, with pastry fans eager to try plated croissant dishes including pork rillette pastries, croissant-pastry pithiviers and youtiao (Chinese doughnuts).

A decade in (and after a three-month Lune Lab hiatus) the team is changing things up and relaunching the experience. Lune Lab Volume Two is a six-course meal priced at $150, consisting of snacks, starters, mains, dessert and a little take-home treat. Each course will still feature croissant pastry in some form, but the new menu structure gives the chefs more flexibility.

“If we wanted to produce some kind of a Chinese banquet menu, incorporating croissants into that, then we’d go banquet-style. If we wanted to go classic French format, we can do that. We don’t have to just strictly follow the same format that we used to,” Lune executive chef Chloe Thomas tells Broadsheet. While the structure is different, the mission to challenge the notion of what a croissant can be remains the same.

Thomas says she’s particularly excited about a duck breast paired with creamy croissant gratin, juniper jus and chard coated in yeast butter – that’s on the debut menu, which launches across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane on Friday October 31. The team has also created croissant panko crumbs and made a croissant-dough brioche that will be served with nori butter. There will also be a new drinks offering, with a signature cocktail, wine and beer to pair with the meal.

The original Lune Lab ran during the day, while the bakery was open. But the new version will be held on Friday and Saturday nights in Sydney and Melbourne, and on Friday night only in Brisbane. Each menu will run for a month, before the team takes a month off to develop the next offering.

For now, the same menu will run in all three cities, though Thomas hasn’t ruled out location-specific menus in the future, guided by local ingredients.

You can join the waitlist for Lune Lab Volume Two here. Booking information will be emailed to the waitlist on Monday October 13.