This Cocoa Beach restaurant does wonderfully inventive food and drink | Restaurant Review
The Fat Kahuna was a good restaurant. Luna Food & Wine was a better restaurant. Luna at Kahuna is the best possible combination of the two.
Located in Kahuna’s old quarters near the ocean end of Minutemen Causeway in Cocoa Beach, around the corner from Luna’s former location, its exterior is colorful, with broad windows that allow diners to see people who also may be colorful, as they make their way to and from the beach.
Its dining room is clean and bright, with a small bar opposite the windows, dark, modern furnishings, original art from Luna and white-clothed tables. Service is prompt and attentive, and our server knew her menu, a combination of the modern Italian thoughtfulness of Luna and Kahuna’s oceanside flair.
From among appetizers, our dining companion selected pear and candied bacon salad ($15) and a couple of bread boards ($6 each).
The former was beautifully plated romaine lettuce with pieces of pear and sweet bacon tossed in a subtle, house-made dressing under broad shavings of cheese (was that Parmigiano Reggiano, Chef Luca Filadi?) and a light balsamic drizzle. I would tell you more about it, but my portion was a single forkful; the others went after it like vultures and talked about it all the way home.
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The bread was pure Luna: warm Italian-style, with a good crust and a soft interior, served with oil for dipping that was supposed to have had a bit of balsamic added, according to our server. The lack of it was not a problem.
Entrees were pad Thai with shrimp ($34), mahi ($30), pansotti ($26) and coconut shrimp ($30).
The pad Thai was one of the brightest and most ambitious you’ll ever see, with appropriately sauced, house-made noodles, whole peanuts, chunky vegetables and tamarind, topped by a fried egg and five huge shrimp, a grand combination of flavors and textures.
The mahi also drew raves, richly, crunchily macadamia-encrusted and lightly fried as it was. The mixed vegetables were sauteed perfectly, with just enough crispness and no loss of individual flavor. Coconut rice was one of the best things about the Fat Kahuna and it has lost mothing in transition. The mango sauce was delightful.
So was the pina colada sauce on the coconut shrimp, the best I’ve ever consumed. Again, they were jumbo in every sense of the word, with lots of coconut in the breading and no oily aftertaste. The rice and sauce went together ever so well, and the vegetables complimented it nicely.
Pansotti are little, cup-like ravioli filled with braised beef served with asparagus, prosciutto, Parmigiano Reggiano and a brown butter and sage sauce. It sounds, er, substantial, but is in the sense of what you get; it is not a heavy dish, though, with delicate pasta and a decent but not overwhelming amount of filling. This is a clever, pleasant dish.
Dessert was coconut gelato ($9) and Eskimo Surprise ($12), a chocolate chip cookie topped by strawberry coulis, fudge and mascarpone, frozen and crump-sprinkled. More originality well appreciated: a little crispy, a little soft, a little tart, a little sweet, a clever closer. So was the creamy gelato.
The real closer was a perfect example of how Luna at Kahuna operates: Not being in the mood for more food, I opted for a relatively inexpensive Taylor port. Remember when ports and sherries were rarities in Brevard restaurants? Anyway, the server brought a bottle of Sandeman glorious 20-year-old and asked if I’d take it for the price of the Taylor. No-brainer. And no, she didn’t know who I was.
That sort of gesture brings diners back to restaurants and so does wonderfully inventive food and drink that is perfect for the beach. See you there soon.
Luna at Kahuna
(Review is for dinner only)
Four and a half stars
Address: 8 Minutemen Causeway, Cocoa Beach
Hours: Noon to 2 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday; 5 to 8 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday; 5 to 9 p.m. Friday; and noon to 2 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday
Call: 321-613-5796
Online: lunafoodandwine.com
Surcharges: 4% for credit/debit cards
Other: Weekend lunches feature variations on dinner menu plus lighter fare; full bar with premium spirits; kids’ menu; specialty cakes, pastas and cookies available for take-home.
About our reviews
Restaurants are rated on a five-star system by FLORIDA TODAY’s reviewer. The reviews are the opinion of the reviewer and take into account quality of the restaurant’s food, ambiance and service. Ratings reflect the quality of what a diner can reasonably expect to find. To receive a rating of less than three stars, a restaurant must be tried twice and prove unimpressive on each visit. Each reviewer visit is unannounced and paid for by FLORIDA TODAY.
Five stars: Excellent. A rare establishment to which you’d be proud to take the most discerning diner.
Four stars: Very good. Worth going out of your way for. Food, atmosphere and service are routinely top notch.
Three stars: Good. A reasonably good place with food and service that satisfy.
Two stars: Fair. While there’s nothing special about this establishment, it will do in a pinch.
One star: Not recommended. Don’t bother.
Dowling is a freelance food and lifestyles writer based in Melbourne. Join the conversation at facebook.com/groups/321FlavorWhereBrevardEats.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Luna in Cocoa Beach offers serves thoughtful modern Italian food
