La Luna hovers above Thayer Street, not quite in the sky, but above the horizon, in a manner of speaking. It’s up outside steps on a second floor — where Montana used to be, as we say in Rhode Island.

Inside, a redecoration last year has given it a modern look, with walls in nightclub colors — both shocking pink and boudoir pink, for a nice bad girl tension.

The menu offers dozens of little items, tempting you to spread out an array of tastes, as at a tapas bar. Instead of being just another dinner spot, the restaurant apparently is trying to draw Brown students to linger, nosh, and drink after a movie or date. Pick at an Asian chicken salad and argue foreign policy. The night we were there, what used to be a longer list of entrées was pared to only three, although seven pasta dishes were above them on the menu, with one extra item in each category as a special.

Furthering the snacking possibilities, while there used to be only a pizza of the day, now there are five. The signature La Luna pizza sounds very tasty and moon-over-Spago: grilled chicken and ham, with roasted red peppers, slathered with chef Stanley Kobierowski’s blend of honey-mustard under the mozzarella. The lunch list of sandwiches and wraps is carried over to the evening menu, in case your tummy’s time sense has been shifted by an exam all-nighter. (One of the student clientele should be offered a free meal to weed the menu of its distracting frequency of typos and misspellings, often a warning of similar carelessness in the kitchen.)

But with one or two exceptions, careful preparations were the rule on our visit. Our basket of tasty Italian bread was fresh, hot, and accompanied by a better quality of olive oil, speckled with herbs, than they could have gotten away with. It’s just the thing to set the mood while you discuss what to order, sipping one of the many wines available by the glass.

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The first category on the menu is “Lite Bites,” with all but one item under $10. Choices range from Italian (bruschetta and four versions of calamari), through middle American (hot spinach and artichoke dip), to Asian (chicken satay and coconut shrimp).

We were with a generous and adventurous couple, so for purposes of edifying you, dear readers, we picked two starters that would normally never be ordered together. Don’t try this at home: “La Luna Famous Garlic Rolls” and Thai chicken-lettuce wraps. The rolls were small and pricey, but tasty (three for $4.50, six for $8.50), small, pleasantly dense, and topped with both grated and shaved cheeses. The small bowl of marinara dipping sauce on the side got a range of ratings at our table, but I found it reasonably flavorful.

The lettuce wraps were a unanimous hit. Four inner Romaine leaves were served with strips of grilled satay chicken, pickled red cabbage, and a chopped tomato salsa with hints of lime juice and cilantro. A thick peanut sauce was there for the slathering. A well enjoyed beginning.

Our main dishes were also appreciated. Three of us chose pasta. The baked ziti with sausage ($10.95) had plenty of ricotta and Romano cheese with that marinara sauce, and the sausage was nicely redolent of fennel. The fettuccine Alfredo ($9.95) was delicately flavorful with Parmesan and cream that came across as rich rather than cloying. For two dollars more, chicken could have been added. The vegetable lasagna ($11.95) contained eggplant and zucchini as well as the predictable spinach, plus plenty of mozzarella. I patriotically chose the “Providence chicken” ($16.95) over the pork tenderloin (Atlantic salmon was the third entrée). Good choice. Served with green beans and chunky mashed potatoes, the sautéed breast was moist, and the mustard sauce topping had a white under-layer (sour cream?) to soften the sharpness.

There were only two desserts — house-made — our night: molten chocolate cake ($8.95) and a crème brûlée ($7.95). We ordered the first one with four spoons. The main component was fine, the hot ganache delicious, and the surrounding chocolate cake in good proportion. The vanilla ice cream, however, not only lacked flavor, but it was crystallized from melting and refreezing. Be forewarned (as we weren’t) and patient: the dessert is made to order and took at least 15 minutes on a slow night. But why not look on the bright side: the Slow Food Movement would probably give the concoction an award.

La Luna, 272 Thayer St, Providence | Mon-Sun 11 am-11 am | Major credit cards | Full bar | No sidewalk-level access | 401.331.6297

Email the author:
Bill Rodriguez : bill@billrod.com