A Carlton North favourite is shutting its doors after more than two decades

After celebrating 25 years last September, Carlton North stalwart La Luna Bistro is closing.

It’s surprising timing, following such a milestone, but that’s exactly the reason celebrity chef Adrian Richardson says he decided not to renew the lease of its Rathdowne Street corner site.

“The decision not to continue on [involved] a lot of pacing up and down – there’s a lot of nostalgia there,” he says. “But I had to ask myself, ‘Could I give that venue 100 per cent attention in the next four to eight years?’ And the answer was no.”

For a quarter of a century, “it’s been great … we’ve been doing quite well [recently],” he continues. “I want to end on a high. I don’t want to drag it out and watch it flounder.”

Richardson insists the closure is a matter of quitting while he’s ahead, and not as a direct result of the increasing financial pressures plaguing the hospitality industry.

“Sometimes you don’t appreciate how far you’ve come until you hit a milestone,” he says. “[La Luna] has been a vehicle for me to go on and do amazing things … To last 25 years is a testament to all the people who came through, and the staff.”

Since opening in 1998, La Luna has served generations of Melburnians, building a community in Rathdowne Village with warm service, a neighbourhood vibe, and an impressive meat program, the team making smallgoods and dry-aging steaks in-house.

In a review in its 25th year, The Age’s chief restaurant critic Besha Rodell praised La Luna’s consistency and endurance.

But the restaurant has not been without its controversies, including several staff not paid their correct entitlements, such as weekend penalty rates, in 2017. The restaurant had to reimburse some of the money owed.

In the lead-up to its closure in August, there’ll be a series of farewell events, including a “no-shiraz” beef dinner and a banquet of crowd-favourite dishes.

But while it’s the end of the road for La Luna in its current home, Richardson says “it may pop up again sometime, here or there”.

Meanwhile, his focus will shift towards pop-up restaurant Pasta Bambino located in his Brunswick East bar Bouvier and its soon-to-open Marvel Stadium spin-off, as well as his other existing restaurants, including Maestro in Geelong and Bos in Brisbane.

Beyond that, Richardson says he’s exploring new opportunities in the pizza and steakhouse spaces.

320 Rathdowne Street, Carlton North, lalunabistro.com.au