The lights are back on inside the restaurant at the top of Red Hill. Photo: Lillie Thompson.
Perhaps Canberra’s most iconic restaurant – after the revolving one at Telstra Tower, at least – is back.
The construction fencing is coming down from around the former ‘Carousel’ restaurant at the summit of Red Hill ahead of its reopening on Friday, 1 November – now with a new owner, new name, and new menu – but the same sweeping views of the city.
The Carousel first opened in December 1963. Its standout ‘dodecagon’ architecture is the work of Czech-born architect Miles Jalk.
Croatian Peter Vidovic, a former head waiter from Melbourne, together with his Polish wife, Lidia, ran the restaurant.
Two decades later, it closed for renovations by another famed architect, Dr Enrico Taglietti, who added new convex bay windows designed in the “style of the year 2001”. It reopened seven years later in August 1981.
After the deaths of Mr and Mrs Vidovic, their surviving son and daughter sold the site for $2.25 million in May 2021.
“It’s been in the family all these years, and I have strong memories of the place, but it’s too difficult to maintain from Sydney and Melbourne, and neither of us has a desire to move back to Canberra,” the couple’s son Anthony Vidovic told Region at the time.
“We want to find someone who loves it as much as we do so that it will still be there in five years.”
The Carousel Restaurant in its heydey. Photo: Anthony Vidovic.
In April this year, the new owners revealed themselves as award-winning restaurateur Tracy Keeley and her two sons, Matthew and Nick Keeley.
Tracy was a school teacher at St Bede’s in Red Hill before branching into hospitality with Cafe Momo in Bruce. She now runs the Bookplate cafe at the National Library of Australia and Pollen at the Australian National Botanic Gardens.
Together, they announced plans to “transform 60 Red Hill Drive into a vibrant destination for locals and visitors alike” within six months with two new restaurants at the site – Lunetta and Lunetta Trattoria.
Both are now open for reservations, commencing 12 pm on 1 November.
Lunetta will occupy the top floor with seating for 82 people and a “semi-private dining space” for up to 10 guests, while Lunetta Trattoria will take the form of a “relaxed neighbourhood bar located on the ground floor”, with seating for 84 across outdoor and indoor options.
The interior has been “reimagined” by Sydney architecture studio ACME to consider “Taglietti’s original vision for Canberra”.
“A merging of landscape and design, reflected throughout Lunetta and physically through the retained bay windows that act as a lens to draw in the uninterrupted views of the Canberra panorama,” a spokesperson for Lunetta said.
The menu is designed by Tristan Rebbettes, a British-born chef with experience at Mona Farm in Braidwood and Sydney’s Sous Chef and Flying Fish Restaurant.
“Rebbettes’ approach combines a sophisticated, yet simple style of cooking with his previous role as executive chef at Mona Farm giving Rebbettes a strong focus on and appreciation for sustainability, provenance, seasonal produce and skill with cooking with fire,” Lunetta says.
Lunetta is open from 5:30 pm to late on Wednesday and Thursday, from 12 pm to late on Friday and Saturday, and from 12 pm to 4:30 pm on Sunday.
Lunetta Trattoria is open seven days a week from 11:30 am to late.
Visit Lunetta to see the menu or to place a reservation.
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