Managed by Peruvian Silvana Calmet, Kay will put showcase young talent in the kitchen and also be open during evening hours.

Casino Luxembourg is certainly one of the most cutting-edge cultural institutions in the capital, but it also benefits from a very beautiful restaurant area popular with visitors. Over the course of several months numerous applications to take over the contract were submitted--there were nearly twenty in total--and the Casino management finally settled on Kay, which will open on 23 September on the ground floor of the building facing the Pétrusse valley.

The name is derived from the Quechua language. Kay will be run by the lively Silvana Calmet, who previously managed the Simmerstuff at Septfontaines, an establishment she had already transformed by drawing inspiration from her Peruvian origins and passion for the gastronomy of her country. 

If the pandemic got the better of this small restaurant in the north of the country, it was also the opportunity for Calmet to infuse her experience and her joie de vivre in one of the most beautiful dining areas in Luxembourg City. She’ll bring along her own kitchen team, comprised of the young chef Gerson Sullòn, 24, and the equally young pastry chef Jersson Sosa, both graduates of the cooking school founded in Lima by chef and star of Peruvian cuisine, Gastòn Acurio.

Evening hours for a “real” restaurant

But beyond Kay’s South American influences, the great novelty is that the restaurant will also be open in the evening, which will undoubtedly delight locals, foodies, gourmets and other night owls. Entrance in the evening will be via Boulevard Roosevelt and the terrace, and a glass partition will allow the restaurant area to be independent from the opening after the end of visiting hours.

Calmet promises cuisine that’s full of "passion, colourful and truly contemporary, thanks to which our two chefs will be able to express their full creativity". In short, there shouldn't be just a few à la carte ceviches or empanadas, but rather more daring interpretations of Peruvian products with high potential, like corn and potato (although we do expect and hope all the same for some nice creations of fresh marinated fish).

As if not to give too much away, the cuisine of young Peruvian chefs Gerson Sullòn and Jersson Sosa was revealed in black and white, yet promises to be colourful and creative Photo: Casino Luxembourg 

All this will be available as daily lunch specials for lunch, snacks as well as evening menu. A possible Sunday brunch formula is also being explored, while the establishment will be closed on Tuesday when the contemporary art museum is also closed.

And, more good news, especially for those visiting after work for an apéro: the popular “Pisco Sour” cocktail, almost synonymous with Peru--one of Paperjam Foodzilla’s preferred cocktails [editor’s note: Delano’s as well]--will be available as well. 

This article originally appeared in French on Paperjam.lu and has been translated and edited for Delano.