I’ve only ever had drinks in Aluna cocktail bar, and I’ve visited on quite a few occasions – for drinks with friends, date night, and at a work event. So, a recent invite to try out the new Christmas menu was a good opportunity to see if I was missing out on anything.
Myself and good pal Ben made our way through what was a quiet Christmas Market, it was early evening and quite chilly.
The view out onto the canal basin is always a pleasure when you walk out of The Mailbox. Aluna is perfectly placed, at water level, to look out over this with the rising towers of Broad Street as a backdrop.
We were greeted by friendly helpful staff, with some great music choices playing to a lowly lit Christmassy Aluna. The team have made a real effort with some beautiful festive decorations.
To begin, we ordered drinks, lager for me, White Russian cocktail for Ben. Alyssa introduced herself and brought the best popadums ever, with a sweet plum sauce. There was a light kick with this which made them extremely moreish.
After a chat with Alyssa, the menu selections were made and it didn’t take too long for the food to start arriving.
From the normal menu we opted for a portion of Nori Dusted Lamb Cutlets – Nori crumbed lamb cutlets served medium with baby potatoes, tenderstem broccoli and spicy peppercorn sauce.. a Sirloin Steak – 8 oz. of farm assured beef, grilled to taste served with skinny fries and tenderstem broccoli, creamy peppercorn sauce.. and, the Edamame and Truffle Mushroom dumplings – Shu mai Shimeji and Oyster mushrooms, edamame and Truffle dimsum.
The lamb, and steak were both succulent and full of flavour, with the dumplings tasting as good as they looked. The attention to detail is noticeable and we were looking forward to the Christmas menu options which followed shortly after.
Aluna, what a great little gem, and an ideal place to enjoy some Christmas cheer – give it a try and enjoy the carefully curated food, drinks and atmosphere next to the canal.
Wasabi Prawns – deep fried panko breaded prawns marinated with garlic & ginger, served with a wasabi mayo were served by Alyssa, also Thai Crispy Beef – 24 hour marinated beef within a dry Thai spicy sauce and, Tempura Prawns – with panko breadcrumbs, served with sweet chilli sauce. These starter choices all seemed to compliment each other perfectly. There’s a theme at Aluna, you get the feeling a great deal of time, and consideration goes into deciding on it, including presentation and service.
I enjoyed the Coconut and Fennel Lamb to myself, which consisted of lamb marinated with galangal, garlic, light soya sauce and lemongrass tossed in the wok with a coconut & fennel based sauce, served with jasmine rice. This was my favourite dish and one I’d order again easily, lightly spicy, and just so delicious though maybe not the most photogenic dish, I can highly recommend this.
To finish, Ben and I chose a Royal Chocolate Finger – Praline crunch on a biscuit base with a chocolate mousse and, a Chocolate & Nougat Secret – if you love a Ferrero Rocher, you will love this! We agreed both desserts were superb, not too sickly, just divine. As we sat there enjoying the remnants of our drinks, John Legend – What Christmas Means to Me ft. Stevie Wonder played and all was well in the world.
Aluna, what a great little gem, and an ideal place to enjoy some Christmas cheer – give it a try and enjoy the carefully curated food, drinks and atmosphere next to the canal.
Check their website and mue below for more info:
https://aluna.uk.com/menus/food-menu/
Words by Nick Byng for Grapevine Birmingham.