Dinner at Aluna Birmingham

Aluna Birmingham opened in July 2015 and if I’m being honest, I hadn’t really heard of it until I was invited along to try their menu. Tucked down the steps beside the canal behind the Mailbox, it is a quirky destination if you’re looking to spend your evening in a quirky setting with good food and sensational cocktails inspired by molecular mixology!

To accompany the meal, I went for a Strawberry Mojito which was a sweet twist on the classic gin mix. It was served in a tall, iced glass topped with mint and strawberry. Lets just say it went down very well indeed! My masculine boyfriend had a Cosmopolitan which was possibly the best I’ve sipped on! It was served in the classic glass with a slice of orange zest on top, which gave it a really zingy flavour that tingled the taste buds. It also looked amazing, which I think is what cocktails are all about. Aluna also create some pretty wacky concoctions, but more about those a little bit later …

Food-wise, the menu is simple and not too overwhelming. There are lots of recognisable dishes on there with a subtle twist, like steak and chips. There is also a lot of Asian inspired cuisine such as Thai Green Curry so there is a range to suit most diners! To start, I went for the Salt Chilli Squid which was served with a sweet chilli dip and crunchy salad. I know I always have squid everywhere I go, but this was probably one of the best dishes I’ve had of it. It was beautifully presented and the squid was very tender and contrasted with the seasoned batter. Sweet chilli sauce is always a great condiment to go with squid so this got a thumbs up too. Harry had Chicken Satay which was also incredible. The chicken was well seasoned, very succulent, and the satay sauce was beautifully nutty, adding a smooth accompaniment. Both dishes were a good portion size to whet your appetite for the main course.

For the main course, after a lot of deliberation, I chose the Roasted pork belly which was beautifully presented with potato gratin and vegetables. It was also served with a salad, which I felt was a bit unnecessary as it was served with lots of veg. Pork belly is a little fatty but it was cooked so the top was crispy and the meat beautifully tender. The potato gratin was one of my favourite things about this meal. Layers of slightly garlic infused cream separated layers of potato which was the dream. The apple sauce that went with the food was also really good. The dish itself wasn’t anything mind blowing, but the food was really good and I was left feeling very satisfied!

Harry had the Beef Massaman Curry (you could have beef, chicken or veg). Again, this dish was beautifully presented with the curry sauce in a little pot and domed rice. I felt like the little salad did add something to this dish and complimented it well. The curry sauce had an incredible nutty flavour and the beef just melted in the mouth. The rice was boiled, nice and simple to go with the curry. It wasn’t too spicy, just a nice heat that danced on the palette and caught the back of your throat just a little bit. I think the food at Aluna is just slightly above budget. These two main courses were around £15 each which is a lot, and although the food was good, I feel like I want something bigger and better if I’m going to part with over a tenner.

Where Aluna have got it right, however, is their cocktail concoctions. We spent the remainder of our evening at the bar with the manager and bar man, who was creating some cocktail chemistry! If you have a particular favourite spirit, and fancy a flavoured one, they can make something special for you that will give the cocktail another dimension. The bar man used some fancy apparatus that looked like it had come straight out of a chemistry lab to infuse vodka. He used orange, blackberry and cinnamon, and heated it up to mix the spirit with the flavours. He then poured it and a few more liquids into a cauldron, along with dry ice, which gave the most fantastic effect! The dry ice spilled over the edges of the cauldron, creating a really sensational sharer. We were the first people to try this mulled wine inspired brew, as they can create pretty much anything you can think of.

As gin is a personal favourite of mine, they whipped up a Lava Lamp cocktail for me, which is on their cocktail menu and is also a special dry ice spectacle! The dry ice used is completely safe, as it is carbon dioxide in a solid form. The Lava Lamp cocktail uses caviar pearls which are made by dropped flavoured syrup into a solution. The ingredients are added with the caviar pearls and then it is topped with dry ice which makes the whole thing fizz and bubble, imitating a lava lamp! The red caviar looked amazing against the yellow base of the cocktail and I can see why it is one of their most popular drinks. It tasted fantastic … I probably finished it off a bit quick.

Our experience at Aluna was a positive one, though I would like to go back when it is busier so I can get a feel for the atmosphere. The decor is very glamorous and decadent, with a lot of gold and mirrors about the place. Very Harry Potter-esque! It’s not really within a student budget, as a cocktail can average £7-8 and there is no Happy Hour type offer. It would be a good place for special birthday drinks or date night though. There isn’t anywhere else like this in Birmingham, so they have definitely filled a gap in terms of bizarre bars!

You can view Aluna’s menu and book via their website. 

Have you been to Aluna?