The counter at Luna
What's the elevator pitch?
Luna is billed as being London's highest omakase restaurant (the only other high-rise one is Endo at the Rotunda, which is a floor lower). It's a restaurant within a restaurant, tucked away behind sliding doors inside the popular Mexican Japanese fusion restaurant Los Mochis City and seats just 12 guests. There are two sittings each night, at 6pm and 8.30pm. The lunar cycle extends to the artwork and also the menu with its 12 dishes which, they say, represent the phases of the moon through birth, growth, change, and renewal. One dish is even served inside a stone moon.
This isn't the first omakase launched by Los Mochis though?
You're right - their Notting Hill offering, Juno, was a massive hit right off the bat. But while Juno's omakase offering was distinctly Mexican/Japanese, the menu at Luna is not. They describe it as "a modern interpretation of traditional Edomae sushi".
Where is it?
Head up to the ninth floor at 100 Broadgate; Liverpool Street is the nearest tube. When you arrive, you'll be handed a buzzer and guided to the bar for a welcome drink. Once everyone has arrived, you're led en masse to Luna so you all enter the space at the same time. It's an impressive room. Original artworks depicting the lunar cycle line the walls and while the wooden counter is giving traditional vibes, the City backdrop reminds you you're in the heart of the Square Mile.
The welcome drinks we picked on the night were a tropical take on the paloma and a mezcalita.
Explain the menu, please...
At the heart of Luna is a 12-course omakase menu (although depending on the chefs' whims, more might be added to that on the night). The dishes change according to what seafood is at its best on the day.
It's loosely a meal of five parts and there's a lot of theatre involved. In addition to being shown all the seafood about to be served up, you might be encouraged to smell a pot of worm salt, reveal your favourite fish for sushi or be invited to forgive the chefs for having put too much caviar on your next serving. It's a world away from classic, highly formal omakase and a lot more fun.
Without wanting to spoil the whole affair, here are a few of the dishes we tried on the night, to give you an idea of the inventiveness of the sushi team.
Fried rice cake topped with sea urchin and freshly shaved truffle
King crab nigiri
Hokkaido scallops, torched on the outside but raw on the inside and topped with balsamic figs.
Unagi handroll featuring wispy thin twigs of asparagus
Caviar taco featuring a sweet potato shell with an unseemly amount of Italian caviar and finished with smoky gusano salt.
There's usually a sando dish on the menu. We lucked out with a particularly good wagyu one, brushed with a with sake BBQ sauce and served with fresh wasabi leaves.
At this point, it's also worth noting that the entire menu is also gluten-free - and that includes the sando above.
Room for dessert?
The dessert course begins with a palate cleanser of sorts, a blood orange and chamomile granita, which is ground up from a block of ice by the chefs. Like we said, there's lots of theatre involved, and it was a truly great granita. And the final dish is excellent too.
It all finishes with this amazing miso caramel souffle, which comes with fresh wasabi ice cream.
What about the drinks offering?
There are three pairings available - wine (both classic and prestige), sake and non-alcoholic. As our visit to Luna saw us take over the restaurant with a group of Hot Dinners readers, we were able to see each of the pairings in action. We went for the sake option ourselves, chosen by their head of wine and sake Michele Orbolato which featured some amazing sakes exclusive to Los Mochis in the UK.
But we were also particularly impressed by the non-alcoholic pairing which included mocktails and alcohol-free wines and really felt like it had been given equal weight and consideration to the alcoholic pairings.
Overall thoughts:
We were early fans of Juno before it became such a critical hit, so we're here to tell you that Luna more than lives up to that promise. It's a very different beast to Juno - not just in size but also in character. Both the chefs and sommelier worked together brilliantly to deliver a fully theatrical experience. You could take over the whole place, which would be great, but we could also see how well it delivered when a roomful of strangers are all dining together. All in all, this is the easiest of recommendations if you like good sushi or indeed a great night out.
More about Luna
Where is it? 9th Floor, 100 Liverpool St, London EC2M 2AT
How to book: Book online here.
How much? £230 per person for 12 courses, including a welcome drink
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @luna.omakase
Hot Dinners took over Luna as part of a reader event.
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