Perusing the menu at Luna
So what do we need to know about Luna?
Probably the first and most useful thing is that this shouldn't be confused with Luna, the omakase restaurant inside Los Mochis in the City. Instead, this is Luna wine bar, which is the latest opening from the team behind the highly rated Legare in Shad Thames.
Owner Jay Patel and executive chef Matt Beardmore (also head chef of Legare and ex-Trullo) have opened what they're describing as a classic wine bar. Think more along traditional wine bar lines, like Gordon's and The 10 Cases, rather than the slew of East London natty wine bars we've been seeing so much of recently.
Where is it?
If you know Legare, this is pretty much opposite it. If you aren't familiar with the area, then you'll find Luna's entrance down a passageway that links Shad Thames with the riverfront walkway at Butler's Wharf. It's pretty much equidistant between Tower Hill, London Bridge and Bermondsey tube stations. It used to be part of Le Pont de la Tour, housing an oil and spices deli. Now it's a higgledy-piggledy kind of space that's been given a rather lovely glow-up.
This is what you're looking for
Where should we sit?
There are three distinct parts to the wine bar. Upstairs is probably the area best suited to eating, with larger tables and more of a date night candelight vibe in the evenings. There are four tables and some counter seating in the front bar, by the open kitchen, which is where we sat. And then there's another line of tables tucked away in a back passageway.
The downstairs wine bar
The upstairs mezzanine section
So what's on the menu?
It's a very nicely put together menu consisting of snacks and larger dishes, so if you fancied coming here for a glass of wine and something small to eat, that would do. Or you could easily put together a three-course meal for a more leisurely outing.
The first thing that we must urge you to order is the bread - it is very good.
Warm potato dinner rolls with cultured butter (£5) - served piping hot from the oven with an unseemly amount of Estate Dairy cultured butter to slather over it. Just so good.
Next up is the must-order dish. If you only popped in here for a glass of great wine and one thing to eat, let it be this rarebit. The kitchen team spend hours reducing down Guinness and Worcestershire sauce into a syrup (so you don't have to) and then adding a pungent mix of Montgomery cheddar and Sparkenhoe Red Leicester.
Welsh rarebit (£8) - we could smell this being cooked the moment we turned up at Luna, so it was a given that we'd be ordering it. This and a glass of South African chardonnay, which was on the specials board that night, was a perfect pairing.
After that we had a roam around the menu, trying oysters with finger lime, some very good charcuterie as well as the following;
Aberdeen Angus carpaccio with pistachio dressing (£21)
Fried poussin with curry leaves & lime (£18 ) - when we asked our waitress to help us make a decision when ordering, she wisely told us she never says no to fried chicken. Think of this as next-level KFC with a mix of bone-in and boneless portions of poussin with a fragrant curry coating.
Room for dessert?
You only have two choices at this point, go for a cheese plate or the sweet alternative, which is what we went for.
New York cheesecake with blackcurrant compôte (£11) - nice to see a classic old-school cheesecake and compote combo on the menu as an alternative to the ubiquitous Basque option.
What about the wine?
We're as happy as the next person to enjoy a glass or two of natural wine, but it is refreshing to find a new London wine bar offering up what has now become the alternative, focusing on classic styles of wine. But they are still putting ethical, biodynamic and organic principles at the heart of their offering.
We had a fabulous glass of Peter Lauer sparkling Reisling to start (£13.80), although we could have also have enjoyed a Grand Cru Champagne from organic producer Lamiable. The one thing we would have liked to have seen a lot more of would be wines available by the glass.
Overall thoughts:
Tucked away off the cobbled streets of Shad Thames, Luna is a jewel of a new wine bar that deserves to be discovered by more Londoners. We can't leave great new spots like these to the hordes of tourists on the south bank. Whether you're catching up on office gossip with a colleague, looking for somewhere cute for a second date or just want to treat yourself to a glass and a dish or something good this would be a great place to go.
More about Luna
Where is it? Unit 6, 36 Shad Thames, Butlers Wharf Building, London SE1 2YE
How to book: Book online although many tables are available for walk-ins.
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @luna_winebar
Hot Dinners dined as guests of Luna. Prices correct at time of publication.
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