Aluna

I’ve been to Aluna a few times now and have had really mixed experiences. I’ve given it three stars as for cocktails, it’s generally pretty good, but I won’t be coming back for food.
Aluna is a low-​lit bar with decadent décor and a really plush feel. It’s got a bit of outside seating by the canal as well, and works for both a weekend drink and a sit down meal.
On my visits, the service has really let Aluna down. The bartenders have tended to be over-​confident young guys who try to have banter with you but end up just being a bit rude. It might be that this works great with a group of tipsy women on a saturday night, but for a 5pm drink it just made us feel uncomfortable. As for the time we had a meal, the service was really bad — it took absolutely forever for each course to come, the server was far too overfamiliar and kept interrupting us for no reason throughout the evening, spoiling the whole experience.
The food is fine, we really enjoyed some dishes, such as the garlic prawn starter, but overall we were pretty underwhelmed. It wouldn’t have been a big deal if it weren’t for the fact that it made it all very overpriced. If you pay £18 for a main you expect it to be properly cooked and flavoursome!
To end on a good note however, I do love the cocktails here. They have a great menu with lot of exciting options, and the presentation and theatrical creation of them makes it a fun place to get a drink. The popularity of these kinds of cocktails though does mean you’ll be waiting a long time at the bar on weekends!

Had the most amazing express lunch just at Aluna.
X2 courses for wait for it…£9.95 absolutely cracking value.
First course I had chicken satay and satay course was to die for so so yummy!
Second was halloumi wrap and sweet potato fries! I am absolutely stuffed but would definitely recommend this to anyone.

I love cocktails, and I am a fan of the dramatic. So Aluna is like my spirit animal in cocktail bar form.
The cocktail menu is fairly extensive, and covers a range from shooters, to shorts, to long drinks. Plus there are a few mocktails if you’re feeling fruity.
I am a fan of the over dramatic presentation, and the theatre that is often involved behind the bar. I think that there is a time and a place for this, and whenever I bring friends here we always have a lovely time. Though it has to be said this is often too much for an afternoon drink, it is perfect for that evening meet up.
I’ve never eaten here aside from the launch party so I won’t comment on that. But I have heard mixed reviews on the food so perhaps I should give it a go to see for myself.
I love the décor with the quotes on the mirrors, and the framed sparkly jewellery on the walls. And of course, who hasn’t taken an Aluna angel selfie against the back wall?

Had an unanticipated meal here after initially going for drinks. I believe Aluna really is a great drinking and starting your night off bar and does some pretty good food BUT… Just doesn’t have the right feel as a restaurant. Its a kind of them drinkers and us eaters atmosphere so doesn’t sit quite right. Will certainly be going again though

Recently been here with a group of friends to have food and drinks. Brilliant choice of venue. Very swuave and nice and relaxed. Staff were friendly and helpful. Food was amazing. Fillet steak medium to well was devine and melted in my mouth. Wouls definitely goin back to try something else

Some science with you booze sir?
Aluna is quality cocktail bar that isn’t short on theatre. You won’t be short changed on smoke, fire, dry ice or the occasional colour changing drink but rest assured all the flash is put to good use resulting in some really good quality cocktails (the smoked ones are a particular favourite of mine).
The bar itself has a pretty opulent interior, plenty of gold and plush seats but it manages to pull it off rather than ending up as tacky. There is also very nice heated outdoor seating right next to the canal.
Staff are friendly and knowledgeable, they also work pretty quickly as well considering the complex nature of the cocktails.
They do serve food but I haven’t tried it yet so can’t comment on that but I do think they have too much seating reserved for people eating which means that, despite being a reasonably big space, it can be a struggle to sit down and there aren’t really any good places to stand and drink.
All in all well worth a visit if you are out and have a hankering for a good cocktail.

I have been meaning to visit this places for ages after hearing nothing but good things. Me and my brother popped in last week for a well deserved cocktail and catch up.
The décor here is dark and moody which makes it a pleasant and comfortable place to sit and chill with a cocktail menu that comprises of a mixture of classics and homemade creations. I went for a firm favourite of a margarita while by brother decided to be slightly more adventurous having a ‘lava lamp’. My cocktail was decent and as it should be with a sharp and salty rim, my brothers on the other hand was a lesson in bar theatre. Small passion fruit balls were added to the drink which went up and down in the fizz making this drink live up to its name.
I felt comfortable in this place but there was something about it that just did not give me the urge to go rushing back. I think this is more down to personal taste rather than anything the bar is doing wrong though. My advice here is go and try it for yourself as it’s a welcome addition to the Mailbox’s canalside bars.

Went to aluna today was impressed with the service from the barman. The fire gin and lava cocktails were amazing.
When we revisited later on in the day when the bar was busy, the service was poor, although cocktails were still nice and reasonably priced.
A good place to visit just not through busy periods.

A welcomed addition to The Mailbox earlier this year, this cocktail bar offers a mix of cocktails from your classics or «Aluna Signatures» such as Mojito, Cosmopolitan and Long Island Iced Tea to their own concoctions which use dry ice and drama which fall under «Hubble Bubble».
Cocktails aren’t cheap but their mixologists or bar staff to you and me, know how to make their potions and you’re sure to fall under their spell. Great atmosphere and the décor is fabulous.

Probably shouldn’t review in a way, considering I didn’t even try a cocktail… but I’m a rebel like that so will anyway.
Aluna is still pretty new so was quiet when I dragged friends from work here on Thursday night. Dragged is pretty accurate. There was the one who snapped at me because of something or other (let’s call him CP, Cranky Pants), two who turned up late (A and B), and then the people who never showed at all. I’m officially giving up on being the social coordinator.
Anyway, I arrived first and it was almost deserted at 8pm, so they had no problem with me just plonking myself at a table while I waited for the rest and read my book. CP was next. He was annoyed that there weren’t drinks menus lying around, and also wasn’t keen on the cigarette smoke wafting in from the chairs outside. This is one I’ll give him. I despise smoke too, and it’s annoying to have to move to escape it. We started with wine for me and sparkling water for him because he was just TOO BUSY and had TOO MUCH TO DO to relax. I kind of ended up downing my wine far too quickly — partly because of trying to cope with the crabbiness across the table, and partly because it was actually really tasty. Whatever Sauvignon Blanc they give you is what I’m going to recommend. The large glass is large. They just kept going with their glug, glug, glug.
CP wasn’t hungry, but then saw burgers and perked up a bit. When A arrived, we moved to the dining bit and ordered. Burgers for them, and jerk chicken wrap for me. The burgers were good, apparently. My jerk chicken was very tasty and came with a container of chips. Would have again, definitely! I was actually surprised. The menu is pretty much bar food, but done well it seems. Didn’t get to see the dessert menu, but they claim to have some.
I quite liked the décor, although it’s a bit busy and trying hard to look opulent. CP thought they’d overdone it, A thought it looked great and B was too busy talking about hot tubs to notice.
Service is OK. I think they were a bit bored because they were obsessed with trying to take spare glasses from our table, even though we weren’t sure people were no-​shows. We ended up paying at the bar, so that made things more efficient too.
They don’t seem to answer emails (well, not mine anyway), but do respond to Facebook posts, so I’ll forgive them. Kind of.
Not too much to fault. Think I need to try some cocktails next. And have some more of that jerk chicken…

Visited Aluna yesterday evening but unfortunately it didn’t live up to the ‘hype’.
Interior was very modern and slightly chic 80’s faux fur seating was a nice touch.
The cocktails were lovely, I selected a lovely Colour Changing Martini. However the colour change was slightly disappointing, however on the up side the cocktails ingredients are all kept hidden so it’s a nice twist.
All in all it’s pretty hit and miss, I’m not in a rush to pop down again anytime soon.

Aluna is a place where relaxed comfort meets high-​end style, your senses will be heightened and you’ll feel an air of magical mystery about the place. This is the first of its kind in Birmingham. A cocktail bar that offers unusual cocktails that uses theatre and plays on magical elements that create its array of cocktail concoctions.
Aluna is very glamorous and on point with its décor, it has classy velvet seats and jewellery adorned chandeliers which adds to the mystical charm. The bar top and table tops are made from a beautiful golden rose colour/​copper like material, which compliments the seating and the lighting very well. The mirrors on the walls reminded me of an enchanted snow white.
I went on a Thursday evening around 8pm it wasn’t busy and we were served straight away. we looked through the cocktail menu which was rather refreshing to see such a great array of revolutionary cocktails i’ve never heard off before. We chose the colour changing martini and the secret Aluna concoction. Both tasted great and i loved the theatre involved. The bar man was helpful and chatted with us making sure we were engaged. Very reasonabily priced at £7.95 (martini) and £8.95 (secret concoction). This is the right price i wouldn’t pay more of less for a cocktail. The secret concoction was a blend that they just don’t give away but i guessed correctly it had vodka.
The cocktails are a mixture of theatrics and magic. This is achieved using smoke, mirrors, fire, dry ice and other exciting ingredients. The drinks are very well thought out and they taste good too, nothing i have tried before so these cocktails are truly unique to the place.
We didn’t have food but we did see the menu which was a let down the food menu looks very poor and average. I was expecting more, they could add that same magic and allure into their foo to tie in with the magic they have with the cocktails. They really need to buck up their ideas in regards to the food. I don’t think i will ever eat here which is such a shame.
Over all this place had great revolutionary drinks on offer but disappointing menu. i do hope this place continues to grow in success as this could be a great place but with cocktail bars on the rise in birmingham i hope this place doesn’t get lost in its own magical smoke.

A brand new bar for the Mailbox! I like that these unique places are popping up there– it’s what the Mailbox should be! First Gas Street Social and now Aluna. Although they both have a focus on cocktails, they are really different, so should compliment each other rather than compete.
Aluna is rather plush and glamorous, with velvet seats and jewellery framed on the wall. There are dramatic chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and the bar is a rather fabulous rose gold colour.
I was lucky enough to go to the press launch but I think I got a good impression of what it will be like as we were paying for drinks towards the end of the night. The cocktails are well-​priced, around £7 which is no more or less than you would expect to pay for a cocktail.
The cocktails are theatrical and interesting, with smoke, dry ice and other exciting things taking place. Underneath all the drama are well thought out drinks with good spirits. The theatricals are fun and a talking point but do mean you can wait a long time at the bar. We waited 20 minutes at one point. Hopefully the bar staff will get quicker as they get used to the drinks.
We only had canapes so I’m not sure what the food will be like. If it’s anything like the canapes it will be tasty and fresh but not breaking any boundaries. I particularly enjoyed some tempura prawns, hopefully they will be on the menu.
I’ll definitely be back in a few weeks to see how it has settled in!

I was invited to the launch night for this plush new Cocktail bar in Birmingham’s Mailbox. I was told to expect ‘molecular mixology’ — intriguing.
Turns out that molecular mixology means delicious cocktails with a whole heap of spectacle, and a dash of science. Think oodles of dry ice (accompanied by much oohing and ahhing from those gathered round the bar), unusual ingredients and lots of fun twists on classics.
I tried a No. 10 — a rum version of a classic collins, with bursting blueberry ‘caviar’ that was created, as if by magic, in front of me using only a syringe and a combination of two potions. It was fabulously tarte and refreshing, with the chewy blueberry balls adding to the flavour rather than just being gimmicky. The price of all this spectacle, however, was a long wait at the bar. I am hoping that this was just an early days glitch.
The interior is luxe — lots of velvet, sparkle, and copper toned fixtures that had my blogger friends and I re-​planning our own home decoration (I now need a rose gold cocktail set.) Lovely canal-​side location, with some outdoor seating that will be perfect for supping cocktails al fresco should we have some more warm weather.
I would happily return.

Cocktails are big business in Brum and the mention of a new venue fills me with simultaneous hope and dread… Will THIS be the place that gets it right or will it be off the mark?
I had almost missed the news about this new place opening (which has replaced the Oriental in the Mailbox), but a lovely little bird had informed me of the opening and I managed to bag a last minute place on the guest list to pop along for it’s press launch last night.
First things first, it looks the BUSINESS. Extravagant, but not tacky; it’s a welcome addition to the new class of the Mailbox venues. Me, Dan and Laura C. walked in and immediately noticed the wall of mirrors adorned with quotes (including not one, but two Harry Potter quotes — winner). There is a good mix of table, booth and outdoor seating (giving you the option to sit by the canal or snuggle down in it’s plush interior).
We bagged a table with the bloggers and settled in to be wowed for the evening. We only tried a few bites (some chorizo and jerk chicken wraps and some tempura prawns), but these were nice enough. The menu the venue now offers seems to be pretty simple (burgers and standard gastro fare), but it’s not overly expensive and good stomach lining food to accompany the extensive drinks list.
The drinks list is good and surprisingly not pitched at «break the bank» prices. The majority of the cocktails seem to be priced at around £7 — £8 and all have a bit of a ritual around them to prepare. Dry ice, smoke, ridiculous adornments — I think the Mailbox has been waiting for a venue with this kind of artistic flair for some time.
Again, I only ventured in on the opening night so am aware that the real offering might end up being amazing for the average punter or there might be problems in the implementation. My main concern was the amount of time that it took to make one cocktail (upwards of 10 minutes) with all the ritual involved… If this place gets as busy as it might end up — it could be a long wait for a drink. That being said, it definitely warrants a revisit to give it another go.
I am intrigued to see whether this place will become a Birmingham legend or will end up as a novelty, but initial indications are pretty good. Only time (and several more cocktails) will tell…

Really new bar. Soft launch this week.
Great designed interior. Very lady gaga dressing room
Well furnished and an extensive bar menu.
Great friendly staff and nice outside seating for the sun and cocktails.