Review by Joe Earnshaw

Lunya is situated in the centre of Liverpool ONE’s shopping district, however, take a step inside the Catalonian tapas bar and you could be in a hidden restaurant on a back street of Barcelona.

My dinner date and I entered the restaurant via Lunya’s traditional deli where legs of ham and sticks of chorizo hang from the ceiling. There is a well-stocked cheese and meat counter, a huge selection of Spanish wines as well as culinary products perfect for gifts and presents.

Once we managed to drag ourselves away from the deli, we made our way upstairs where we were met by the extremely welcoming restaurant manager, Carlos.

Carlos had a proposition for us before he handed us a menu, either choose our own dishes or let him look after us and try his favourite dishes. We went for the latter and it was the best decision I’ve ever made!

Although I am normally a beer drinker, I opted for a bottle of red wine from the Terra Alta region, which was beautiful.

Lunya has an atmosphere that feels authentic.

Often I feel tapas bars feel too ‘themed’, with too much of a conscious attempt to give the diner a Spanish experience, which often backfires and makes you feel like you’re dining on a cheap film set.

This is not the case at Lunya. Yes, the décor is typically Spanish, however it still acknowledges its Liverpool location with items on the menu even reflecting this, including their signature fusion dish, Catalan Scouse (£6.25).

Whilst we relaxed into our night and took in the restaurant’s vibes, Carlos brought over a dish of Kikones (£2.75), the very typical Spanish snack of fried and salted corn kernels, and some huge Andalucian olives (£3.75).

A large board of Iberico ham (£14.95), which is freshly sliced downstairs in the deli, was next to arrive with a board of sheep’s milk cheese (£8.75). This selection of ham, cheese and olives worked perfectly together!

Over the night we tried a wide variety of Carlos’ favourite dishes and it turns out he has quite a few! The Pluma iberica (£7.95), pork from acorn fed Spanish pigs served with shallot puree, is sublime, however, my favourite was the beef steak pinchos (£6.65) with Piquillo pepper hummus, the steak was cooked perfectly and melted in the mouth.
There are also some tasty vegetarian dishes on the menu and I extremely enjoyed the fried aubergine discs with a yoghurt and honey dip (£5.45) and spiced cauliflower and manchego frituras (£5.65).

Lunya is one of those restaurants that can suit all occasions.

Whether you’re looking for a pit stop during a long Liverpool ONE shopping trip, a place for your Grandma’s birthday or somewhere to propose (congratulations to the couple who got engaged next to us!), Lunya is the place to go.

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