Luna, Shad Thames

This is not going to be a long post. Not because Luna - a cosy little new wine bar from the people behind Legare just over the road - isn't good, but rather because it really isn't going to take me long to describe why it's good.

Because it's really not rocket science - take an lovely old converted Shad Thames warehouse building, put a good-sized open kitchen on the ground level and a light (if ever-so-slightly cramped) and attractive dining space on a mezzanine level, fill it all with enthusiastic and capable staff and put together a menu of enticing and accessible small plates. The result is the kind of friendly little space that everyone wishes they had on their doorstep.

Everything we ate was at least good. Oysters - cool, fresh and lean - came dressed with ginger and finger lime, a combination which enhanced the natural salty minerality of the bivalves without being too strong. They were also cleanly opened with no little gritty bits, which I know isn't a dealbreaker but still isn't a given everywhere.

The Aberdeen Angus carpaccio with pistachio was boldly seasoned and full of flavour, with the petals of beef having a good solid bite and healthy, dense texture. This was clearly good beef, prepared and presented well.

Lamb cutlets were cooked nicely pink inside and though I would have liked a bit more texture - the crunch of a fiercely-grilled piece of lamb fat is the kind of thing that haunts my dreams - they still had an excellent colour and disappeared quickly, the charred onions and yoghurt providing a perfect accompaniment.

But never let it be said that I don't occasionally allow myself simple pleasures because my favourite thing overall was probably the simplest - these matchstick fries covered in Old Bay, which had a deliriously addictive dry-crunch and a good hit of that famous Southern US seasoning. If you came in just for a glass of their excellent wine (a blend from Tenerife was their daily special the day we visited) and a bowl of Old Bay fries you would still leave happy I'm sure - although I bet it would be difficult to resist ordering more.

So there you have it, really. I have noticed in the week or so since my dinner that the menu has changed at least a little bit almost every day, so there's every chance that some of the dishes above won't be available on your own visit. But I have full confidence that whatever replaces them will be just as interesting and attractively done, and so I can recommend Luna just as enthusiastically to lucky Shad Thames locals as to the wider London population. It's good. And that's really all you need to know.

8/10

I was invited to Luna and didn't see a bill. The dinner above (which included a bottle of wine) would by my rough calculation have cost about £50pp if we were paying, so not bad really.