The magic of mojitos

The appeal of the new La Brea Avenue cocktail bar and eatery Luna Park boils down to a few key ingredients: fresh squeezed lime juice, Hornitos tequila, a plastic mermaid and an environment that’s inviting.

In just a few short weeks, a fresh scene has taken hold at the former location of Lucky Duck. The hip Chinese bistro, which had everything going for it but timing -- it opened just days before Sept. 11 -- was a beautifully designed Zen nightspot. When it shuttered its doors a few months back, two San Francisco wildcatters swooped down and moved right in.

With Luna Park, A.J. Gilbert and his partner Joe Jack left the SoMa Mission District to open their first L.A. spot. And for the record, they modeled Luna Park after a Bay area venue they own with the same name. The new spot has nothing to do with L.A.’s former LunaPark nightclub (now Pearl) on Robertson Boulevard.

“When we were trying to come up with a name for our first venture, we had a bunch of friends come down and put names on a chalkboard,” says Gilbert, who also owns S.F.’s Last Supper Club. “Luna Park was the original, first Disneyland-style amusement park in Coney Island -- the first place with electric lighting. We just wanted something that added up to fun.”

The owners took away the buried back bar of Lucky Duck and moved it to the entrance, so now guests who want to come in for a drink don’t have to walk through the dining room. The venue is now one spacious room. In place of Lucky Duck’s chic white walls everything’s gone redder than red, but not in a fire-breathing dragon way, rather a soft, warm, rosy red.

Dangling from the ceiling are kitschy chandeliers, with swinging grapes and other shiny knickknacks that Jack scored at flea markets.

In addition to opening up the room, they’ve added back-area booths with curtains that can be dropped for anonymity, although most customers don’t seem to want to miss the action.

Along with a cheeky menu offering everything from goat cheese fondue with sliced apples to Hawaiian tuna “poke” with fried wantons, the drink menu is Luna Park’s big draw.

The original San Francisco Luna Park won the city over with its fresh mint and lime mojitos (nominated in San Francisco magazine as the 19th best thing to “eat” in S.F.). Luna Park also serves a yummy nonalcoholic version. Other fanciful fare includes its signature “Kick @#!” Mai Tai, topped with an umbrella, and a fresh fruit sangria. Along with the Favorite Margarita, the pomegranate juice Crimson Cosmo and Granny Smith Appletini’s are big crowd pleasers.

“There’s not a lot of places where you can go and get value, especially in today’s economy,” says Terrance Cameron, a financial consultant. “But all the drinks are under ten bucks, and it’s just good all the way around. Most of all, there’s no ego, which is something I really appreciate.”

Luna Park is rife with people looking to connect, but it lacks any of the pretension of many of the new restaurant-lounge hangs. There’s no doorman and reservations aren’t required.

“It’s a really great spot,” says Deanna Kizis, an editor at Elle magazine and author of “How to Meet Cute Boys.” “It’s like Jones, or any one of those great Sean MacPherson bars. It appears out of nowhere and then it’s like it’s been there forever.”

The music is an easygoing blend of accessible tunes. On any given night, you’ll find yourself rocking out to the Cure, Fleetwood Mac or Radiohead. As it gets later, they switch it up with dashes of Elvis Costello or jazz crooner Paulo Conte.

Add the allure of the menu’s “make-your-own s’mores,” which offers melted marshmallows in an ice cream cup with a flaming warmer underneath, and you’ve got a pretty sweet addition to L.A. nightlife.

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Luna Park

Where: 672 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles

When: Dinner served Mondays-Thursdays and Sundays, 5:30-10:30 p.m.; Fridays-Saturdays, 5:30-11:30 p.m. Lunch, Mondays-Fridays, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; Saturdays-Sundays, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.

Parking: Valet, $4.50

Info: (323) 934-2110