The Luna Grill in Mira Mesa has been open for a few months now and I’m finally getting around to posting a review about it! I like that Mira Mesa has been getting new restaurants and places to try – it means I don’t have to travel too far to try new stuff. Woohoo! This post will cover three separate times that I visited Luna Grill over the last few months. Let’s get to it!
Luna Grill is a chain restaurant that got its start in San Diego. It’s now expanded to other states (crazy) and seems to be growing fast. This newer location of Luna Grill is located off Mira Mesa Blvd. and Camino Ruiz, next to the Wells Fargo and the new Starbucks with a fancy drive-thru.
I dig the decor of this new spot. It’s tastefully done though I admit the utensils in the light fixtures amuse me in a goofy kind of way.
They have organic iced tea and fresh lemonade so you can craft your own Arnold Palmer (which I love to do).
The sweets in their dessert case are smaller sized so you can indulge just a tiny bit without feeling too guilty.
[gyro plate with house salad, basmati rice, pita bread, and carrots / $11]
On my first visit I decided to go a little “boring” and got the gyro plate to sample. You get a fair sized portion of gyro meat and there’s enough other stuff to make this a filling lunch option. The gyro meat was good – nice and tender with a good amount of flavor. I really like the pita bread they have here which is soft and fluffy and tastes freshly made. A hearty and fair choice for lunch.
[chicken kabob + ground sirloin kabob plate / $14]
On my second visit, I dragged Jake along with me for a little weekend lunch. Since we were sharing a plate and I wanted to try the kabobs, I got a plate that featured two kabobs – the chicken and ground sirloin kabobs. This was a hefty amount of food and the perfect choice for sharing a plate.
The chicken kabobs were tender and juicy though they got a tad dry at the end. The ground sirloin kabob was my preferred kabob between the two. It was quite tender and juicy. Could have had a few more spices in it, but it tasted pretty good.
[mini cupcakes / $1.50 each]
Luna Grill has three mini cupcakes to choose from: chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet. Jake was nice enough to buy all three flavors for me.
I’ll just say it off the bat – these cupcakes were pretty meh. They were all served cold. I think cold cupcakes are odd and that cupcakes should be served at room temperature. The flavors were all just okay. Not bad for a bite of cupcake but didn’t really fulfil my cupcake fantasies. I’d rather just save the calories and eat a better tasting cupcake later.
[regular hummus with pita bread / $4.50]
On my most recent solo visit, I decided to get two things and stretch the meal out for a couple of days. I got a side of hummus with pita bread. You have the choice of regular hummus or “spicy cilantro” and I went with the regular stuff. You also can choose veggies or pita bread. I really like the pita bread here and I was happy to see they give a generous amount of pita bread with your hummus. The pita bread is served nice and hot! The hummus has a good bit of garlicky flavor to it and tasted great spread over the warm pita bread. I had this again for lunch the next day!
[mediterranean chicken salad / $11]
I decided to get a salad on my last visit and went with the Mediterranean Chicken Salad which comes with a crap ton of couscous, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, mint, parsley, green onions, feta cheese and their house vinaigrette with lettuce on the bottom. The roasted chicken on top is a lovely bonus (you can get this sans chicken for $2 less). The chicken was juicy, tender, and quite flavorful. I loved the mix of greens and couscous in this salad and found it to be quite refreshing and filling. I managed to spread this out for 2 more meals since it was such a huge salad! The lettuce didn’t really last so I made sure to eat most of it on that first visit while saving the couscous part for my future meals.
Luna Grill has some solid choices in terms of food though some things are very run of the mill. While I think there are better choices for things like gyros at other restaurants, their yummy mediterranean salad and pita bread is something I can see craving again. I do like they their menu is clearly labeled with calorie counts so you can choose your meal accordingly. The food has mostly an overall fresh flavor that I appreciate and enjoy as well.
Luna Grill
Multiple Locations
8430 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126
(858) 271-5862
Coincidentally, my name is also Mary; we live in Mira Mesa, where it sounds like you do (or at least near M.M.); and I too love to eat. ? I waited to try the new M.M. Luna Grill until it had been opened awhile as the Yelp reviews noted growing pain problems — but we’ve eaten at other Luna Grills and loved it. I had a long wait for the food, despite only one family were finishing eating and no one was ahead of me. I ordered a k-bob plate for hubby and a salad plus fish for me — and the total was something like $32. That’s with no drinks and no trip. Yikes! Hubby enjoyed his food, the fish on my salad was disappointingly dry and tasteless. So we haven’t been back. I love how all your reviews are very honest and unbiased, and nice that you went to this Luna Grill 3 times before posting your review. I usually give a place only one chance — there are plenty of other places to try. Thanks for all your great info!
Hello Mary! I live and work near Mira Mesa so new restaurants in the area are very very welcome to me. I haven’t experienced a long wait for the food (not that I can recall, anyway). I can see the bill getting quite pricey if you’re not sharing a meal though – some of the items are on the high side, especially compared to similar types of restaurants. Sad to hear your fish was disappointing! Some things are better than other items here – the Mediterranean salad I had is my favorite (plus their pita bread). Thank you for sharing your experience!