Luna Cat Cafe — Restaurant in City of Syracuse

Edit: I had such a bad experience that heavily frustrated me so I harped on things I probably shouldn't have. I didn't mean to imply the cafe was abusing the cats, I was talking about other customers physically abusing the cats while I was there, and I'm sure my one time there was not the first nor worst time that's happened, and I think the cafe could use some form of monitoring visits. At the end of the day, this place is helping cats get adopted and that's more important and lots of people have enjoyed this place, my complaints are still my experience though. I hate to complain about a place giving cats a chance.

A group of mine went on a busy day a few weeks ago, so maybe this isn't an every day problem, but we bought the 30 mins time in the cat room. We were put in there with 6-8 other people at one point, that's 10-12 people total in this small room with maybe 6 cats. The room was incredibly dirty, not normal dirty, but hasn't been cleaned in a few days dirty and like the litter is only scooped a few times a week.

The cats were EXHAUSTED, they wanted nothing to do with anyone and were clearly overstimulated by touch and sound. My group let them be and only attempted some play since that's all they really wanted if they weren't fully passed out sleeping or hiding. Except there was a group of girls who would not leave them alone despite obvious signs they were either bugging or fully hurting the cats.

Like there needs to be an employee in the cat room because this group of girls took up all the space, would nudge in front of you while you were interacting with a cat and then would abuse the cats. They would grab them roughly, full on man handling these exhausted cats, and when they'd try to wriggle away, they'd just hold tighter or yank them back and they'd be in pain! The cats were running away from them, crying out or full on hissing at them and they still wouldn't leave them alone. There NEEDS to be employee supervision because I, as a customer, should not be telling these girls to back off.

And here's some other things they need: better cat trees (the aesthetic wood ones, the cats are slipping on, and the others are falling apart) actual toys, a better limit on how many people in the cat room and more time for the cats to recover. I suggest having a cat door on the door that leads into the litter area and closing it so the cats have a place to go when people are harassing them.

I'm just so frustrated I'm still thinking about it weeks later, like this was an awful experience and these cats are getting traumatized. My ONLY compliment is that the...

We went today, excited to see the cats and try the food that has looked so good on Facebook. We left two hours later, after sitting and waiting for food that would never arrive. They had one girl working, serving as server, barista and gatekeeper of the cat room. She was clearly overwhelmed, every time she tried to make a drink, someone was up at the counter wanting something of her. This is not the girls fault, this is purely poor management. There was one girl, not sure if she was an employee or volunteer, just sitting on a couch in the cat room. She should be sitting in the Cafe in front of the cat room door taking payment and admitting people into the room. That would have taken one responsibility off the server/barista. Someone was in the kitchen, but never came out to see if their sole employee was drowning and in need of help. I understand if you're short staffed, the whole world is short staffed, but where were the owners and managers pitching in? Someone needed to make the coffee so the server could be attentive to your guests. One person cannot do everything as today made clear. The girl also never offered us drink refills the whole time we were waiting, and only told us she would check on our food after about an hour and a half of us waiting for it. There were people that arrived 45 minutes to an hour after us that got their food before ours so we figured the overwhelmed girl didn't put our order into the kitchen until she came to tell us she would check on our food. Again not blaming the girl, she was clearly overwhelmed. Management of the Cafe needs to be ashamed of themselves for allowing this to happen. Also, when someone tells you they're not waiting any longer for food, you should probably have a manager be there to talk to your guests. Pretty sure we won't be back because of how this place is being managed.

Update: love the response from the owner, which is just outright lies. We got there around 12:15 and left at 2:15. We were never offered anything by the waitress for the inconvenience. But none of this matters, your awful response shows what an awful manager you are. Good luck staying in business with that attitude toward...

Luna Cafe is my favorite cafe in all of Syracuse. I pop in here for all sorts of visits, and they are so accommodating! Whether it be for a bubble tea to go, take out order, stay and eat, hang out with the kitties, or chill time with my friends and playing board games, Luna Cafe truly hits the mark on all these things. I love that they bring their take on authentic Japanese food creations to the area, and that they host incredibly fun events where I can cosplay! The staff are wonderful and kind humans, and are always helpful when it comes to addressing food allergies and preferences.

I’ll be honest, if anyone reading this knows about Roji tea house and how they closed down permanently right after the Covid shutdowns, that really affected me to my core. It was my haven for a chill and relaxed place to hang out, eat/drink and hang out with friends. I was devastated. When I heard about Luna opening through their Instagram posts and passing by frequently (I was working around the corner from there), I was intrigued but still broken hearted about Roji. I decided to just check out Luna one day just to see what it was like once it was open. I am so glad I did. They aren’t Roji, but they are truly amazing in their own right. They really are a stellar and comforting place, and while I will always mourn the loss of Roji, my heart is healing knowing that I have found a wonderful space in Syracuse that is making my heart whole again.

My only regret with writing this review is that once word gets out how freaking amazing this place is, that it will be crowded with lines out the door. And while that is optimal for business, I personally just prefer its mid-range popularity now (; but in all seriousness, do yourself a favor and check out Luna. Be it for the drinks, food, events, kitties, fantastic staff, or all of the above, you will be truly happy that you’ve patronized this hidden gem in Syracuse.

Luna Cafe, I wish you nothing but absolute smashing success in this city, and I truly hope your cafe is a permanent...