Café Luna — Restaurant in Cromwell

I hired Cafe Luna for a bereavement luncheon banquet following my dad's funeral service. Although I was very disheartened by our experience, I will start with the "pros" of the restaurant for full transparency: Jasmina was very flexible when booking the luncheon when I told her we were expecting 30 people but weren't sure if more would show up and she said not to worry, and added tables and chairs for us as more people arrived. The other "pro" was that the food was very good. I enjoyed the eggplant parm, chicken piccata, and everyone loved their penne alla vodka. However, the "cons" outweigh the pros here. It was very hot in the banquet room, and much cooler in the regular restaurant side. Guests were in formalwear from the funeral, so we were sweaty and uncomfortable. The soda on the tables was not the flavors I asked Jasmina for, and was so melted from the heat that it wasn't drinkable. The heat also made it hard to enjoy the hot coffee at the end of the meal, which was disappointing since the coffee/soda was an extra $7 add on. But all that would have been overlooked, and we didn't complain about it because those things happen, and overall the food was delicious and the space was lovely. What I cannot overlook, was Jasmina's terrible customer service and angry tone. When most of my guests had left, I brought the check to Jasmina and asked her to adjust it for the number of people we had (the check had charged for 46 but we had 43 people- 39 adults and 4 kids). I did not expect this to be a problem, but Jasmina immediately responded in an argumentative tone that she counted and we definitely had 46 people. I then went through each table with my family to double check and we again arrived at 43. Jasmina then suggested that we count the glasses to get an accurate number, but we had already counted how many people were there and were positive it was 43 (one left before food, so technically 42). She came back and shouted that it was 48 glasses, so we definitely "had more people." I couldn't believe this turned into an argument, but she and my brother-in-law said it was a "discussion" but honestly she was yelling in front of my kids and made me feel like I was trying to cheat her or get people for free. I kept saying, "I'm not lying or trying to cheat you, I just want to pay for the people we had." At the end of it, she adjusted the check angrily and threw in a, "And uh, sorry for your loss..." I was almost in tears at the end of it. I have had banquets at restaurants many times before (showers, baptisms, communions) and NEVER had owners/workers argue with me about the check. Then, when I got home, I remembered I had paid a deposit upon booking and that wasn't reflected in the check! I went back the next day in hopes of not having to speak with Jasmina because I felt like I had PTSD, but she did refund the deposit over the phone a...

Edited to respond to owner’s reply:

Our deposit was returned because my husband cleaned up the dry cracker crumbs and two pieces of spaghetti under with a dustpan and broom himself. Our event didn’t have cake or any dessert for that matter, so if you’re going to accuse customers of staining your carpet you should probably make sure you aren’t lying. As far as the bar goes, it shouldn’t have mattered if it was added the same day or not, it was a private party that should have had a dedicated person tending bar if that was agreed upon.

Original review:

I have never been so inclined to write a scathing review, or a review in general. We just left Cafe Luna, celebrating as guests for my sister in law’s rehearsal dinner, before their wedding tomorrow. The food was decent, but I have never had worse customer service in my LIFE, especially when it is a private party at a restaurant. We arrived before the bride and groom, along with a good amount of other guests in the party - our party wasn’t greeted, offered any beverages, etc until the bride and groom arrived 15-20 minutes after the start time of the event. We were left to just awkwardly stand in the banquet room with no server/ bartender to be found.

This was the case for the majority of the 2 hours that we were there. No one was tending bar, even though a beer and wine package was purchased, and there were plenty of people wanting to pay for mixed drinks. Unfortunately, we were left alone by the staff for the majority of the party so those guests including myself and my husband were left with empty glasses.

We had young kids with us that were a little overstimulated but kept to the banquet room, and weren’t a disruption to the main restaurant at all. When the check came, however, our server (the owner possibly) informed my mother in law that her $100 deposit wasn’t going to be returned to her because there was too much of a mess below the single high chair in the room. My younger child is 13 months old, and there was literally two pieces of spaghetti on the ground, a singular little baby snack, and maybe some crumbs. My husband and I, along with other guests could not believe that this small bit of food would incur a $100 charge. So much so, that my husband asked for a broom and dustpan to clean it up himself, which he did in about 15 seconds.

I own my own small business, I know how hard it is, and have never even imagined of leaving any sort of negative review for a business, but this was absolutely ridiculous. From the second we walked in, to the second we left it was awful customer...

I’ve had some experiences with poor customer service throughout my life, and I would have to put Café Luna at or near the top of that list. While the food is decent (albeit overpriced), they have no consideration for their customers time nor safety. Our family has eaten at this at establishment numerous times since it opened a few years ago, and many of those times we experienced inexcusably long delays (two hour wait for a table when we were told 15 minutes, over and over again). They also have trouble getting takeout orders correct, with missing or incorrect items. During the Covid-19 pandemic, I observed them breaking protocols with occupancy. When I mentioned this to them, they dismissed my concern. I reported them to the health department. The second to the last time I gave this restaurant a shot is when I ordered a hamburger and another meal for a take out. They told me it would be ready in 25 minutes. Of course, when I showed up 25 minutes later it was not ready. 35 minutes, not ready. 45 minutes, not ready. 55 minutes, not ready. Finally, just a little over an hour, they finished making a hamburger. I was ready to drive away and never come back, when I was checking out I asked if they could take a little off the bill to make up for the hour wait to flip a burger. They said mention it next time I come in and they would take care of me. The next time I came in, unbelievably, they became aggressive WITH ME, and said that they were doing ME A FAVOR by making me the burger! Are you kidding me?? What kind of business tells their customers that the business transaction was a favor. They said they “remembered me from before” – “making trouble about how many people were in here”, and that they were “a business trying to make money”. Unbelievably arrogant owner who cares nothing about doing the right thing, public health, or taking care of her customers. Don’t waste your time or money dining at this place. I recommend instead going to DeNovellis in Rocky Hill, Amici Italian Grill or Fiore II in Middletown.

As you can see from the response below, the owners of Cafe Luna have no self-awareness. They cannot see or admit how they are mistreating customers and the worst of all, cannot admit when they are wrong. Why would you want to give your business to folks like this? Especially considering the high prices and the great local...