Luna Italian Cuisine — Restaurant in Mechanicsburg

We were looking forward to trying this restaurant out for the first time but what a disappointment it turned out to be. Based on the restaurants menu descriptions, pictures and prices and restaurant advertisement of fresh ingredients, we expected an elevated experience with exceptional cooking and food quality, and this is what came to the table. We ordered the Octopus Napoletano which did not have much flavor and we added some of the garlic olive oil from the table to try and spice it up. The octopus was served on top and cooked ok but not great. All but two of the 8 or so mussels served in the dish were not open. We worried about getting sick from eating this dinner and informed our waiter who talked to the kitchen. He came back and apologized and ensured us that we didn’t need to worry about any toxicity from the dead mussels they served because they were frozen from a bag, not fresh. Wow… At this point we were turned you off to wanting to eat anymore. We ordered the Shrimp and Scallops which we could smell before it even reached our table. Fresh seafood should not smell fishy or have a strong odor or taste of ammonia. This dish reeked and our guess is the shrimp and scallops were going bad. At these prices and the claims of fresh and finest ingredients, shame on you Luna for serving it. We ordered three cheese ravioli which looked like it was frozen out of a bag with thick pasta, nothing special. We ordered the Spaghetti Montesina which arrived with maybe 7 partial pieces of frozen bag broccoli. It was not fresh, crisp, and green to offset the softness of the rest of the dish, but soft and semi green, the way frozen broccoli is in too much water. There was no notable garlic flavor or Italian seasonings used. There were no pepperoncini. Disappointing. We tried spicing it up with the garlic olive oil. We ordered the eggplant parmigiana with broccoli. The eggplant was ok and not smothered in cheese. The broccoli came out soft, semi green with no flavor of anything. We had two orders of the caprese salad which is advertised as layers of fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil over arugula. That is not what came to the table. We literally received 4” x 6” high mounds of mozzarella cheese with small cuts at the top inserted with small tomato slices and balsamic drizzle. How are you supposed to eat that? It’s no longer a salad, it’s a mound of cheese for dinner. Bad presentation and not as advertised. We ordered the Boscaiola which had very little sausage and mushrooms -basically a plate of penne and no real flavor. We were expecting at least some fennel from the sausage, nothing. We ordered the Veal Parmagiana hoping it would not be tough. It was so thin that it was a crispy wafer. You could not get a good bite of meat from the dish. The salads we ordered were standard fare. The two plates of prosciutto and cantaloupe appetizer we ordered were good with sweet melon as they should be for $26/ea. We told our waiter of our disappointment in the dishes and he said he would let the kitchen know. I called the restaurant later as they were busy with weekend diners. I spoke to the manager Casey about our experience and she said she would have the owner call me. To date, there has been no return call but I am not surprised. Overall a very disappointing dinner for what was supposed to be a celebration. No wow factor with any sauces, the entrees did not have fresh ingredients as advertised, possible...

Buckle up my friends.. you’re in for an experience

Luna is reservation only, kinda like that part to be honest! Would be nice to have the option to drop in and have there be availability but I understand they’re new and trying to figure it out still.

Dress code is “casual” which compliments the atmosphere of a modern casual setting but also the rustic feeling that makes you comfortable. Maybe a little too rustic with a lot of the plants and such that can collect dust but.. I digress.

The service right now was.. honestly not great. They just opened 2 weeks ago so I wasn’t expecting a super polished service. It was messy and a long wait. I think we waited about 30 minutes for our drinks, an hour for a split appetizer, an hour and a half for dinner, an hour between just 2 beer orders, but dessert came out surprisingly quick. WITH THAT BEING SAID… all the staff was very nice and accommodating, they all just were frantic because of how new they are. I have confidence that’s just something that comes with time.

On to the food.. THE BEST PART. 10/10/10/10. SO GOOD. We got the Arinici rice balls for an app. Delish. My partner got the salmon penne entree, I got the crab/shrimp cream pasta. The salmon penne was good but the crab/shrimp pasta was OH MY GOD. Absolutely amazing, he agreed. “You made the right call” were his exact words.

We finished with the chocolate cake, divine. Felt like maybe it sat in the fridge exposed a tad too long but.. didn’t change my opinion on how good it was.

I LOVE how they only had local beers, Wolf brewery is right beside them but none of my favorites were available so I got the Evergrain.

They have a lot of unique items on the menu I would love to try, mainly being the squid ink pasta. Kinda wish they offered it as an app or maybe even a squid ink risotto. For this area, even seeing things like squid ink and octopus on the menu was exciting!

Prices right now I feel are a little steep but I understand they’re priced for what they expect to become shortly which would be amazing service to compliment the insanely delicious food.

If I have any insights outside of growing the service, I wish they added a little lemons zest or something to brighten some of the dishes. Everything was heavy, which you expect with Italian but it was super rich and decadent. Not a bad thing, just was hoping for a little freshness.

Overall, absolutely going to go back again and can’t wait to see what other type of fun flare they can bring...

Update review 12/5/2023 I couldn’t go back and make a new review so I’m just editing my previous one. I went to take my sister for her for her birthday this was my second time around. When we walked we was greeted and seated by Chandler was AMAZING her people skills are 10/10. She offer the amazing Italian 76 drink which was my favorite it is similar to a French 76. She mentioned that the bubble machine wasn’t working for the cocktails but she was able to fix it and that really set my sister’s birthday off right. She offered us the special which came with 3 cheese ravioli topped with a special sauce and steak that was a 10/10 my sister got the spicy linguine pasta with shrimp and scallops, topped with red sauce. Chandler had to leave. However, Josh kept the party going and was amazing as well. He checked on us thoroughly. He even gave my sister a free piece of cake for her birthday and he was the best too. I could honestly say that since my first time going here, the customer service and the food has improved tremendously. They are now one of my favorite spots in the Mechanicsburg area.

5/10/2023 3 stars I was very excited to try this new Italian spot as it is my favorite food. The greeter was amazing i believe he had to be the manger because his conversation was good. Our server wasn’t the best. Once we sat down and looked over the menu the server came back and said what can i get you. I didn’t get a chance to know her name or if there was any kind of special that they were offering for the day. About 30 mins into sitting we had the bread that they severed with marinara sauce it was good. Appetizer’s came out fast i ordered the meat balls There is 3 for about $12 they are huge fresh and HOT :). The food took a lil longer than expected but not hot like the meatballs. I ordered the lollipop lamp chops they were ok still bloody, if you don’t like them like that be sure to ask for them at your discretion. The asparagus was overcooked and greasy. Overall the place is nice, drinks were good, food was ok. I only had the meatballs and mashed potatoes. I think the service from the servers could be better. Especially since the restaurant is new they should offer specials and go over the menu. For 2 people we...