Cafe Luna — Restaurant in San Diego

This place was highly recommended by the management staff of the Marriotts hotel across the parking lot where I've been staying for business the past 3 weeks. After trying just about everywhere at San Diego's downtown dining scene (love those Gaslamp joints) I decided to give it a rest tonight. I took the waiter's suggestion and ordered tonigh's house special. I know, I should have listened to Mario B. And never order the "house special". So here it goes....

The soup was good. Lobster bisque with shrimp. Very creamy and served at the right temperature. The rib eye is average at best. It was tender (It was very thin and I did not use the steak knife). It was drowned in some kind of sauce. Could not pin point what the sauce is based on. The crab cake that topped the steak was bland, Joe's Crab Shack quality at best. The bonus "bone marrow bread pudding" is more like a Pilsburry biscuit drenched in the sauce that covered the steak. The mash potatoe... well ..... mash potatoe. The Italian broccoli was cold. The other thing that is good was the bread.... warm and soft. That dip..... what it that?

The bill was $44 and change. I was just chock it up as lesson.learned and go back to my room and go to bed but then come the manager. She kept asking me how was the meal. I told her that it was alright but we just would not take that as the answer. So she pushed hoping to get the word "great" out of me. It did not work so I came clean and told her what I really thought about the meal. And now this review. She did took $5 off the tab but I refused to accept the discount and add it to the waiter's tip for an even $50.

Here is my suggestion to that manager if she happens to run across this writing.....If the guy is reluctant to tell you about the quality of your food..... let him go. At least he is not complaining. Just because you got a few good ratings from other diners does not make your food great. Take the "food is OK" as a complement and be happy with that. It is an equivalent to a Michelin 1 star (out of most possible 3). Not everyone complaint to get a free meal. If you are not willing to eat the whole tab then don't offer to give a guy $5 discount on a $35 steak. It is insulting to me to accept the $5 because I'm not happy with the food. BTW. At $35 diners expect a lot for that steak. You are now in the league with the joints down at Gaslamp district for that price. Your clientele are pretty much the Olive Garden, Claim Jumper crowd. This is why you got good ratings, don't let that go over your head. You should have taken my "its OK" and be...

Never been here before. Ordered to-go, asked for a LARGE chicken Alfredo on the phone. I pick it up and get home and its a serving size for an individual. I called back to make sure I got the correct order, and that is when the person on the phone explained to me that all of their portions are individual sized, that they don't have sizes, just regular or kids. All I said was that maybe they should let their to-go customers know that when theyre placing the order because I expected a large would be enough for my family. Had I known that, I wouldve ordered more. Again, never been here. Well, I hang up and then the manager calls me back a min later saying she didn't understand the problem and in 27 years of business shes never had this problem. I honestly thought it was very strange for the manager to call me back, especially just to belittle me, instead of resolve the issue. I was just going to leave it at that but when the manager called me back, just to be condescending, I decided to warn others. Small portions-extremely expensive-and extremely rude. 👎👎👎 Edit: to top it off the food was bad. Not even worth the attitude they gave me.

In response: I called back to confirm I had the correct and total order. And seeing as I don't work there, and have never been there I dont know how your restaurant operates. Which is why I called! Simply to advise you that you may want to let your to-go customers know that you are single serving size, to avoid confusion like this in the future. And the point was not free food or a handout! I declined your offer as I was not willing to drive out there again, but just left with a word of advise which you clearly still arent taking well. Wouldn't asking for a large might sound strange to someone who works there, taking the order, that knows that you dont have larges, or sizes in general? Wouldn't that be the appropriate time to mention that you are fine dining and single serving sizes? Also, I never asked to speak with the manager, so you calling me back was very strange. In fact it antagonized the issue to the point that I made this review. And typically I don't waste my time on these things but...

“Beyond good ... VERY GOOD ❣️ Both the food and service (our waiter, Daniel was the epitome of gentle-manliness) were spectacular. The revelations began with the delightfully tasty Antipasto; we were impressed that each bite blossomed with flavor as we dwelled on each morsel. Even the bread was fresh and tasty without garnishment; but as a vehicle for the cheeses and everything on the plate, the combinations were wonderful. EVERYTHING on the antipasti plate was full flavored and distinctive... did you hear that (?!) “full flavored and distinctive”, even the dried pear tasted like a full flavored dried pear! Likewise for the rest of the plate. Our main courses were likewise delicious: the meatballs were cooked medium and deliciously juicy and the accompanying al dente pasta was perfectly flavored with a well seasoned and thick tomato sauce that didn’t run — imagine that with distinctive flavors. My wife’s scallops were excellent as well. In closing, make reservations and get ready for gastronomic delights and thoughtful service. My only criticism is that the Men’s’ Room should have a lighted light switch, please; the urgency grew in anticipation too long. (Please click 👍🏼....