2 /5 Amber Lee: Tucked into a corner of Carmel Plaza is Cafe Luna, a cafe that serves an eclectic menu paired with traditional coffee offerings. Since this is in downtown Carmel, parking is a difficult thing to come by so be prepared to lap a few times before you can find something that sticks. When you arrive at Cafe Luna you’re greeted by its many outdoor seats and large menu sign. From ramen to sandwiches and pastries, this place has a very diverse menu, for better or for worse. We arrived with a large party and the ability to find open seating for a group that size was a large plus. However, ordering took a very long time. We understand that we were a large party but even by those standards the process of doing so felt clunky and not efficient.
We ordered the grilled chicken sandwich special they were offering, the pastrami panini, a hot chocolate, and a regular latte. Before we touch on the food itself, we have to note that the prices on things here are, quite frankly, ridiculous. Obviously this is Carmel so things are going to be more expensive but for the quality of food that you receive, and also on the principal of the food you’re paying for, around $20 for a panini is criminal. Getting our food also took a while. Admittedly, we were part of a large party so it probably wasn’t easy getting all that food out but just out of transparency, we did wait quite a bit. Forgetting the price and wait and moving onto the food, it was very uninspiring and bland. The grilled chicken was marinated, which was interesting because when I asked if it had anything done to it they said it was seasoned but this was far closer to chipotle chicken than any grilled chicken sandwich I’ve ever seen. It was also supposed to come with cheese and while it technically did, the amount they put on it was skeptical. Normally an average sandwich is okay, but at these prices it’s a major letdown. As for the pastrami panini, more of the same. The quality of the pastrami was okay and the sandwich didn’t taste all that special. The bread was bland and light which didn’t add any quality to the sandwich.
We turned to the drinks to hopefully add some balance to things, which it luckily did. The latte was decent, the foam and espresso being good enough. The hot chocolate was good, not amazing, but good enough where we didn’t feel like it took away from things. Ultimately, this was a very big letdown of a meal. We can tell this place tries and that’s better than a lot of other places but the food was just not up to par for what you’re shelling out for it.
