Luna Café

Food was good but it is cash only (it’s 2016) and there were fruit flies bugging us the whole meal.

Happened upon this while doing the tourist thing and looking for a cute, local café. This fit the bill. Classic café cozy with outdoor seating. I ordered the BLT with arugula on sourdough and side salad. BLT was a good portion and the bacon was thick, tomatoes fresh, and bread crisped just right. All were in a good proportion so no one element stood out.
Side salad was larger than I expected, with all fresh produce with mixed greens, and just a light vinaigrette. All delicious, and worth the price. I would definitely come back here or recommend it. Exactly the type of place I like to find when visiting a city.

This place looked cute from the outside so we decided to luncheon here. The server wasn’t too good, never refilled water, never checked to see how everything was and only greeted us and handed us the check at the end. However, the Desayuno wrap was delicious and the 2X2X2X was as expected. Also side note, the OJ was $ 4 for a 6 oz glass (not sure if refills) but I felt that was overpriced but maybe that’s the norm in Philly.

Great little café. The servers are friendly and attentive. For the area the prices are reasonable and the food is good.

Very expensive for way below average food ($ 13 burger that tasted like McDonalds) tiny $ 4 mac and cheese absolutely disgusting; service not good either. We paid $ 40 for one ice coffee, one quesadilla and one burger with mac and cheese on the side. No refills on coffee either. Service didn’t bring ketchup or sugar. AND on tope of that is cash only! Go somewhere else on Market St.

I’m not sure why they recently decided to switch to CASH ONLY, but there are dozens of better options in this neighborhood that won’t force you to run to an ATM. As for the food, the biscuits and gravy were incredibly heavy. I’m a big guy and I couldn’t even finish ¹⁄₃ of my plate. The biscuits were about as dense and tasteless as I’ve ever had. Very disappointing. The service was okay, but they never seem to pay as much attention to the outdoor tables, which make up half of their seating. Prices are average for the area. Brunch for two came out to around $ 30. All in all, not worth a repeat trip.

I would give their food four stars because we enjoyed it and it’s a cute place with outdoor seating. The issue is that they are next to a dog adoption center that puts dogs in the front window so they are constantly barking and being loud while you’re sitting next door. The servers were less than friendly and forgot to bring us some of what we ordered plus basic necessities like cream for the coffee. Also cash only so make sure you hit up an ATM.

I cannot recommend the red velvet pancakes highly enough. Even the regular pancakes are deliciously fluffy, and the sausage is mighty flavorful. I also understand there are healthy options? They LOOKED good… on other people’s plates. A little pricey for breakfast/​brunch, but worth a splurge.

Walked over here from our hotel and VERY happy that we did. The four of us ordered different menu items and all were spectacular. My breakfast sandwich was literally the best I’ve ever had. The eggs were done to perfection and I can’t get over how yummy the sausage was!
Great server, very friendly and attentive. Thank you Sarah.
We loved it and would recommend to anyone!
The easiest 5 star review in quite a while.

This place is one of my favorite breakfast brunch lunch spot in old city. The food is delicious and very filling. I last had mini chocolate chip and banana pancakes which were delicious and the perfect size. They also have real maple syrup, none of that pancake syrup BS. Chicken and waffles is my boyfriends favorite. Pick that over the biscuits and gravy always! The coffee is great too! Includes refills. Best coffee in old city.
The only downsides are its a little pricey for a non-​boozy brunch AND its cash only and probably won’t be accepting credits cards again any time soon.

I came here to eat lunch yesterday, I had the pesto caprese sandwich. It was yummy with melted cheese and a great taste, I loved it. I ate inside at one of the café tables and the service was pretty good. If only they accepted debit or credit cards! They do have an ATM though. My other suggestion is to have more of a cold beverage selection. Either way, I would come back, I enjoyed the sandwich and friendly atmosphere, good price too!

A very nice place with good music and great coffee. Service was pleasant and prompt. I had the tofu scramble with kale, onions, and tomatoes and it was cooked perfectly. My son had the eggs, bacon and latke which all was cooked perfectly. Free wifi and relaxed atmosphere made for a lovely breakfast experience!

Very disappointing. Staff does not seem to want give even mediocre service, despite having a restaurant that is not busy.
Food was a little pricy, but considering that you will wait an hour for your food, at least you’ll get a lot for your money.
Biscuits and gravy were very watery. Skip this place.

This was my first time at Luna and went on the recommendation of a friend. Service was meh. Server never refilled water or coffee. Food was so so. I ordered the 2×2×2 and added the mini pancakes (for an extra $ 5). The entrée itself was $ 10. Basically, 2 eggs, bacon, toast and taters. The eggs were great — creamy and well cooked. The bacon’s texture was cardboard like. Almost like it was microwaved. The pancakes tasted like bisquick. Thin, heavy and lacking flavor. My friend really liked her breakfast burrito though.
Anyway, a little too expensive for the quality, quantity and service. I wouldn’t recommend.

This place is like a doll’s house.
Everything looks like a dream. So sweet.
Is not the most cheap place to go to order a meal, but is a excellent place to go and drink a green juice or a coffee.
The waitress wasn’t so nice, a little bit mad maybe, but, I loved the place and how I felt there.

Great little neighborhood gem! It’s quaint. The waitresses were attentive. The prices appropriate. And the food was sublime! I had the Cornbread Eggs Jefferson – an inventive take on the eggs Benedict (as Benedict was a traitor as so it’s been renamed). First off what a great combination with the cornbread! A little sweet with savory – ham and eggs on top with a perfectly baked cornbread and doused in some sort of sweet jam! Forget the hollandaise, this was inventive Benedict heaven.
My boyfriend had the Desayuno, a breakfast wrap filled with pulled pork, potatoes, eggs, and some sort of magic because it was so tasty, no sentence could justify its description. I suggest trying it yourself! It’s spicy, it’s savory, the portion was generous, and it is as my boyfriend described «the best breakfast he’s had… ever.»
We also ordered a stack of pumpkin chocolate pancakes which I wanted to so deeply love but the pancakes were burnt on the outside due to the fact that it was so thin… despite it being burnt it was still delicious. If it wasn’t burnt it would’ve been phenomenal.
Luna Café is definitely going to be one our go to places for brunch! Glad it’s around the corner and since it’s so new – has yet to be crowded. I kind of don’t even want to tell people about it so this place doesn’t get packed!

I think I may have liked Luna more if there had been more human interaction and some lunch options on the br“unch” menu.
First off: I suck because I walked in late. I was absolutely in Old City on time. But I had driven to the area due to our group’s after-​brunch plans and I’m a terrible city driver on a normal day. As it happened, half the streets were blocked off as tow-​away zones for an event that we didn’t know about sooo… yeah. That was fun.
Upon [late] arrival, we found that we had been placed in the reject area. Private area? Area in the back? Lone table? Isolated table? Table that was often forgotten about? Table that allowed for no people-​watching? I guess it would’ve been okay if we had known ahead of time that we were being seated in the special area, but our group wanted to be part of the action. Plus, it took quite awhile for our server (s) to bring us our food (grumbling stomaches didn’t like this!!) and our check.
As for the actual food, it was okay. Since we walked in closer to lunch-​time, I really would have preferred lunch food, but the menu only had breakfast options. I didn’t understand that since it was a «brunch» menu. Oddly, their online menu is different than what we saw, so perhaps we were actually given breakfast menus. Nonetheless, I chose the $ 13 lunaberry pancakes.
While they were okay, I don’t think I’d ever want to spend $ 13 on pancakes topped with berries ever again. I can get them for half the price and just as good (or better) at any diner. Unfortunately, I didn’t see anything else on their limited menu that sounded much better.
I’d certainly give them a second chance at some point. Maybe not for brunch just yet, but for another meal. .And specifically request to be seated in the main dining area!

I came here with some friends for Sunday brunch, and it was ok.
They allow you to make a reservation on OpenTable, which is super convenient. I called the day before to move up my reservation by an hour, and they were very accommodating. One of my friends arrived early, and they seated him at a table way in the back. It was a little odd, because it was the only table down a long hallway past the kitchen. I guess it was nice to have our own area, but I would have preferred to be in the main dining area.
The menu was heavily focused on breakfast food. In hindsight, I think they actually might have given us the breakfast menus because the brunch menu online has a lot of sandwiches listed that were definitely not on our menus. I usually prefer lunch food at brunch, but I do like eggs benedict, so I went with that. Their «Norwegian Eggs Jefferson» is eggs benedict with salmon, and it was pretty good. What I did not like about the dish was the «biscuits» it was served on. The biscuits tasted like really crumbly dry cornbread… gross! Also, the eggs were overcooked so that the yolks were solid. I like runny yolks with my benedict, so I was disappointed. The salmon was very good but I was surprised that it came fully cooked. I expected lox because the salmon was described as house-​cured on the menu, but it still tasted very good so no complaints there. It was served with a side of fresh fruit salad that included apples, grapefruit, and oranges. I was a big fan of the fruit salad, but unfortunately the hollandaise sauce from my benedict overflowed onto the fruit salad, so it all got mixed together. It still tasted ok, though. My friends were also happy with their meals but not overly impressed. It’s a BYOB, so I brought a bottle of champagne to celebrate my move to NY. We drank it straight because it was decent quality, and I didn’t want to dilute it with OJ, but you can order glasses or pitchers of orange juice if you want to make mimosas.
The service was a little slow, but I think that might have been because we were in that back area. It took around 30 minutes to get our food, and I was pretty darn hungry. Our servers (we had 2) were very pleasant, though.

The first thing that stood out to me was how cute this café is. The fresh flowers are a nice intimate touch, they have their own signature mugs, and mason jars as water glasses.
Our recent visit was for a Saturday Brunch. I ordered a create your own omlette which you can choose up to 3 ingredients. I chose cheese, mushrooms, and avacado somehow my avacado never made it. It comes with a side of perfectly fried hash. I prefer has super crispy and brown. My fiancé had the cornbread eggs benedict and I’m so jealous I didn’t order. The corn bread was sweet and the eggs perfectly poached atop. It came with a fruit salad which was a fresh and nicely plated. This establishment is also BYO which is a nice touch we brought champagne and they provided the glasses and a carafe of orange juice ($ 16). It was a nice sized carafe and we shared among 6 people.
The service was really attentive and genuinely friendly. We were ask often about refills and our plates were cleared immediately. Great job Luna Café!

While the companionship of fellow Unilocalers was 5 Star, and the overall ambiance of Luna Café nearly so, there is no escaping the fact that my brunch (and that of others) was delivered at the wrong temperature.
My pancakes, topped with fresh Blueberries, with a side a pure Maple Syrup, were no more than room temp. The dish would have been amazing if brought hot and steaming. Apparently, the Blueberry Sauce and Maple Syrup were not heated before being poured over the pancakes, or placed on the table, and as a result cooled dramatically while awaiting transport by our server. The ingredients were first rate, and even cooled had a wonderful taste. Still, a cool pancake is not optimal for best experience.
I took the opportunity to talk with the chef to explain what had happened, and suggested the sauces and syrups be heated before use to be sure everything arrived ready for peak consumption. He was gracious and appreciative for the information. I believe this oversight will be easily corrected.
Luna Café has a lot of promise. It has history, charm, friendly service, and an interesting menu. Fix the small glitches and it will take off.
I will return soon to find out if the stars ascend.

Great new café in town! Try it soon – you’ll love it, as I did!
I got there 30 mins before closing, but Matthew, my waiter, was so nice and kind and took care of me. The Café is very inviting, pleasant and warm.
what’s better than warming up with a soup in 25°F night?
I wanted the soup of the day, and it happened to be a cream of cauliflower. Really?!! I can’t stand cauliflower. Ughhh. I got it anyway, all I wanted was to stay cozy and warm. WOW! This soup rocked my world. Smooth and comforting, full of flavor and very superb winter soup.
Now I know why they claim it’s one of the house favorite sandwiches. A rich and creamy grilled chicken breast salad on a bed of crisp lettuce and juicy tomatoes on a perfect toasted everything bagel. It was served with a house salad with honey mustard vinaigrette. Very well-​made sandwich and definitely not your typical chicken salad– in a good way! Yum
«Whoa-​oa-​oa! I feel good, I knew that I would, now
I feel good, I knew that I would, now
So good, so good, I got you»
Four Unilocal

I owe this place at least three stars for the following two reasons:
1) I almost burnt their lovely establishment down during their Grand Opening (more on that in a minute).
2) I am hopeful this new restaurant, unlike the previous one in its place (which shall remain anonyPanini’s Trattoria), will not have a staff member outside asking me to dine there every time I walk by. Usually while I’m walking my dog. Or with groceries in my hand. Or doing something similar that in no way screams «HEY LOOKING TO HAVE A GOOD MEAL WHERE SHOULD I GO?!» It’s bad enough being harassed by the Big Bus Company folks and 5^th and Market. And having to resist buying every adorable dog that’s ever in the window at Doggie Style. If your restaurant is good, you will not need to request my presence. I’ll be there. No invite necessary.
So to keep with the theme of this review, I will continue to provide my insight to you in list form (you’re welcome). Here’s what they’re doing well.
— Décor — Love the homey, vintagey vibe with local artwork.
— Staff — Incredibly welcoming. Incredibly helpful.
— (Mostly) local sourcing, healthy, yet creative food options.
— Free champagne during grand opening. They had me at free champagne.
However, there is room for improvement.
— Paper napkins + uncovered tea lights = fire hazard. Glad I could demonstrate that to them early in their new adventure. I AM THE WORST. Luna Café, please once again accept my apologies for thinking that fanning a napkin on fire with my bill folder was a good idea.
— Food execution (see next three bullet points).
— Latke Luna — a little more salt/​spice/​flavor on the actual latkes. However, both dipping sauces were quite nice.
— Fritto Misto — Menu said «lightly fried,» but it wasn’t quite «lightly» enough. The fish they used was great and was overshadowed by too much breading.
— Caprese Focaccia Panini — Wonderful flavors, but ours was cold in the middle. Sad face.
Definitely going to come back. Probably for brunch (oh hello Brie Stuffed French Toast) and/​or a juice (Green juice? Yes, please).