Luna Grill is a chain, but with just 52 locations across the entire United States, it still qualifies as a mini chain in our book. Husband and wife Sean and Maria Pourteymour launched Luna Grill in 2004 from San Diego, and things have apparently gone swimmingly in the 19 years since.
“Luna Grill Culver City offers Los Angeles fresh Mediterranean cuisine such as kabobs, gourmet salads, hummus, house-made falafel, pita wraps, desserts, craft beer and wine in a contemporary, fast-casual setting,” they say in their online biography. “We pride ourselves on serving REAL food that contains no added hormones, no GMOs, and no preservatives whenever possible.”
They claim to serve the best Mediterranean food in Los Angeles, which is a big statement and we’re not sure that we can go along with that. But still, the food is phenomenal – incredibly tasty and relatively healthy.
We opted for a wrap, because we were eating on the go and wanted to keep things neat and tidy. All of the menu’s choices looked appealing, but we went for the Mediterranean Chicken Wrap.
A medley of kale serves as the leafy base, and it’s further packed with vegetables – diced tomato, cucumber, red onion and scallions. Mint and parsley add the herby flavors, and that entire combination makes for a fresh, crisp, mildly tart and wonderfully fragrant salad wrap.
But then it gets really good. The pearled couscous is a lovely surprise – little soft balls of steamed starch that balance perfectly with the fresh veg.
Chunks of feta cheese boost the flavor up to another level. The creamy, rich and strong cheese enhances the Mediterranean feel of the wrap, but they don’t put too much on there so as to overpower the other flavors.
The roast chicken tastes fresh and it’s seasoned beautifully, and the hearty protein again sits magically next to the other ingredients. A light house vinaigrette ties it all together, and all of that sits in a multigrain lavash – the thin flatbread proving the perfect vehicle here.
“Stop by the best Mediterranean restaurant around to treat yourself to the great food of the stars with one of our blockbuster entrees: flame-grilled lemon and herb shrimp, handcrafted falafel, veggie kabob, and more,” they say.
We concur.
Luna Grill is located at 9901 Washington Blvd., Suite 106, Culver City 90232. Call 424-523-3242 or visit locations.lunagrill.com.
