My Favorite Restaurant: Luna Park

— by Caroline on Crack

Goat Cheese Fondue with bread and green apples

What first drew me to Luna Park on La Brea was CitySearch‘s review of their food:

The menu spotlights simply prepared comfort cuisine with a creative edge. Smooth goat-cheese fondue with grilled bread and crisp green apples for dipping is wildly popular. A light, lemony vinaigrette spruces up the sweet and savory salad of spinach, dried currants and feta. For entrees, a crispy-fried pork cutlet stuffed with Gruyere cheese is satisfying and hearty, sided by a mound of mashed potatoes. The lighter fontina ravioli swims in a buttery sauce touched with truffle oil. Make-your-own s’mores, constructed out of homemade graham crackers, molten bittersweet chocolate and marshmallow, are a playful and satisfying way to end the meal.

Damn, just reading it now makes my stomach growl. So of course I had to check it out for myself. I planned a night out with the girls and we were able to secure a booth in the back. The lighting in the restaurant is dim and warmed by candlelight, perfect for a date, but as it was, I was there with the girls. We ordered the goat cheese fondue with bread and green apples for an appetizer, some entrees and of course the smores fondue for dessert. There’s a nice wine selection, but I’d check out their specialty cocktails menu which includes everything from strawberry Caipirinhas to Cosmos with pomegranate juice to something called “You’re a Pepper” (a mix of Dr. Pepper, Absolut Vanilla, vanilla syrup and Dr. Pepper Jelly Bellys). Or if you’re on a date, you can share a Volcanic Scorpion Bowl for Two with your honey. How romantic!

The food did not disappoint. I couldn’t get enough of the goat cheese fondue. I was just sad that we ran out of bread and apples to dip in the cheese. My dinner — Breaded Pork Cutlet Stuffed with Mushrooms and Gruyere Cheese with Mashed Potatoes, String Beans and Apple-Cranberry Sauce — was so delicious that I didn’t even have any left over to doggybag. And the smores fondue (housemade graham crackers with melted marshmallow and bittersweet chocolate) was the best way to finish off the meal. I was already full at this point but made room anyway. Just had to.

I’ve returned to the restaurant several times since and was pleased with the experience each and every time (even visiting the location up in San Francisco). Everytime someone asks me for a good date restaurant or birthday kick-off spot (Hollywood is just up the street), I point them to Luna Park. Yum, yum, yum!

672 South La Brea
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 934-2110
Cross Street: Wilshire Boulevard