Luna Grill is one of the better places to eat lunch if you order a kabob and pick the sides yourself. The chicken is 280 calories for 44g of protein, more protein per calorie than most of fast casual, and nothing off the grill is breaded.
The problem is the default plate. A plate comes with two sides, pita and a sauce, and ordered the way it usually is that comes to 910 calories and 1,680mg of sodium. The same chicken with two vegetable sides is 530 calories and 590mg. The protein barely changes.
So yes, it is healthy, but the menu will not do it for you.
Four Ways to Order the Chicken
Every row is a chicken kabob plate with the same chicken. The only thing changing is the sides, the pita and the sauce.
| Order | Calories | Protein | Sodium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rice, house salad, pita, tzatziki | 910 | 59g | 1,680mg |
| Rice, kale cabbage salad, tzatziki, no pita | 680 | 56g | 1,220mg |
| Kale cabbage salad, house salad, tzatziki, no pita | 590 | 50g | 810mg |
| Kale cabbage and quinoa lentil salads, tzatziki, no pita | 530 | 53g | 590mg |
That is a 380 calorie spread and more than 1,000mg of sodium for the same piece of chicken, while protein moves by 9g across the whole range. The rice and the pita are most of the difference.
If you want the rice, keep it. The 680 order is a good lunch. The pita is the easier thing to drop at 150 calories.
What to Order
Chicken kabob with kale cabbage and quinoa lentil salads. 530 calories, 53g of protein, 590mg of sodium. The best complete order here.
Grilled salmon with the same two sides. 580 calories, 40g of protein and 320mg of sodium. Salmon is 130mg on its own against 400mg for the chicken, so this is the one to get if sodium is what you are watching.
A build-your-own bowl on romaine with a chicken kabob. 280 calories and 44g of protein with no carbohydrate, because romaine is free. Pile on vegetables and it barely moves.
Falafel plate if you are skipping meat. 310 calories, 10g of protein and 12g of fiber for the falafel, plus whatever sides you add.
Veggie kabob is the lightest protein at 220 calories.
The flat cut chicken is worth knowing about: 300 calories for 47g of protein, a little more of both than the regular kabob.
Salads and Bowls
If you want a salad, order one, but check it against a plate first. Luna's salads arrive dressed, so the dressing is already counted.
The Mediterranean is 530 calories before protein and 810 with a chicken kabob on it. The Modern Greek is 430 with 1,470mg of sodium, the most of anything here. The Peach Burrata is 530 with 45g of fat. The Luna Caesar is the lightest at 400 and the only one with real protein, 15g. Ask for dressing on the side if you order one anyway.
The signature bowls arrive built, so the bowl and the protein count separately:
| Signature bowl | Before protein | With chopped chicken | Sodium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luna Vida | 410 | 580 | 790mg |
| Santorini | 580 | 750 | 1,540mg |
| Medi Macro | 640 | 810 | 1,450mg |
Those use the 170 calorie chopped chicken. A chicken kabob instead adds 110 to each.
A build-your-own bowl is the lighter version of the same thing, because you pick the base. Romaine and the house medley are 0 calories, romaine and arugula 5, lentils 70, kale and cabbage 100. Basmati rice as a base is 100, a much smaller scoop than the 270 you get as a side.
Sides and Sauces
Basmati rice is 270 and fries are 360. Kale cabbage salad is 100, quinoa lentil 120, and Greek cabbage and house salad are both 180. Taking a vegetable side instead of rice is 170 calories.
Hummus depends entirely on the portion. As a bowl topping it is 110. As a side it is 280 with 8g of fiber, which makes it a dish rather than a garnish. The chickpea medley is the same at 310. Neither is a bad order, they are just not small ones.
Sauces are smaller than they look, with exceptions. Tzatziki is 30 and chipotle 40. Tahini is 130, creamy harissa 140, harissa 190 and schug 210. Dressings are the heaviest, house vinaigrette 210 and lemon caesar 250. If schug is the one you want, get it on the side and use half.
What to Skip
Fries. 360 calories and 1,020mg of sodium, more than any other side.
The Gyro Meat Plate. 550 calories and 48g of fat before a side. Every other protein here gives you more for less.
Santorini and Medi Macro, if healthy is why you came. They reach 750 and 810 with chicken, more than a chicken plate with both rice and pita, and they carry 1,540mg and 1,450mg of sodium.
The default plate. Nobody orders rice, house salad, pita and tzatziki on purpose. It is what you get when you say yes to everything, and it is the 910 row in the table.
Low Carb, Vegetarian and Vegan
The kabobs are already low carb: chicken is 0g of carbohydrate and salmon 1g. For the lowest-carb meal, start a bowl on romaine and add a chicken kabob, which is 280 calories and 44g of protein with no carbs at all. The Luna Vida Keto Bowl is the ready-made version at 610 calories, 19g of carbs and 39g of protein.
Vegetarian and vegan is thinner. The Luna Vida Vegan Bowl is 690 calories with 16g of protein and 18g of fiber, and the vegetarian version is 760 with 20g of protein and 1,440mg of sodium. The falafel plate at 310 is the lighter route and the veggie kabob at 220 the lightest. Check the sauce separately, since a vegan bowl does not make every sauce vegan.
Putting an Order Together
Pick a kabob, take two vegetable sides, and use tzatziki or chipotle. That is 530 calories with 53g of protein. Keep the rice instead of one of the sides and it is 680, which is still a good lunch.
Build a plate with the Luna Grill nutrition calculator to total up your own order.