Cafe Lumar

CROATIA 🇭🇷 Excerpt from Eat the World Los Angeles: A Google search for LuMar will not have any hits with the meaning of this small restaurant in Old Town Monrovia. For that information, you will have to talk to the cafe's owner, Dragica Grabovac, who named it after her two children Lucia and Mario. They were teenagers when the restaurant opened at the beginning of 2012. As the restaurant starts its ninth year of business, they are well into adulthood and Cafe LuMar has the same feeling of a neighborhood rock. ° You could say most of the menu is not Croatian, but that is to lack an understanding of the food in Croatia, which gets its inspirations from all directions in Europe. One of the dishes that has no trouble raising the Croatian flag is sarma, a stuffed cabbage entree that is enjoyed throughout the Balkans and beyond. Here the perfectly prepared leaves are stuffed with a mixture of ground beef, pork, and rice and drowned in a wonderful savory sauce. ° For another filling Balkan specialty try ćevapi. These sausages are skinless as always and heroically juicy in their preparation. Just a touch of char from the grill is added to complement the already full flavors. Use your hands to tear of a piece of the warmed pita, wrap a sausage and dip into the red pepper ajvar. "You are not Croatian!" the friendly server exclaimed as most of the raw onions were left after the meal. This apparently was a dead giveaway, as any self-respecting Croatian would have been asking for more.

So glad I tried this Croatian restaurant. The dishes we ordered were all very good; tasted like a home cooked meal indeed! I highly recommend the Lamb Shank entree. So tender & flavorful! the meat was falling off the bone and complimented very well with the veggies and mash potatoes. The dessert crepes were very good! Prices are very reasonable. Would come back to try other items on their menu. Service was also really good! Reservation is recommended since it's a small restaurant. Alfresco dining available.

My wife and I decided to try Cafe LuMar. So glad we did. I had the pork schnitzel and she had the chipotle chicken with pasta. Both meals were absolutely delicious and were very generous portions. You have to try the blueberry iced tea. We're looking forward to the next several times there so we can work our way through the menu. We can't wait to try the crepes. They were very attentive and the service was great. Do yourself a favor and give it a try. You won't be disappointed.

Tried this place for lunch today, I work just around the corner so I was hoping it was good. I walked in and immediately felt like I was at home. Nice light atmosphere, and the food was great! The waitress was very comforting, kind of like a Grandma. It was like a home cooked meal. The lunch special was a great deal. I think this will be my new go to spot! Would highly recommend this to a friend, and I'll be bringing my coworkers next time. Although I noticed there was no Monday lunch special.