Dune

Dune nails it! The fried chicken at Dune reeled me in on night one. Those chicken thighs and fries? Let's just say they're a duo worth celebrating. With a diverse menu, it's like a party in your mouth for everyone in your crew. Props to my partner for discovering Dune and bringing me into the fold. From the delectable hummus to the freshly fried fries and those generous plates loaded with salad goodies – it's a culinary delight deserving of a solid 5 stars. Dune, you've got the recipe for deliciousness down pat!

Seriously delicious and reasonably priced spot in Atwater with a window and outdoor seating only. The quality and quantity of food was excellent for the price. It’s hard to actually feel full with healthy food that’s actually delicious for under $20 these days. I subbed cucumber for pita bread for a gluten free option with the hummus and it was surprisingly filling. Highly recommend.

For Dune (which I was excited to go to because of the name and my love of the movie, although I haven’t read the book) you can park at either a meter in Glendale Blvd or a few blocks away in the neighborhood. They’ll likely have a line if you go around lunch, but the line moves quickly. If you’re getting it for here, you order at the counter and then you get a number to bring to your table, which is first come, first serve, and all outdoor on their sidewalk patio with individual tables with umbrellas in the center. For a single plate on a Friday, it took 35 minutes, so not the best place to go if you’re in a rush. They do not have restrooms, even for customers, which was disappointing especially with how long you have to wait for your food. The lemonade with fresh mint leaves seems really popular, but when I asked about it she said it had a lot of sugar so I decided to pass. It would be cool if they had a no sugar added option! The lamb on the lamb plate ($18) is described as like a burger patty. While they don’t do substitutions, they can remove things if you have an allergy. For example, they removed the yogurt for me since I can’t have cow dairy. If you’re gluten free, they can swap out the flat bread for cucumbers. I feel like I didn’t know the best way of eating this and I made the mistake of mixing it all together. DO NOT DO THIS UNTIL YOU TRY EVERYTHING INDIVIDUALLY. I disliked the red onions and pickled items (there were way too many onions) and it ruined the entire dish for me. Heads up, the olives still have the pits. It seems like the sandwiches and fries make for a better experience.

I cannot recommend this place enough. The flavors are so bright, so complex, and so well balanced. I had the fried chicken sandwich and it was just incredible. With all of the traditional fried chicken places opening around LA, this fresh Mediterranean take definitely deserves a look. When I went, they didn’t have any indoor seating; not sure how that will change as things reopen more and more. You order at the counter, and food comes out in about 10 minutes. They have outdoor seating (3-4 tables) on the sidewalk.

This food slaps! 👏 I got the Meze plate (lamb and falafel). It had a wide range of flavors from mild to tangy to spicy to savory. It felt like I was painting! 🎨 It was super clean, fresh, and filling!! The lamb was the perfect amount of salty, the pita bread was grilled and worked as an excellent delivery system for their hummus which was also very delicious and the ideal consistency (not too thick, not too runny). The baklava was phenomenal. It was so clean I feel like it didn’t couldn’t as dessert. It was flaky and crispy. Every bite had me wanting another. There was a touch of cinnamon on it rounding out the salty and sweet with a little bit of spice!💥🙌 I had a Morrocan mint tea (no ice) which was a great complement for the meal as it was refreshing and light 😌 I came at night and the only cons were that there was no music playing but it did have a quaint, yet casual atmosphere despite the only noise being conversations from other tables. That and the prices seemed high but for the occasional night out it’s totally worth it (and this is LA so maybe it’s par for the course on pricing 🤷🏻‍♂️). The food was real good! I need to come back here soon, no excuses 😤