Lunchbox Cafe Brooklyn

I’ve always been a fan of this place since moving to this neighborhood 3 years ago. This changed today when they delivered an inedible chicken Caesar salad. It came sans croutons despite what the menu promised, the lettuce wasn’t fresh and the chicken bland. No amount of salt and pepper could save it. I couldn’t get beyond three flavorless bites. Normally I’ll give a place a second shot but after reading similar complaints here, I think I’ll spend my money elsewhere.

I have a love hate relationship with this place. I used to live down the street so I was there at least a 3 times a week. They have great simple fresh delicious food. BUT, I am always standing there waiting for my sandwich to be made, with out fail for at least 15 minutes. I excuse the long wait because I do love the sandwiches so much, if you have 15 minutes to spare then this is definitely your best spot within a local radius to get some good eats.

don’t bother, as good as their food and soups are their phone system sucks!!!

Super legit egg sandwich. I was having a really rough morning and their bacon egg and cheese on a croissant healed me. Possibly on an existential level.
Coffee was good, egg sandwich saved my life, and the staff was pleasant. I will definitely be back.

I’ve been going to lunchbox for 4 years now and seen it getting worse and worse. Today i had what will be my last experience there. Waited for 20 min for 2 toasted bagels with cream cheese (that i realized once I got home were not toasted and had very little cream cheese) and 2 coffees which were also both the wrong order and cold by the time i got everything. The best part of this? it was $ 17. for 2 not toasted and cold bagels with barely any cream cheese and 2 wrong orders of small coffee…

This place has no AC in the summer):

Don’t even bother. The whole point is to have freshly made sandwiches. I went back for another try and ordered the Taylor. I was shocked how quickly it came. Then I found out why. It was a pre packaged sandwich and all soggy. Had to waste time going back for a new one. Not to mention there were four people working… you can’t just make the sandwich fresh? I have to ask for that? Ridiculous. Never again.

Great place to study! I wish it opened a little earlier, because I don’t usually have time to stop in on the way to work with the hours as they are. But it’s a sweet neighborhood place with very fast wifi and room to study/​read. There is always the recent NY Times on the front table, for your perusal while you wait for your breakfast burrito. During the day, it seems like parents stop by with their kids for snack time at the space in the back. Try the lunchbox burrito with eggs.

Update: I’m throwing up. UGH A WASTE OF MONEY AND TIME. HEALTH DEPT NEEDS TO SHUT THIS PLACE DOWN
Lunchbox was recommend by a friend who has been going to Lunchbox for 2 years. She said they have great vegetarian sandwiches. So I came in for my lunch break to see what’s up.
First off, the kid behind the counter– you aren’t doing me any favors… Get that look off your face when you are talking to a customer who f**king tipped you. I’m not asking for a thank you, I’m asking you to have have skills while working.
I waited 11 mins for one sandwich that required no heating what so ever. That’s not good since my break is 30 mins and it takes about 6 to walk there. So 12 mins (there and back) plus 11 mins to wait = 23 mins and 7 mins to eat. Aren’t sandwiches suppose to be fast and simple? That sucks a lot. Staff seems sad. I wonder if the owner has any clue what’s going on. How about hiring nicer staff? What do you pay those poor miserable souls? GET BETTER STAFF OR CLOSE YOUR DOORS FOR GOOD! These people are the faces of your business!
I actually didn’t like the sandwich, I got the Smith.
No flavor from the hummus, a thin unripe slice of avocado and a ton of mixed greens that tasted unwashed. Just wasted $ 10 for nothing. I wasted my time as well.

I was just in here (around 2pm on a Saturday) and not only did I wait 30 minutes for 2 sandwiches to go, but when I got home my Walker sandwich (buffalo mozzarella, pesto, basil, tomato on a baguette) had several layers of room temperature turkey on it. The bread was hard, there were 3 shriveled, tiny pieces of basil and the pesto was practically nonexistent. I also ordered a Blt which had half of one piece of bacon sitting atop a whole salads worth of lettuce. I couldn’t finish my gross turkey sandwich, and was too scared to further inspect the BLT before throwing them both out. Fucking gross.
The only good thing that I left with was a mango smoothie. My coffee was cold by the time I got home.

I asked them a question on the phone. They answered it and hung up without taking my order.

Every single time I come here, they somehow get my order wrong. Once, I was the only customer there and they completely forgot my order. I was sitting waiting and they were like «oh, what did you order?» after I had already paid.
The staff seems like they hate being there. I’ve given up on this place.
— — — — — –Update — — — — — — -
I gave this place another shot. Let me say they got my order correct and it was delicious. Looks like they have new staff. Good job, Lunchbox.

I like getting juices from here in the morning sometimes if I don’t have to make my own. But I don’t recommend anything with beets. For some reason there beets are nasty! I have check on many occasions and its proven to me.
The place is great– staff is nice they have great juices

Amazing fresh juices medium for $ 4.50 … I get the Staffs choice ones once a week … the beet juice makes me feel amazing! The salads and sandwiches are great too. Staff is friendly. Great spot to pop in and grab something to go! I had a weird experience with delivery and not somewhere I stop and eat besides maybe super casually and if it’s nice outside I’ll sit at their little outdoor table. My favorite grab and go in the neighborhood !

I’ve been coming to Lunchbox since I moved to the neighborhood over a year ago. For awhile I was working from home and did a lot of work from Lunchbox, so I’ve spent a lot of time there. When I first started going I would’ve probably given it four stars, but over the past year the quality has declined to two.
Things they still do great: smoothies, iced coffee, some sandwiches, usually clean bathroom.
Things that are lacking:
— The staff has had a lot of turnover, which makes sense because of the type of place it is, but customer service has really plummeted. I don’t require a lot from a local café, and I like when the staff seems to have a rapport with each other, but lately when I walk in I feel like I’m interrupting the counter workers’ private conversations. I’ve let them know I’m ordering «for here» and they still put my stuff in a to go bag, call it out in a really quiet voice, and don’t look up to notice if I’ve picked it up, whereas before they used to actually bring the basket of food out to my table. Kind of a bummer.
— The lack of attention has extended to the food, too. Wilted lettuce in the salads, scalding hot milk and burnt-​coffee taste in the espresso drinks, etc.
— The overall ambiance feels unwelcoming. They repainted and added a big table sometime in the last year, but the back area still feels somewhat haphazardly put-​together. There are often boxes and things stored back there so you’re not sure if you’re supposed to be there.
In general, I still stop in sometimes for a drip coffee or bagel on the way to the subway, and I’m hoping they’ll turn it around (at which point I’ll update my review), but for now I don’t plan on spending as much time there as I used to.

Didn’t have any smoothie options available. Then when I went to pay with my debit card I didn’t meet the minimum purchase price. Smoothie is $ 4.50 and the min on a card is $ 5.00. I walked out. Good Morning!

I feel like this place goes out of it’s way to hire unfriendly staff. Went in yesterday and ordered an espresso. The guy behind the counter in the NYC baseball cap couldn’t have been less enthusiastic. When my espresso was ready, he placed it on the counter right in front of himself in an exaggerated way as if to say, «I’m too good to hand your coffee to you.»
Happened to be walking by this morning and went in order to an egg sandwich. The same basket of sunshine in the NYC baseball cap was there again. When I asked for a receipt, he literally rolled his eyes at me. Sorry to have had the nerve to ask for something. I should’ve known better.
I’m pretty convinced that the only reason this place stays in business is because it’s on a fairly desolate stretch of Norman Avenue with nowhere else to get coffee close by. Going in isn’t a pleasant experience and I don’t plan to do it again.

I wouldn’t order a salad here.
The avocado was hard as a rock. At that point, just call me and say you are out of avocado, don’t toss a bunch of green inedible shapes into my food.
The fun didn’t stop there, no. My salad also included a rubber, egg shaped husk, with a texture similar to something that might have come out of Ash from Alien after he got his head knocked off. It’s as if the boiled egg I added to my salad had been boiled to the point of becoming plasticized.
Also the sun-​dried tomatoes were tossed in whole, total lack of effort on their part.

They make great sandwiches. Only problem is, 50% of the time they don’t have the right bread for the sandwich. Sometimes they don’t have any bread at all. The reviews about the slowness of the service are not exaggerated. Be prepared to wait and don’t be in a hurry. You will not get any sympathy for wanting your food quickly. I’m glad they got rid of the guy who used to always talk on his cell phone while making the sandwiches.
My tip to the owner: Make sure you have bread in stock when I come to order a sandwich. You will get a lot more business from me.

I used to like to this place until today.
Not only they screwed up my grubhub order and sent me the wrong drink,
the tomato slice in my $ 9 sandwich was the bottom part that you throw in a garbage
I’m attaching a visual.
This is a disgrace and a shame, I’ll never order from here again.