Bento Box

Oh boy, frickin’ good chicken is right…
Bento Box is everything lunch should be: simple, fresh, fast, and delicious. The chicken is always juicy and grilled to perfection, the veggies fresh and crisp, the rice expertly cooked.
Key word is SIMPLE: if you’re looking for an elaborate dish with complex ingredients, spices, and «flavor profiles», look elsewhere. This place doesn’t over-​complicate things, and lets the fresh ingredients shine. Plus, at $ 7/​box this place is a steal; $ 6 if you don’t get chicken… but the chicken is the whole point!
On par with the great food is the *fantastic* service. Jeff, Rue, and Madeline are AMAZING! (I love you guys!) They remember your name and your order, and are always fun to talk to. My favorite cart by far.
Pro-​Tip: Ask them to leave the box open so you can do your own sauce, then have at it with the teriyaki, sweet-​chili, and Sriracha.

Super friendly guy and delicious grilled chicken. I got the chicken bento box with teriaki and sriacha, grilled onions and veggies. Also, really nice big portion size. Recommended if you’re really hungry but don’t wanna be weighed down by something greasy

I work downtown 40 hours a week retail hours and I come here on my lunch AT LEAST once a week! I love that it’s simple to the point and everything is always cooked perfectly! If you’re brave just order the chicken bento with everything it hits the spot every time. I love this place, I just wish it were open on weekends!!!

My go to food truck. Healthy and good. Clean and nice people, came out satisfied and not sick. One of the best in Portland

YUUUUUM! Love this cart! They are super nice, fast and the food is delicious! Huge portion for $ 7.50. I’m definitely a fan!

This is my favorite food cart in Portland. Born and Raised in PDX.
Grass feed Organic Chicken. Steamed Organic non-​GMO veggies. Organic brown rice. Choice of sauces. Love this place. Jeff the owner is the MAN.

Pros: super nice people, crisp veggies, chicken was cooked well.
Cons: Not a bento box. It is a box with rice/​chicken/​veggies/​sauce on top of one another. The flavor was rather bland. Seems they rely on Sriracha for flavor. For lack of better terms, it is what white people would make and call a bento box. Good for some but not for me.

While a box of chicken, rice, and veggies doesn’t sound all that exciting it truly is delicious! The service is fast and all the employees are SUPER friendly! This is definitely my go-​to cart when I need something health, filling, and affordable! They are very filling and I almost always have leftovers. Definitely a «lunch-​break» favorite!

What makes this my favorite bento in downtown is three simple things. Consistency, freshness and service. You will get exactly what you expect with the freshest ingredients handed to you with a smile. The boxes come in a good size portion that should satisfy just about anyone. Go ahead and get the sriracha on top. It’s only enough to give the meal a nice kick.

I may die of boredom.
I realise people like their «healthy» food. But this is boooooooooorrrrring.
Bento Box serves exactly what the name implies: a box of chicken and rice. Or vegetables if you want. You get chicken and white– or brown rice with steamed veg, your choice of teriyaki, grilled onions, sriracha, and/​or sweet chili sauce. With chicken, it’s $ 7.50; without, it’s $ 6.50. Whatever you put on it, it won’t matter: there’s no _​there_​there.
Sometimes, you have to let the conversation be the review:
«This meal is like wearing beige and khaki.»
«This meal is yoga pants, walking a dog, pushing a baby stroller, wearing a baseball hat.»
«Feeling uninspired/​I think I’ll start a fire.» –Stone Temple Pilots
«This is like the Dave Matthews Band in food form.»
«There’s nothing *wrong* with it; it’s just not very good.»
«This is some frozen-​Swanson level of vegetables right here.»
«The best thing about it was the sweet chili sauce I put on it.»
If you’re into chicken and rice, knock yourself out. But there are a lot better and more creative places to get a lunch for $ 7.50.
Nice people, serving a market – I’m obviously just not the market. I wish them the best of luck – I just didn’t like it.
You know, opinions, right?

While Bento isn’t necessarily the sexiest cuisine, this cart is exceptionally wonderful. The bento ingredients are high quaility – perfectly cooked chicken (that’s what I get), fresh steamed veggies, brown or white rice – and the portion is huge. It’s a great value for the price and you certainly won’t be hungry after eating it. And because of the fresh, wholesome ingredients you’ll feel healthy rather than gross – even if you stuff your face with too much.
More importantly, they serve up your order lickity-​split fast, and the people working the cart are super hospitable and friendly. The top notch customer service – in a freakin’ cart no less – goes a long way with me.

I always get the chicken, add veggies, with at least one or two of the sauce options So simple but so good! The chicken is perfectly seasoned and cooked and the veggies are vibrant and tender. The owner is also an incredibly friendly guy!

This is easily my favorite food cart. Affordable, and more importantly, delicious. Without question the best food cart in Portland. The guy who runs it is so nice, the food is incredible, there’s just nothing bad to say!!!

Yea it was pretty good.
Good sized portions. Chicken for $ 7.50, veggie for $ 6.50. I still wish cart food were more like $ 5, but they are competitive with their peers at this large pod (and no surcharge for using a card, which was nice). The food quality was good — good veggies and chicken, and the rice was cooked well. The service was pretty efficient, and they were very friendly and organized (I hate it when carts lose track of FIFO ordering).
The only reason I took 1 star off is that their sauce selection is limited. They have terriyaki, sweet chili, and sriacha. I had Sriacha, and was pleased to see that they put a bit of terriyaki in the rice. But I kind of wish they would compete more directly with Whole Bowl or Yumm Bowl and add some sort of talisman /​sweet curry type sauce. That would be killer.

Service is so great that I am excited to go just because of the way I’m treated… Then add amazing food on top of that! Killer combo! Veggies are never soggy, chicken chunks are huge, service is fast, all around wonderful! Yumm!

Before I had a chance to try Bento Box I had heard a few of my friends talking about it. They always enjoyed it, it looked delicious, and seemed like a good price, so they suggested I give it a shot, so I did, and I was very impressed. One of the best ways to get a good review from me is to have a friendly staff and good service and they certainly delivered. The man up front was easy to talk with and was great at making sure I was going to get what I wanted, which I appreciated.
The food is very simple, but it tastes incredible. They will load you up with a mountain of rice, crispy veggies, and either tofu or chicken, and whatever sauces you would like. It’s also fresh, so that’s a wonderful bonus as well. It doesn’t take long to get your food, which makes this place a great choice for those super short lunch breaks. Lastly, the price is fair. I eat like a horse, so the $ 7.50 I paid gave me one great meal, however I could easily see the portions they give lasting someone for a lunch & dinner combo. You’ll probably have some left overs!
If you like simple food with great flavor you should give this place a shot. You won’t be disappointed.

Simple, tasty food and I didn’t feel gross after eating because it’s pretty light. I had the chicken bento box, which had perfectly grilled chicken, yummy veggies and brown rice. The portion was huge and even when I was done, it still felt like there was a pound of food left in the box. Pretty good value for $ 7.50.
The folks that work here are super friendly and gave us recommendations for other places to try. We really appreciated talking to people so invested in the city.

YEAH! I love BentoBox. Nice people and very healthy food. They have a small menu but they are consistently delicious.
I was surprised to see negative reviews as there is nothing to be negative about. Except maybe that they don’t give the food away for free. Yeah you guys should do that. I would be there everyday.
Thanks for being awesome.

Quickly becoming one of my very favorite food carts.
It’s not the cheapest lunch, but it’s a lot healthier than most of the other options, and the freshness and taste are awesome.
You’re basically looking at two options. Veggies and Rice or Chicken, Veggies, and Rice. They’ll top it with any combo of their three sauces (Sriracha, Teriyaki, Sweet Chili). I like a mix of all 3. The chicken has a great grilled /​BBQ flavor, and the veggies are really crisp and fresh.
Big fan.

I want to preface this by saying that Bento Box wasn’t BAD by any means, and if I had something like a gift certificate, I would use it (instead of trying to sell it).
The issue with Bento Box is that the food isn’t really anything special, especially when you consider the fact that it’s sandwiched between dozens of other carts that are a bit better (and the same price). It’s incredibly average.
While the rice, steamed vegetables, and a grilled piece of chicken (along with some sauce) ended up tasted just fine, it tasted like something I could just whip up at home, and there wasn’t really anything setting it apart from the dozens of choices nearby.
(Original review, ³⁄₅ stars)
Update: July 2015
After visiting here a few more times, I’ve decided to update my review to ⁴⁄₅ stars. While I still stand by with my original review, for what Bento Box does, it’s done well. The food has always been prepared well, tastes fresh, and I’ve never had a bad meal out of it. It’s deservidely earned it’s popularity, and I still visit from time to time.