The Lunchbox Diner

Wow.
Another hidden gem in a sketchy part of town. I parked my car beside a broken down couch, smashed tvs and unused pallets.
We went in and sat ourselves, the interior of the restaurant is done in «industrial chic». Battered pepsi machine, with cracked linoleum and random knick knacks (the kind of thing you’d see for sale in a garage sale) adorn this place.
The crowd was thin, about 3 tables beside our table of 4.
It took 3.5 minutes for somebody (the owners son?) to come out, get a drink order and give us our menus.
The menus themselves are very «dinery» (see photos) and the odd thing is their pricing. For example a coffee is «$ 1.91» WHY?! Why isn’t it $ 2? why, $ 1.91? Why the extra penny?
When our $ 1.91 Pepsi’s came the glasses were uniformly dirty, luckily they served them in unopened cans to us. They weren’t filthy glasses just, not clean. You know, like if you ran them in a dishwasher with too many other things at the same time, while using cheap detergent.
With this all in mind, we ordered food. Why not? We were hungry, and being 4 guys with iron guts, what could possibly happen?
What happened blew us away. The meals all came out uniformly beautiful, huge portions and as mentioned before, ridiculously priced.
My companion who has eaten Schnitzel all across Germany, gave his Schnitzel a solid thumbs up. Look at the photos. Those are actual meals, not staged.
When we went to pay (they don’t take VISA/​MC only debit/​cash) the owner/​chef/​server apologized for the poor service. He said «when we know it’s going to be busy, like after payday, my wife comes in to help»
Think about the crowd that normally comes here… a crowd where $ 1.91 Pepsi is a luxury saved for after pay days.
A hidden gem, and getting a solid 5 star.
Why did this place get a 5 star review?
Plenty of free parking
Great value for the food (you can definitely share the gigantic portions)
Hot, fresh, and made by the owner/​operator.
Why didn’t I deduct any stars?
Even though it was dirty inside, it wasn’t an uncared gross uncleanliness, it was just a mom and pop diner where every second counts.

Housed amidst scores of industrial warehouses in Edmonton’s northwest, the Lunchbox Diner caters very well to its largely blue collar clientele. Run largely by the cook (not chef, he has vocally corrected) and owner, he takes your order, cooks, serves and cleans up after you. On the rare occasion, his wife helps with the service, but mostly this is a one man show.
The menu is the typical diner classics: burgers, grilled and fresh sandwiches, soups and each day has a unique special along with a soup/​sandwich special.
I’ve enjoyed the bacon cheeseburger and mushroom cheeseburger on a number of occasions. The bacon is a meatier variety. Not quite back bacon, yet not quite the run if the mill bacon either. There’s both a crispness and chewiness that’s the best qualities of each texture. The garnishes are fresh, brightly flavoured and the bun has a perfect butter-​grilled toast to it.
The fries are homemade. A crisp snap to the exterior with a fluffy interior.
I’ve also had the Wiener schnitzel. As someone with Hungarian descent, the crispness of the breading is as audibly delicious as it is to the palate. His attention to detail is stunning considering his blue collar, rustic environment. Instead of drowning the perfect crispness of the schnitzel coating with gravy, he nestles the two large cutlets on top of the smooth mashed potatoes and, like a perch, the gravy is pooled beneath for subsequent mopping in a more controlled manner.
The only item I’ve had here that wasn’t absolutely superlative in its field was the fish n chips. The chips were his homemade fries, which are great, but the fish was breaded poorly with a soft filet, making the overall product unusually soft and mushy. This is what keeps me from giving Lunchbox Diner a perfect 5 stars.
And if you see the roast pork on special, get it! It’s a slow cooked pork shank that absolutely falls apart into melted shreds of sweet tenderness.
Don’t be deterred by the rustic exterior and decade old décor, this is a rare treasure.