Tokyo Lunch Boxes & Catering

I had been wanting to eat lunch here forever but after I looked a couple times and couldn’t find it and gave up. Eventually, I found it. It’s pretty tucked away in the pedway.
First time I tried their pork belly ramen and enjoyed that but today I went for the beef udon and oh my God, I loved it. I’m not sure what the sushi is like, but I really like their hot meals, I’m going to try the pork belly buns next.

The food is just an average ok, I’ve had worse and I’ve had better, but I do think this place is WAY over priced… a can of arizona tea for $ 1.30?! You can get the big cans for 99 cents!
Tiny side salad that was so watery and the dressing was watered down too…
The shrimp shumai was way over cooked… it was like mush…
The honeymoon Maki… it wasn’t horrible but definitely wasn’t good enough to leave an impression. This would be the place to eat if you only have 5 minutes and forgot your lunch that day.
Cashier is kinda bitchy, but the other guys making the rolls are very friendly and eager to give away samples!

Sashimi Salad with Rice didn’t sound like a great idea to begin with. It was confirmed this afternoon. I usually go here for the Teriyaki bowl… it’s still the item of choice here.

I decided to get sushi from here at the last minute after taking a break from them. All I can say is that my Salmon Avocado roll was disgusting!!! The roll was packed with way too much rice and and way too little pieces or should I say slivers of salmon and avocado. Some of the salmon pieces looked brown like it had been sitting out all morning while the others were slimy and unappetizing.
Even though it’s fast food sushi… it should be edible. I definitely will not be having sushi here anytime soon.

If you need a quick sushi fix, TLB will work, but I Heart Sushi is a better choice.
The cuts are thin and small. The rolls are VERY rice heavy. Service is, however, friendly and quick.

Fast food sushi. The food is OK. The service is better than average.
It’s hard to write a review for this because there is not much to single out other than they deliver fast-​food grade sushi quickly and with good service.
No one will confuse them with a true sushi restaurant. At the same time they are better than a grocery store or pre-​packaged sushi.

Way better than most ready-​to-​go sushi places. Also, the staff here are extremely friendly and offer samples daily! They have sushi made with brown rice and sushi made with white rice. I usually get the Philadelphia maki or the salmon and tuna maki. They have great sides like edamame and pot stickers, too. Affordable and filling! I recommend this place wholeheartedly.

Best udon in the loop. I typically get vegetable udon with fried tofu extra spicy, and I can’t get enough of it. I dream of their udon its so good. Sometimes I get food else where in the food court but still stop by Tokyo Lunch Box for a miso soup or spicy tofu soup.
Staff is really friendly and give free samples while you wait in line.

OMG — This is the best vegetarian-​friendly Japanese food I’ve ever had! And I really mean it!
What makes me kick myself is that I discovered this after almost 3 years of working in this building. What makes me smile is that I wouldn’t have ventured in without a chance encounter with Unilocal reviews that highlighted it’s veg-​friendliness!
LOVED the edamame gyoza although the spicy tofu soup was one star less — can’t wait to try more!
Also, the staff here is probably one of the friendliest set in the office complex!

I’ve decided to expand my horizons and try some different sushi places. I went to the Tokyo Lunch Box for lunch 2 times in the past week. The first time I got the shrimp tempura sushi and it was quite good. The second time I got the california roll and it was not so good. It wasn’t as fresh tasting. So, as others have said, it’s an ok place to grab some quick sushi, but it really isn’t anything to write home about. I have a feeling that the made to order shushi is better than the pre-​made. I like that they have brown rice sushi, though.

Tokyo doesn’t front like they’re some super swanky sit down sushi joint. They’re a tiny little storefront restaurant tucked in the bowels of a pedway with premade sushi to run-​and-​grab when you’re in a hurry. Sure, there’s seating… and yes, they do make sushi to order.
Where Tokyo Lunchboxes shines for me is their brown rice sushi options and vegetarian sushi selections. Every now and then I feel like I NEED to nom nom nom on a shitake maki (and what fun to say! Try it!!) and Tokyo’s always there for me. And I do enjoy their edamame shumai, delicate little dumplings that they are.
If you’re in the building and need a brown rice veggie sushi situation, well… here it is.
p. s. the cashier lady is SUPER friendly.

This place is perfect for a quick sushi craving fix. Nearly every time I have been in here they give out free samples, and I do love free samples!!! Won me over with that! They have premade sushi as well as made to order. It’s pretty decently priced, and there are also an assortment of other appetizers– salads, soup, edamame etc. For what you pay, this place is pretty decent quality.

I can’t decide if I like this place or not. It’s quick and it satisfies basic in-​the-​loop-​at-​lunchtime Japanese food cravings (for me, sushi, soy sauce, miso soup, noodles and veggies and tofu, rice and veggies and tofu) but the food just isn’t that interesting or exciting. Both the rice bowls and the noodle soups consist of starch, a few almost-​raw veggies, a few pieces of protein, and a rather bland sauce or broth. They’re low-​maintenance and probably healthier this way, but they both need more seasoning and spice than they come with. I’ve had better luck with the sushi – vegetarian, shitake mushrooms with brown rice – and it’s also fairly cheap. As for the bowls, they’re not overly expensive either, but they’re so simple that I feel if I devoted a half-​hour to it, I could probably come up with a tastier recipe.

This place is fine for a quick lunch. Its definitely not the best sushi or noodle soup I’ve ever had, but it works for a reasonably cheap lunch option. The chicken wasn’t the most tender I’ve had in the soup, but the noodles were good and the broth was decent…

I hate to do this but I will not be going back to Tokyo Lunch Box anytime soon! I had a craving for a good sized roll and seaweed salad. Well I got them and they were just AWFUL. My seaweed salad was completely frozen, I let it sit for awhile but that didn’t help because after it defrosted it just tasted terrible. It hurt my tastebuds it was so bad. Onto my roll, the size of the roll was good but they were just about frozen as well. What the heck is going on? I know it’s absolutely freezing outside but where’s the climate control?
Unfortunately I was stuck with the entire meal because I was already back in my office when I realized just how bad my items were. I think I deserve some sort of free meal from them to make up for the ass kicking on my tastebuds.

A little hard to find, but worth it for the udon. Get it to-​go, as the other option is the cramped inside or at tables set up in the pedway. i’ve eaten at a few of the tokyo lunch box locations, and seem to recall the sushi at the wells location being better.

I came here for lunch one day after hearing great things about the other Tokyo Lunch Box locations. Perhaps, my expectations were too high. My first impression was that it’s a very, very small place with limited seating. It’s like fast food sushi. Anyway, I tried not to judge the book by its cover and ordered the U-​dong and special roll. I’ve had better U-​dong at this place in Arlington Heights called Mitsuwa which is also food court style and nothing fancy. The special roll was ok. Not particularly good or bad.

This is a great place to grab carry-​out sushi downtown. The seating is limited and a lot of people come and go from this place during the lunch hour, so it isn’t too great for a quiet dine-​in experience. They have sushi that is already prepared and placed in a case or else they make sushi on order as well.