The Lunch Box

I’m so glad I worked from home on Friday. Mainly because I got to try this place, which seems like it’s only open for weekday lunch. I’ll purposely try to work from home now often so I can come back to try more of their sandwiches!
I got the BBQ brisket on french bread – only because they ran out of the dutch crunch (12:30pm on Friday). :(but that was okay because it was still super delicious. Asked the guy at the counter what cheese he recommended and he suggested the pepper jack cheese (it was a good choice). The sandwich came hot with melted cheese and a juicy BBQ brisket that made the bread a little soggy, but that was fine – I still dug in with my hands (this sandwich is not for the dainty). The brisket was super moist and flavorful, and while not super cheap, it’s also not expensive ($ 8.35 for the 8″? sandwich, including tax). And while you may say 8″ is not very big, oh, does this sandwich pack a punch and fill you up. Only downside for me was the couple of fat pieces in the brisket, but I’m also just weird about meat fat.
For first time customers, it goes like this: Order on the left side, wait for your order to be called, then pay. Took about 10 minutes for my order to be ready, so don’t come if you’re in a super rush.

This is a walk-​up/​walk-​in sandwich shop. They offer a variety of freshly made sandwiches on a variety of rolls. I’ve had the buffalo chicken wrap and the pulled pork sandwich. Both were very good. Talked with the owner and he was will to make (mix and match) pretty much anything on the menu. It’s supposed to rain this Friday, so I’m thinking a cup of the Creamy Tomato Soup with a side of diced hot links… Definitely try this place, if you work in the vicinity of 17^th and Franklin.

quick, friendly service and they even made me a buffalo chicken sandwich that isn’t on the menu (only in a salad). Good eats for lunchtime.

Nearby lunch place for the nearby working crowd. What a complete disappointment! I ordered a Chicken Caesar, tossed. What I got was Romaine lettuce with watered down Caesar dressing and deli sliced chicken. I asked for croutons and got two slices of toasted French bread. I guess their definition of Chicken Breast is sliced deli chicken, tasteless just like the rest of the salad! Only reason why this isn’t a one star rating was it was a generous helping, but I did ask for a «large.» Just didn’t expect tasteless dressing, croutons, and thrown in slices of chicken on top of a bland salad! Won’t be going back in 2016, that’s for sure!

Come on! Whether you need a hot bowl of soup or a delicious cold sandwich, The Lunchbox has it! Very clean, great service, fabulous prices and delicious food!

I love this place! One of my favorite sandwich places. Two of my favorites are the reuben and the Italian sausage sandwiches. They have great crunchy hard rolls like the dutch crunch and sourdough. Their olive medleys are delicious. They also offer soups, salads, and hot plates. They great really busy during lunch, so get there early or be prepared to wait. Or call in your order ahead of time. Don’t forget your frequent buyer’s card: purchase 11, get 1 free.

Came here yesterday for lunch for the first time and here i am back again for lunch today. Ordered the sandwich and soup combo, with bbq brisket and tomato soup and both were delicious. If I live closer, im sure i will be here very often.

I came here yesterday after a company conference at Marriott. Hands down the best sandwich shop I’ve ever been too.
I ordered the HOT LINK sandwich with Jalapeño Tapenade. Super delicious!!!
I live 40 mins away and I’m about to go again today Lol. The lady was so sweet and welcoming. Love this place!

I went into the Lunch Box for the first time yesterday. The staff seemed friendly and helpful. The place had its menu up on the wall clearly laid out and easy to read.
I decided to go with the Avocado and Cheese with provolone on Dutch Crunch bread toasted and with Olives & Garlic Tapenade. OMG this sandwich was delicious! I paid a little over $ 8 for the sandwich which seemed a little steep, but you definitely get good quality food for what you pay for. The sandwich seemed small at first, but after I ate the entire sandwich I felt beyond stuffed! The sandwich was absolutely too delicious to put down.
I will definitely go back. Thank you Lunch Box for the delicious sandwich

I loooooooooooooooove this place. i usually get their avocado sandwich and add jalapenos… listen, its heavenly. the place gets packed, but there are several ppl working the counter and everyone is friendly. they have a variety of drinks, chips and candies (yummers for Gummi Bears). and you can get one of those little reward punch cards… trust me, you’ll be surprised how quickly you can fill that bad boy up.
basically what i’m sayin is GO HERE!!!

I eat here everyday because the food is great and the owners are fantastic people.
Worth the trip if you are from out of town and are looking for a real deli in Oakland.

I had this place bookmarked for awhile and finally got a chance to try it and if I had to review it in one sentence it’d be: I like it better than Ikes.
The service is alright, and I don’t understand why folks even complain. It’s a busy spot around noon, and the woman who works the counter works at a quick pace. She doesn’t have time for your dumbass. It’s a sandwich spot, and honestly that’s my type of service. It’s packed, there’s a lot of people, I just like to order, pay for it, get my sandwich, and leave.
I love a good dutch crunch, and this place is hit or miss. Sometimes the sandwich is flaccid, other times it has just the right amount of crunch. The bbq brisket was alright, nothing I’d call absolutely must try. It’s just a good overall sandwich, but it’s the portion that gets me. These things are stuffed and they come out to be the size of a Chipolte burrito. For the price, I think it’s 4* worthy.
I’d like to think of it as a last resort lunch, if I’m craving a sandwich for lunch in Oakland, this is probably my go to spot.

The sandwich is a solid 4-​star sammich. Good crusty, toasty bread, plenty of brisket, flavorful toppings.
So why am I giving it 2 stars? Because I had to listen to a member of the management staff berate an employee for most of the 10 minutes I was waiting for my sandwich. It was after the lunch rush, so there were a few folks ahead of me waiting for their sandwiches, but in general the place was pretty quiet and we could hear every word (since it’s not that big anyway). The counter ordering process was efficient and friendly enough, but having to listen to this woman yell for the entire time I waited made me uncomfortable and annoyed. I watched one customer walk in and walk back out without ordering, saying «I can’t listen to this woman.» Since I hadn’t yet paid I was tempted to walk out, but I suspect some poor employee would get yelled at for having an unpaid order hanging around.
Instead of being a passive-​aggressive Unilocaler, I thought, I’m actually going to say something and let her know that yelling in front of customers isn’t cool (IMO it’s not cool in general, but that’s another story). I asked the counter guy if I could talk to her, and she came over. I calmly said that I was uncomfortable having to hear all the yelling, and also that I’d observed someone else leaving because of it. I said «I’m a first time customer here and this makes me not want to come back at all.»
In the *exact same tone of voice* she used with the employee she let me know how bad a day that she was having, how she wasn’t yelling, she was just explaining (though she copped to yelling «earlier» and said she’d apologized to the employee). Nope, sorry, I didn’t really want to hear about how crappy your day is going; I can observe that myself. And if high-​stress loud, in your face talking isn’t «yelling» then you might want to tone down your normal «explaining» voice just a tad.
While she’s talking to me, she pulls out the punch card shown in the photo and angrily fills it with stamps (I felt bad for the poor little stamp, wondering if it was going to survive the fury… it did, but it may be traumatized) and offered the card to me as a chance to «make it up to me.» I might keep it as an amusing souvenir, but I’m not so eager to go back.
(As an aside, as I was walking away another woman who was waiting at the same time I was said «I’m so glad you said something, I would have been afraid to.» She also shared that this manager is like that all the time. It’s a wonder people go back. I mean, the sammiches are good, and well-​priced, but if I wanted yelling, I’d be watching Jerry Springer, not going to the sammich shop.

I love this place. I work a few streets over so I come here for lunch at least once a week. I get the pulled pork sandwich, the medium caesar chicken salad, or their soups. The food is served quickly but it’s so fresh and delicious. The team is always friendly and they actually talk to their customers. I love businesses like these. The Lunch Box has won my heart for sure!

Fast and friendly! This is more like an on-​the-​go spot; there are a few chairs, but most people pick up their salad/​sandwich and leave. Everything is made to order so you can customize your food as you please. I tried the Mediterranean salad and added chicken. Relatively basic, but it was tasty and I have nothing to complain about.
Also, for those of you who are still like me and are snack fiends, they have a wide array of chips and candy.
Even with a line I was in and out within 10 mins. They have a stamp card too, so don’t forget to ask! Also, it’s a small spot so there’s only street parking.

Small place in a convenient spot.
Although we went at a busy time there was a fair amount of seating. Seems that most of their customers order food to go.
The ingredients are all fresh including the bread which they get everyday. Very soft :3 What attracted me to this place was their pictures of the bbq brisket sandwich. I’m a sucker for some bbq sauce and cheese :3
The bbq sauce was good, not overly sweet. Brisket was tender but not chewy. The only thing that disappointed me was the lack of cheese. To be fair it was probably your average amount but pictures can be misleading. I was expecting a plethora =p
If you are hoping for cheesey bbq goodness like I was ask for extra!
Sister got a chicken salad sandwich and enjoyed that a lot as well. Pretty solid spot for eat in and on the go! They make sandwiches fresh so it’s not super fast service so if you’re in a hurry call ahead of time.
The lady is very nice as well too (=

Another great lunch spot in dt oakland. The Lunch Box serves sandwhiches, salads and hot plates. Service is usually fast and friendly. At lunch, the lines can get long but just phone in your order ahead of time to pick up.
For $ 8.99, I chose to get the bbq brisket hot plate that comes with caesar or garden salad, mashed potatoes and a piece of bread on the side. I was pleasantly surprised by the bbq brisket. I usually don’t like any sauce on my brisket but this sauce had a nice flavor to it and didn’t overpower the brisket. The meat itself was nice and tender. The mashed potatoes were pretty creamy and was a nice carb addition to the protein. The salad was decent and I liked that they didn’t overdress the salad with dressing.
All in all, a great lunch spot for a sando, salad or a meal.

Pretty crowded but highly efficient here– plenty of entertainment while you wait.
Ordered the tuna salad and chicken noodle soup: satisfying portions, no complaints.
Soup: big chunks of chicken super tender (yay for not dry chicken!), but a little on the salty side for me. Light on the macaroni pasta, but the meat ratio is great.
Salad: as some others have mentioned the tuna doesn’t have too much mayo, so I was glad for it. Salad itself is just your simple green lettuce salad mix.
Solid lunch spot.

Great sandwiches, great prices, and fast and friendly service! What else do you want from a sandwich place?
I’ve been here a few times now and I have never been disappointed. They have a pretty wide selection of items on their menu including sandwiches, soups, salads, and wraps. All I’ve ever tried though are their sandwiches. Their lines do tend to build up around lunch time. However, they are very smart about how they take orders to speed up the process so I’ve never had to wait longer than 10 minutes. My favorite sandwich by far has been the chicken salad sandwich on wheat with pepperjack cheese. For what you pay ($ 6,90 for the sandwich), it is definitely the best you can get in the area.
I will certainly keep coming back and maybe try another one of their menu items sometime!

I was so desperately seeking lunch options this afternoon, not considering any of my usuals, needing a change.
I pass this establishment many times as my dentist is on the same block. Finally after Unilocaling lunch today, this is one that popped up on the first page.
I head over, and parked right in front, their white zone for pick ups, such a great beginning. I walk in and immediately am greeted. I asked if they had spaghetti and meatballs, he offered garden or ceasar, I opted for ceasar.
The front box is flipped open to see if you are satisfy. I thought the spaghetti was over cooked but just couldn’t bring myself to down a star, I finished everything, including the bread and butter, which is the real stuff, land o lakes.
Don’t forget to get your purchase card, buy 12, get 1 free.
For such a small place, their menu varies in something for everyone.
Thanks for such a great lunch, it really hit the spot.