Lunchpad

Maybe I just don’t get this place. It’s in a bar, but they don’t serve alcohol. That is tragic. When I was there at 1:30 they ran out of bread for the folks in line after us. The sandwiches are just OK. The two we ordered were fairly bland, despite all the enticing ingredients. The bread they came on was Safeway baguette quality, which is a shame in a city with such amazing bread. All things considered, the sandwiches also seem overpriced. Sorry Lunchpad, I think you are just overhyped SF mediocrity.

wednesday is my fave day (chicken run). I just wish there was more bacon for the $ 3 and more chesse for the BYO grilled cheese. Cute ambiance, friendly staff. Even better? You can turn your sammies into salads. :)

Lunchpad makes a mean sandwich AND they deliver! Oh, and they have gluten free bread and gladly accommodate special requests (cheddar instead of swiss, no bacon, etc). We use them for group lunch orders at work, and they never disappoint.
If you’re not a sando lover, they can make any sandwich into a salad — something that every lunch place should do! If you can put the ingredients on bread, why can’t you put them on lettuce? Lunchpad gets it.
I like any of their turkey sandwiches. The Turkey Drizzle has: roast turkey, habanero candied bacon, swiss cheese, cashew pesto, caramelized onions, giardiniera, greens, tomatoes and a drizzle of balsamic reduction. Mmm!
A lifesaver for lunch catering. Try em!

The food here is SO good. They have delicious sandwiches (any sandwich can be made as a salad), made to order chips and pickles.
I’ve come here a couple of times and split the «Turkey Drizzle» and «Popeye» sandwiches with a friend… both were delicious!

Ate here during a recent business trip in late September of 2015. Because the sandwiches were picked-​up for our training group, my review is going to slightly deviate from its usual format since I cannot rate the service, nor the atmosphere.
Food: I had the A-​Bomb. I was really mixed about doing this because John Sterling (the announcer for the NY Yankees) always commentated the following when Alex Rodriguez hit a homerun, «An A-​Bomb, from A-​Rod». Youtube it. not only is it annoying as eff, but I am a Red Sox fan. So eating anything that can be linked in anyway to the Yankees is a no-​no for me. Petty? You betcha. Did Lunchpad name this sandwich after A-Rod’s Homeruns? Nope, probably not. Regardless, that is where I stand.
Anyway, onto the sandwich. I am a firm believer that anybody with some culinary knowledge can make a great sandwich so long as they understand how all the components of a sandwich are supposed to jive with one another. From the bread, to the moistening-​mechanism (sauce/​aioli/​etc), to the veggies, the cheese, and any other fancy toppings, everything has to work in harmony with one another. A sandwich, by my own definition is the sum of its parts. No one ingredient should outshine the others in any fashion.
The A-​Bomb: Roasted turkey, habañero candied bacon, pepper jack, greens, tomatoes, red onion & chipotle remoulade.
What interested me about this sandwich is the ‘heat & sweet’ combo. Habanero coupled with brown sugar, on bacon. Using that with such a blank canvas of a meat such as turkey only heightens the flavor profile of the sandwich. Turkey is the perfect meat for this sandwich because of its adaptability to hot and sweet flavors. I was a little bit worried by the addition of pepper jack cheese and the chipotle remoulade, because I thought the sandwich would be waaaay to spicy. It wasn’t. It was super-​pleasant. A low and slow burn, not an in-​your-​face /​mutate-​your-​sperm spiciness to where all of your future generations will feel the heat from what you ate.
The vessel by which these components were delivered to my mouth was a crusty, fresh roll. Great roll for this sandwich. I hate it when you take a bite into a sandwich and all the stuff squeezes out the back. This roll does not do this. I had feared it would because of its crustiness, but alas, I was mistaken. The bread provided excellent texture and was perfect for this sandwich. The turkey seemed to get a lost a little in everything. The exact reason why turkey is an excellent meat choice for this sandwich, is the exact reason how an un-​nuanced compilation of ingredients could overshadow it as a component. Turkey’s ability to absorb flavors and morph into whatever is needed also runs the risk of becoming lost. I missed the delicious oven-​roasted flavor of the turkey — regardless of how nice everything else was.
The veggies were all incredibly fresh. For me, this sandwich is indisputably defined by its freshness. From the bread, to the veggies, to the other components, it was obvious that the crafters of this sandwich take immense pride in their artistry.
Final Thoughts: Overall though, I stand by my original statement. Anybody with a fair amount of culinary knowledge can make a great sandwich so long as they have to components at their disposal. I could rather easily recreate the interior components of this sandwich at home. The only thing I would have difficulty with is the excellent roll. Because of that, I don’t feel as if this sandwich would be easily reproduced at home. As such, I give it 4 stars as opposed to my standard ‘3’ rating for ‘good’ sandwiches. For your reference, Subway is a 1, Quiznos is a 2, Firehouse subs and Lenny’s (with exception of their cheesesteak) is somewhere between a 2 and a 3.

It’s inside Noir Lounge in the heart of Hayes. Basically a pop up between 9 – 2:30pm daily with an array of sandwiches (which can be turned into salads for the gluten free option for no extra cost). We had a green eggs and ham and The Perfect Storm with added avocado.
Their home made hot sauce is the icing on the cake.
I think the bread is a little much/​heavy but everything else was delicious.
If you order online, they’ll give you 10% off too.
Will surely come back — I want to try the Popeye and the scrambled eggs :)

Holy crap, the salads are DELICIOUS. Most of our party ordered the turkey drizzle salad, which is truly a work of art. The turkey is quality meat, the salad is fresh, the flavors are wonderful. It was probably one of my best meals during my last visit to San Francisco
I organized my sister’s bachelorette party to be held in the back lounge area. The lovely owner Mickey was enthusiastic, responsive, helpful, and adorable. She provided a bride-​to-​be sash, decorations, flowers, etc. She went above and beyond. I barely had to lift a finger. Thank goodness!

Very fresh sandwiches. The in house made hot sauce is delicious!
I had the B.L.WHAAAAAT, got a great kick to it. Big and filling.
Only downside was price of wine per glass is a bit high — $ 14 for a saviogn blanc :(
BUT
she did fill the glass, praises.

A-​okay all around.
Walked in here one Monday afternoon. Made it before closing. The place has some interesting hours thanks to splitting its time as a lounge at night.
Running out of some ingredients at the time we came in, that’s understandable. Ordered the A-​Bomb (minus the bacon). Sandwiches were quite the wait here, despite the lack of people around when we came. I really like the ambiance, but it doesn’t quite make sense for a sandwich joint. But like I said before, it’s not a sandwich place ²⁴⁄₇. I could definitely imagine this being a cool spot to rent out for a private party, if you were into that.
And finally, my sandwich came and it was the moment of truth. Bread was crunchy– kind of on the drier side, not to my liking. The sandwich itself was only okay. I really wanted to like it, but I don’t know if it’s because I have been eating sandwiches my entire time in SF that Lunchpad didn’t meet expectations or also because the sandwich was just completely okay. I was not amazed and by the end of the sandwich, I felt like I was just eating it to finish it.
If you’re in the area, stop by. Otherwise, I think I’ll stick to some of my other favorite sandwich shops in SF.

Oh. My. Goodness. I just moved in across the street from Lunchpad, and it takes serious effort not to eat all of my meals here.
Though it did take me a little while to find. I was craving a sandwich, so I hopped on here and was SUPER surprised to see a sandwich spot across the street. I’d walked that stretch a number of times and never noticed it, because it’s a popup tucked away inside Noir Lounge.
I’ve gotten the same thing every time — the Turkey Drizzler. I keep trying to branch out, but it’s just so delicious: turkey, habanero candied bacon, pesto, caramelized onions, giardiniera, tomatoes, balsamic reduction, greens, and pepper jack (I switch out the swiss) — what’s not to love? The bread is soft on the inside with a slight crunch, the ingredients are fresh, DELICIOUS.
They do have some amazing-​sounding daily specials that have tempted me once or twice. Today’s was something with brie, which is always hard to pass up. But, of course, I stuck with the Drizzler. nnThe sandwiches are big. I often save half for lunch the next day, and they hold up surprisingly well.
Super cool place, which supposedly has free wifi, though I haven’t taken them up on that (yet). Definitely my new favorite lunch spot!

My brother told me about this place and I finally was conveniently in the area and (found parking after a while) got to try out a sandwich! I’ve passed by before so I’ve noticed the unsuspecting location and wasn’t thrown off by the bar atmosphere. However, it’s still nice they have signs outside so you know you’re actually at the right place hahaha
Anyways, I ordered The Jerk was told it would take about 10 minutes. I’m glad there was seating/​a lounge-​like area that was comfortable for waiting in. Sadly, the place smelled amazing and made it a long wait I got my sandwich and right away I thanked my brother in my head for introducing me to this place! The Jerk was full of flavor and spices that were all working harmoniously. The spices of the jerk rub were perfect, it had heat, but not overbearing or unbearable. To balance out the spice, there was that sweet mango chutney that wasn’t as prominent but still noticeable. I’m not sure what greens they used in the sandwich, but I liked the color and crunch that it added. Lastly, the bread was perfectly soft and balanced in ratio to the sandwich. It was nicely toasted and chewy, but in the good way. My only complaint is that the chicken was pretty dry. I anticipated that because it’s jerk chicken, but it really shouldn’t be thaaat dry.
Regardless, the sandwich tasted delicious and I had hesitation in finishing it all! I’ll be sure to come back and try another sandwich!

Pretty solid lunch spot. Their salads are pretty simple, but apparently you can order any sandwich as a salad, which is pretty awesome. They have some pretty generic sandwiches and some more unique ones. I’d recommend the ROAST BEAST and THE JERK! Absolutely delicious! The sandwiches have a pretty generous portion of meat and all the meat is generally pretty good, but the bread is a bit disappointing and chewy. The DOLCE VITA is also amazing if you love superrrr soft mozzarella. I really like their pickles too, which have a slight sweetness. The potato chips are just okay but better than your average bagged chips.
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(GET) ROAST BEAST ($ 9.5) — ⁵⁄₅
[Rare roast beef, horseradish blue cheese slaw & pickled red onions]
Delicious! The roast beef is nicely cooked — soft and tender rather than the typical overcooked, dry roast beef — and the pickled red onions add a nice sweet/​sourness. I’m usually not a fan of blue cheese because it’s so strong, but the blue cheese slaw was actually not overpowering.
(GET) THE JERK ($ 10) — ⁵⁄₅
[Jerk chicken, mango chutney, Swiss, red onions, greens & chipotle remoulade]
SUPER flavorful! The sweetness from the mango chutney and the slight kick from the jerk complement each other so well.
(GET) DOLCE VITA ($ 8) — ⁵⁄₅
[Tomato, basil, greens, buffalo mozzarella & balsamic reduction]
MMMM that mozzarella was so incredibly soft and silky. SO GOOD. Not much «buffalo» flavor though.
CHICKEN LIL ($ 8) — ⁴⁄₅
[Roasted chicken salad with a pesto/​garlic aioli, giardiniera, tomatoes & greens]
The chicken salad is pretty yummy but a little creamier than I’d like.
B.L.WHAAAT! ($ 7.50) — 3.5÷5
[Habañero candied bacon, greens, tomatoes, red onion, roasted garlic aoli, swiss]
The bacon is unique and pretty good. It’s just slightly sweet but I wish it had more of a habañero kick to it. I’m personally not really a bacon person, but it’s worth trying. GET if you really like that bacon.

I had to double check the time when I stepped into Lunchpad. Was I really coming here in broad daylight for lunch, as opposed to coming here for drinks late at night? Overflowing with a dark and sexy ambiance, Lunchpad serves lunch in Noir Lounge. No wonder I felt like I could sip on a cocktail and sink deep into the couches for hours on end.
The Three Little Pigs sandwich was awesome. Habanero candied bacon should be the standard for bacon. Ingredients taste incredibly fresh and left me full and satisfied. Seriously though – habanero candied bacon for life. I have been converted.

Review #400. :)
Popup lunch in a bar! That is Lunchpad, a lunch spot that serves next level sandwiches, some breakfast items and a few salads.
The Lunchpad is housed in Noir Lounge, which makes for one of the coolest spots in the area where you can grab some lunch. Has my 6 month old baby nephew ever eaten in bar before? Now he has! Leave it to his Uncle Howie to corrupt him. Vintage style couches, flat screens TVs behind ornate wood gold frames showing Sportscenter or CNN, vintage style couches, eating on wood tables that have table vices at the end of them. Because Lunchpad is a popup, all those craft cocktails and alcohol behind the bar that is calling out to you unfortunately can’t be served since they aren’t licensed for it. No worries, the foo
Turkey Drizzle ($ 12, Roast Turkey, Habanero Candied Bacon, Swiss, Cashew Pesto, Carmelized Onions, Giardiniera, Greens, Tomatoes, Balsamic Reduction) — You don’t need me to describe it after all that. You had me at habanero candied bacon and sliced turkey breast and cashew pesto. It has a pinch of sweet with a late arriving spice kick that makes itself known by your second bite. It’s as good as it sounds and even better than it looks.
Perfect Storm with added Habanero Candied Bacon ($ 7+$ 2 Bacon = $ 9, Fried Egg, Swiss, Carmelized Onions, Spinach, Chipotle Remoulade on White Bread) — This is their breakfast sandwich. It’s good but it’s not as big as their lunch sandwiches. If you want more of everything, get their lunch sandwiches.
Herbed Parmesan Potato Chip & Drink Combo ($ 3) — This add on is a great deal knowing that you can pick from Boylan Sodas, San Pellegrino Drinks, Honest Iced Tea, Mexican Coke or Peets Coffee. The bag of house made potato chips is required eating if you like chips. Medium thickness chips, not overcooked, well seasoned with a good amount of chips. A solid chip I say!
There are things that we didn’t get to try that look really good… The Hansel (Savory Bread Pudding with Black Forest Ham, Roasted Turkey and Pepper Jack), the Jerk sandwich (Jerk Chicken, Mango Chutney), Build Your Grilled Cheese (you can add bacon and avocado), Berry Delicious salad (Fresh Berries, Arugula, Shave Parmesan, Candied Cashews, Mustard Balsamic).
Whoever put together this creative menu is awesome. There is so much going on each of their items and in everything we had we could taste the quality. Not just quality, but there are layers and layers of different flavors, like first tasting the turkey, then noticing the pesto and then realizing I’m biting into a cashew at the same time while the habanero bacon is kicking in. What can I say, I’d recommend Lunchpad to anyone that is in the Hayes Valley area, bookmark it already!

Sandwich shop in Hayes Valley located inside of Bar Noir which opens up at 4 PM and is a separate business. The inside décor feels rustic with random comfy chairs, cool art, a fancy chandelier and a TV inside an ornate gold picture frame.
We ordered the Alaskan Thunder which is basically a bagel with lox, and the Perfect Storm which is a fried egg, Swiss cheese, caramelized onions, spinach and a chipotle aioli inside of toasted white bread.
I would say the food is tasty and solid, but nothing extra special.
Great vibe and good place for brunch and/​or a hearty sandy when you’re in the mood.

We went for lunch this Saturday. The server was helpful with our questions on the menu. We had the turkey roast salad with cashew pesto, bacon and candied cashews and the three pigs sandwich.
Food was ready in 5 minutes! The salad was huge, there was a lot of turkey. My husband loved his sandwich, a bit spicy.
Many seats available in restaurant. Really appreciated the little free cookie that is offered — almost a bit undercooked like I love :-)
Would definitely go back to try a special of the day.

After spending the morning « Unilocaling» with my fellow conference goers — we were a hungry bunch.
Luckily Jessica T has the foresight to make sure we had lunch delivered to help re-​energize us and get us through the rest of the afternoon.
I had literally agonized over my choice before the conference from the Unilocal reviews to their website — I had an extremely tough decision to make. I did not want anything too heavy so I loved that all of their sandwich options could be turned into a salad — SCORE.
Eventually I decided on the Turkey Drizzle for the simple fact that the habanero bacon intrigued me and because usually anything made with bacon is better.
Now most all of us have gotten a salad for lunch and for the most part many of them are very, very sad and disappointing. Limp, wilted lettuce with minimal accompaniments is usually the norm.
However, this is not how the people of Lunchpad roll. Once I grabbed my salad and opened the container I was greeted with freshly sliced turkey breast, fresh mixed greens, caramelized onions, cashew pesto, and the bacon. Equally salty and sweet — the bacon accompanied this salad to a T. One might be a bit nervous as to how some of the sandwich components (pesto and swiss) would translate onto a salad but you should not worry as you will probably devour the salad as quickly as I did.
I also have to give a shout out to the employees at Lunchpad who fulfilled my request and added a side of pickled onions and provided me with more than enough homemade pickles to make this pickle loving gal content.
Wonderful catered lunch by the folks at Lunchpad. I did not get a chance to ask the other attendees as to how they were enjoying their meal but their silence spoke volumes.

Thanks to Jessica T for introducing us to The Lunchpad. I can’t say I’ve had a whole lot of sandwiches in San Francisco up to this point. When I’m in town, the plethora of other delicious food options in the city usually win me over. However, after trying a sandwich from The Lunchpad, color me thoroughly impressed. This is a sandwich worth going out of your way for.
Jessica coordinated with The Lunchpad to have a variety of individually ordered salads and sandwiches catered in for our office meeting. We got to choose from three different salads and nearly a dozen different sandwiches, all of which sounded great. The menu looked playful and fun with sandwich names like A-​Bomb and B.L.WHAAAT! Why the «WHAAAT!?» Probably because of ingredients like habanero candied bacon, which can be found in a lot of Lunchpad’s sandwiches, and roasted garlic aioli.
It was tough to choose, but I ended up going with the Turkey Drizzle based on the sheer amount of mouthwatering ingredients listed for the sandwich. I eat turkey sandwiches all the time, but the unique ingredient combination in Lunchpad’s Turkey Drizzle sounded too good to pass up. The sandwich comes with roasted turkey, habanero candied bacon, Swiss cheese, cashew pesto sauce, caramelized onions, giardiniera (Italian pickled vegetable relish), greens, tomatoes and a «drizzle» of balsamic reduction (hence the name).
The Turkey Drizzle was magnificent and may very well have been the best turkey sandwich I’ve ever had. I’m not sure exactly the type of bread used, but it was similar to a baguette except softer and flatter. Both sides of the bun were soaked with just the right amount of balsamic reduction and cashew pesto (the latter probably my favorite part of the sammie) — enough to really give the bread good flavor yet still hold everything together firmly. There were hearty stacks of lean turkey meat, the Swiss cheese was slightly melted, and the chopped tomatoes and giardiniera slightly sweet and nicely tangy. The sandwich was filling and gratifying till the last bite.
Others in our group had nothing but good things to say about their lunch orders as well. What an excellent choice (thanks Jessica)!
The Lunchpad is open mornings and early afternoons (closed Sundays) and is located inside Noir Lounge in Hayes Valley.

Holy cow (or should I say chicken)! This place was bustling around noon on a Wednesday, so apparently I’m not the only one who knows how good this place is.
Located inside the Noir Lounge, it’s like a pop-​up breakfast/​lunch joint that really knows what it’s doing. Gotta come here Wednesday for their CHICKEN RUN special, which is a fried buttermilk chicken sandwich with sweet & spicy slaw, swiss, and garlic aioli. Ignore the price… it’s worth it to try at least once!
Dare I say best chicken sandwich I’ve had… and I’ve tried Bakesale Betty’s across the Bay. Hers may be a better bang for the buck, but this is just better. The fried chicken was crunchy but not too crunchy and still tender on the inside. For a person who isn’t really a fan of slaw, the spiciness of this slaw went perfectly with the fried chicken. The bread was also a quality roll, not like a hamburger bun. I think the garlic aioli was spread onto the bread before it was toasted, making it reminiscent of garlic bread.
We also tried the ‘Perfect Storm’, which was bacon, spinach, caramelized onions, and an egg with pan de mie bread. It was just okay; the bread wasn’t really doing it for me. Definitely stick with the Chicken Run.
If they offered it any more frequently than just hump day, I’d probably be in trouble.

It’s not easy finding a remarkable sandwich spot near the Financial District that is able to accommodate bulk orders of individual sandwich orders during the busy workday — let alone a place that delivers.
Lunchpad is all of these wondrous things.
I was blown away by the professionalism of all of the staff that I encountered at Lunchpad. Our order was executed perfectly. Each person’s salad or sandwich was delicious and bursting with love and colorful ingredients.
Lunchpad is a small operation and it shows in the hands-​on attention that each order (whether you eat at their actual location or order catering) receives. From salads with candied cashews & spicy mustard balsamic vinaigrette to sandwiches with candied habañero bacon and condiments like mango chutney, roasted garlic aoli, and giardiniera — Lunchpad is committed to putting together masterful and flavorful lunch art. They even offer gluten-​free bread and will allow you to make every sandwich option into a robust salad.
Lunchpad confirmed my order the day before delivery and they were prompt as well. They even went out of their way to put each recipients’ name on his or her meal.
I would whole-​heartedly recommend Lunchpad if you’re looking for a wonderful catered lunch for your office. If you live or work nearby — I’d recommend stopping in for their savory brunch items — or sitting down for a superb sandwich or salad.
Trust.