Sandwiches at LUNCH
LUNCH
LUNCH
Foods from LUNCH
Comments

2013 Jul 24
So I popped into the one on Slater for lunch today. I got the Asian noodle salad, and the tandoori chicken wrap.

So, the salad. Normally, I like it. Nice, filling, and has some flavour. This time? Not so much.

As to the wrap? Well, the tumeric rice was good.... The chicken was bland and flavourless, and the salsa/sauce whatever was only present in the last bite.

So, yeah, good concept, terrible execution.

2011 Oct 6
Went to Lunch at the Sparks St location (basement of C.D.Howe building). I had the Asian Noodle Salad and a Chocolate-Chili B.Goods cookie.

The salad was bland. Lots of seasame seed, but little flavour in the dressing. Really boring.

The cookie was inedible. It was rock hard and thick. I couldn't bite down on it with my front teeth (too tough) and it wouldn't break into smaller pieces.

Very disappointing.

2010 Nov 18
I had two of their soups about 2 months ago here. One was tomato curry and the other one was chèvre butternut squash.

The curry tomato was EXTREMELY spicy and had an aweful aftertaste. The chèvre an butternut (two of the best ingredients in the world IMO) tasted like farm. Yes, it tasted like there was dirt, hay and manure in the soup.

I was extremely disappointed and I don't think I'll go back seeing as it's so highly priced.

Do yourself a favour and cross Slater and go to German Town Deli.

2010 Feb 7
Have to agree about Lunch being a great concept but lacking on consistency. For months they have posted on their blackboard in big print that they have bagels, but every time I asked, mysteriously the delivery hadn't arrived (at 8:15 a.m, the height of morning rush hour?). That said, if you are looking for a healthy sandwich, you have better luck here than the chain restaurant around the corner.

2010 Feb 4
Tried the vegetarian chili at lunch today and I couldn't even finish it - it was that bad. It has some weird aftertaste to it, like they used tomato paste from the can or something. I've already tasted the cuban chicken wrap, the sundried tomato (?) chicken wrap and the hummus wrap and they were all okay. But I have to agree with the previous reviewers - lunch has a great concept but the food just doesn't measure up.

It's a great place to buy some natural, organic or raw snacks though - like larabars and kettle chips. I saw some chocolate cluster-like treats that I'd like to try one of these days.

2009 Oct 30
I need to stick to my guns. I've eated at Lunch a few times and each time I tell myself not to eat there again.

It's not that I don't like the concept -- local ingredients, freshly prepared, environmentally responsible -- I just don't their food. : ( I want to like it but I don't.

Grabbed a chicken wrap (from their hot section) and soup for lunch today. Both lacked flavour/seasoning (wrap moreso than the soup)! I so want to like the food served by Lunch but it is so bland.

2009 Mar 25
I work in the immediate vicinity and decided to pop by for a quick bite today. I had an egg sandwich, and a little asian noodle salad on the side. Despite the sandwich being premade and refridgerated, the bread tasted like it had just been sliced. Ingredients were also fresh and plentiful.

The food was great and I really liked the concept and menu choices here, however, the prices are a little on the high side in my opinion. This is somewhat understandable given the location and the theme of regional, organic, healthy ingredients - but $4.95 to $6.95 for a sandwich alone is hard to justify (for me, anyways).

A full meal all-in at LUNCH could set you back $12+, whereas many other soup/sandwich spots in the downtown core have offerings for half that...

Mrs. McGarrigles vs French's
Microgreens vs Lettuce
Flavoured Mayos vs Hellmans

Does it add that much value? Hard to say.

I would return to sample some of their soups and other wraps/sandwiches, but I certainly couldn't make it a daily occurence.

2009 Mar 23
Based loosely on the Pret-a-Manger phenomenon, I was inspired to try LUNCH after reading an Xpress review of it last week. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Pret--based in the UK-- the premise is tasty breakfast/lunch meals that are fast food, but with some quality in both the ingredients and production.

When I lived in Europe, I ate at Pret probably two or three times a week, because it wasnt that much more expensive than another fast food chain, and because they are *everywhere* (especially in London).

So, I was obviously skeptical of something similar opening in Ottawa. But, the first run through they impressed me.

The layout is similar to Pret with all the cold sandwiches, salads and drinks lined along one wall. You can view the kitchen from the seating area, and along the other wall is the cash, as well as the service station for hot foods.

The selection of sandwiches and wraps was good, certainly something for everyone, plus a daily special. Two soups plus a chili served in different sizes will also keep many customers happy no doubt.

I ordered the sandwich of the day: Ham and Roasted Pineapple. It was like an Hawaiian pizza, but in sandwich form (making me very, very happy). The roasted pineapple was great--not too juicy or too sweet-and the slices of ham were thick and perfectly seasoned: no deli meat here! It was topped with gruyere cheese and a egg-mayo that had serious snap. I can`t stand lettuce on my sandwiches, but the two pieces I pulled off looked rather nice, a good shade of green and crisp!

I also ordered a carrot ginger soup, which was more carrot than ginger than for my liking, but it also had bits of carrot, not just a purèe, so I was still happy. The small was a bit smaller than I would have expected, but I am surprisingly full, so again no complaints. The soup also came with these marvelous garlic...they were like miniature garlic breads. Or, oversized croutons. I can`t quite decide. But they were super garlicky, and very yummy. A nice added surprise!

The drink selection is fairly good, with something for everyone (several San Pellegrino options, as well as the basic sodas, water, milks).

My only complain is the price really. For a small soup, sandwich and drink, it was $11. It was definitely better than whatever I would have had at McDonalds, and its not out of line, but I also won`t make this a daily routine. I`ll stick to brown bag lunches made-by-me or German Town Deli in a pinch.

Also, for those interested, they serve a few different breakfast options, including breakfast wraps, oatmeal, scones and other pastries. They also have a decent selection of gifts and other food products off where the seating area is (it doesn`t take away from the rest of the restaurant).

Lastly, something that I found rather wonderful is that their daily specials are posted online, on their website. I hate to say it, but this is a big thing for me: There`s little worse than going down to a place only to find out that their soup of the day is your least favourite.



3

1

2009 Jul 29
I just started a job across the street from these folks so I stopped in for a quick sandwich today.

I had the roast beef and my goodness was it good. I was skeptical at the $6.95 price tag, but it was fab. The beef was perfectly cooked--it had just the right amount of pink left in it, and the horseradish/mayo ratio was spot on.