Lunch Menu

Looks like it’s gone already. Didn’t take long.

My sandwich was pretty good, although a little salty. They’ve got about 5 chefs just anxiously waiting to take your order, so the service is really fast (I went at 12:30 for lunch). The salad bar/​buffet looks kind of pathetic, so I didn’t venture to try it. There’s lots of seating though, and its not busy on week days for lunch, so consider trying it.

First of all, naming the place «Lunch Menu» is kind of like naming your football team «The Goalposts» or naming your car «The Catalytic Converter.» Just because it’s an important attribute of your business, it doesn’t mean it would make a good name.
I drove by this place a few times, and every time it seemed empty. I kept thinking how weird the name was, and how audacious it was of them to include a gold crown in their logo. Well, on Monday I was in one of those «time to try something new» moods, and I walked over to Lunch Menu.
At 11:30 am, the place was empty. Lunch Menu occupies a long, narrow space with a salad bar in the middle and the grill and the counter in the back. The combination of the lighting and the wall paint made the whole place looked custard yellow. For some reason, it made me think of a hospital. The gentleman with a long spoon, clearly the owner or the manager, was slowly stirring «something in creamy sauce» underneath the sneeze guard. «Guess I am not having the salad bar,» I thought to myself.
Then, I noticed it. I am talking about the smell, of course. Oh, that smell! The entryway smelled like a veritable potpourri of last week’s fryer grease, burnt meat, wet dog, angry skunk and incontinent rat. It was absolutely disgusting. I have no idea why I decided to go up to the counter and order a sandwich anyway, but I did.
I ordered a BBQ Chicken sandwich, as did the only other customer in the entire store. Because of my need to order everything in twos, I asked them if they had French fries or a side salad. «It comes with mixed greens,» the lady at the counter said. I paid for the sandwich, and the cashier told me to continue alongside the barrier to pick up my food. The whole experience was very strange. I didn’t understand why I had to stay behind the barrier, why I had to place my order with the cashier when the sign pointed to the grill, etc.
The guy making my sandwich asked me what i wanted on it and customized the sandwich for me. Then he passed it along to the guy to his right, and my sandwich disappeared from my sight. Mere seconds later, a sandwich re-​emerged. .. on a plate. The sandwich was given away to someone else.
I kept looking around for an explanation, but didn’t get any. Finally, the sandwich maker asked me «what’s the matter?» in that annoyed, completely inappropriate manner. I explained that I thought my sandwich had been given to someone else. «Don’t worry, we’re professionals,» he said, visibly irritated. Little did I know, they put those sandwiches in a panini press. Go figure. Obviously, I made a mistake, but I didn’t need an attitude from a guy squeezing BBQ sauce onto a bun.
Before I knew it, my sandwich was cut in half and put in a plastic translucent container, along with my soggy spinach salad. They didn’t offer me a bag, a fork or a «thank you.» I couldn’t wait to get out of there. On the way back, there was that smell again. YUCK.
I came to the office, hoping to enjoy my sandwich in peace. I grabbed my own plastic fork, a plastic knife and a couple of napkins and dug in. The chicken was so salty, I couldn’t even finish it. I swear it was marinated in brine and covered with salt. I cannot describe how disgusting it was; it was literally like eating table salt. :shrugs: Even though the bread was pretty good, I threw most of my sandwich in the garbage can. If I hadn’t been so lazy, I would have gone back and demanded a refund.
So, let’s summarize: inedible food, confusing ordering, rude service and a mysterious smell. Eek! Methinks not.
FAIL!

By far, this place has the best customer service ever!
The buffet & salad bar are good, but the owner makes me feel like I’m part of the family whenever I go in.
I may just have to get my salad here again today. Good stuff!

I came in the other day and ordered the chicken pesto sandwich, which was okay.
When I tried to order my lunch, I was thoroughly confused. A sign on the register pointed to the grill, but the men at the grill asked that I place my order with the register.
And even though I was the only person in the restaurant (It was early! I was hungry!), the grill man asked to see my receipt when the sandwich was finished. Likewise, I had to show my receipt to the register on the way out to prove that I had indeed purchased my lackluster sandwich.

I came here tempted both by the grand opening sign and by a certain owner of Shampooches by Julian to try it out… I work at 555 market street, so it was nice to be close by… I look at it as a toned down and cheaper Julie’s Kitchen option… great buffet food (I had Pad Thai with chicken, potatoes, curry chicken, veggies) and for a good portion, I paid about $ 7.10. Not bad, being that Julie’s would prob be about $ 10 for the same amount. There is less choice, but they change dishes fairly often, so good variety. I have yet to try a sandwich, but all those around me who had one liked them a lot… give it a try at least! I will also say that the cashier and other employees were very nice to us as well… KUDOS to them!!!
THEY ARE NOW CLOSED!!!

I have been here twice now. both time had the salad bar. The food definitely looks better than it tastes. The greens are a bit soggy. the chicken was way too dry. and the caprese was just way too bland.
Maybe they are still working out the kinks. I’ll wait awhile before trying them again.

I have been waiting for a place like Lunch Menu for a while. I’m tired of paying $ 8 – 12 for an over-​sized low-​quality sandwich & side in the FiDi. The pay-​by-​the-​pound system at the Salad Bar is exactly what I need to eat cheap & healthy. I usually get a mix of salad & veggies, fruit salad, side (like pasta, red potato, egg fried rice, shrimp fried rice), and meat (empress chicken, beef & veggies, red curry chicken) for like $ 5.50.
I’ve also had their chicken pesto sandwich on ciabatta bread and it was awesome. My coworkers have all eaten here and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Can’t wait to go back for lunch this week.

They get four stars because the sandwich I had was AMAZING. I got the smoked salmon, and they layered on tons of fresh smoked salmon along with greens, tomatos, onions, feta, and a nice pesto mayo, all on super fresh, soft, focaccia bread. All the sandwiches come with a small helping of mixed green salad on the side, which was also delicious — the dressing is not too sweet and not too bitter — just right. At about 8 bucks, it’s a way better deal than the smoked salmon sandwich over at The Sentinel, of which I am not a fan (see my review of it for why…).
In any event, the salad bar also looked awesome, with lots of fresh, interesting choices. I’ll be back to try that, as well as some of the other sandwiches.
The only reason I’m not giving the full five stars is because of the glitchy service (someone noted this earlier, and maybe they are still working in it). While yes, there is now signage stating where to order and where to pick up, the sandwich/​salad pay/​order system remains really confusing. Basically, you order your sandwich (or non salad-​bar salad — they have a few), at the cashier, and pay. Now this is the weird part: instead of giving your order ticket to the chefs, or putting it in a little line on the prep area (like most normal restaurants), the cashier hands your ticket BACK TO YOU, and tells YOU to give it to the chefs.
Now, there are a lot of chefs — maybe about 5 — but still, this part gets really confusing, and I witnessed several customers getting annoyed, since, basically, there is no orderly line, and it is pretty much just luck if you get in before someone else to hand your ticket to a chef. The chefs can’t tell who ordered first, so they just shout out «Next!,» and if someone who ordered after you happens to be standing closer to that particular chef, well, then, that sandwich gets made before yours. Hence the annoyed customers — I overheard at least two people either audibly complaining or muttering under their breath that they should have been helped next. It’s sort of too late at that point, though, to do the «oh, sorry, you go ahead,» since by now the chef has the other person’s tag, and is making that person’s order. So of course the screwed person has to be the bigger person and just say, «oh, it’s okay,» when, you know, it’s really not.
SO — bottom line: note to Lunch Menu management: put a system in place for getting the orders to the kitchen like a NORMAL restaurant! Don’t make the customer do it! It’s too confusing!

Went with two coworkers yesterday around 1PM. Joe and I got hot sandwiches, while Linda had the salad bar.
First off: They do not have ice-​t. they don’t seem to sell any beverages not in cans, so kiss any thoughts of «re-​fill» good-​bye.
Second: They really need to get their shit together, ordering was a cluster fuck — and it wasn’t even that crowded. First Joe and I waited in a line to order our sandwiches; no tickets, no numbers no sense that anyone knew what they were doing. When someone behind the counter had a hand free they would holler out «next», ask you what you wanted, put it together toss it on the grill and then holler «next» again. After I ordered my «Don Juan» and Joe ordered his grilled tuna we then waited in another «line» that was really just a mas of 10 or so people waiting for their sandwiches — people who weren’t paying attention wound up waiting a long time while other people who ordered the same thing stepped up to take their sandwiches when they were called out. I was paying attention, watching my sandwich from the moment they guy put it on the grill, and I still wound up waiting longer then several people after me – I finally had to point out to the guy that another Don Juan put on the grill after mine had already come off, so if it was done, mine must be done.
Did I mention that we had to wait until we got our food to wait in *another* line to pay?
All in all, the sandwich was decently tasty, and I give them props for serving it with a side salad that actually had some tomatoes in it (you don’t see that much in a free side salad anymore) but considering the price I’d rather go to Mondo where for $ 1 more I can get a slightly bigger sandwich that tastes just as good and someone brings the damn thing to my table so i don’t have to stand around in three separate lines.
FYI: The salad bar is $ 6.25/lb, I didn’t really check it out all that much but they have these ginormous salad plates — they look like some kind of pan you would use to feed livestock. I over heard more then a few people (including Linda) saying they felt like they had been tricked into buying too much food because the damn plate was so big. WTF is up with pay-​per-​pound salad? Can’t you get all you can eat salad bar at some places for like $ 8???
If they get their ordering processed streamlined a little bit more, and add a few more sandwich options to the menu I might consider coming back — but they also need to do something about the décor — it has a sterile yet dingy look to it all at the same time. put some freaking art up and add a potter plant or something, I felt like i was in a high school cafeteria (Hmm, long lines, obnoxious ordering process, salad bar, canned beverages … come to think of it the high school cafeteria mind set may not have been entirely about the décor).
PS: advertising that your salad bar is 25% off after 2PM does not make your salad bar more appealing to people who walk in near/​after 2PM. It makes people want to go across the street to sellers market.

had the don juan sandwich today, and it was delicious. marinated spicy chicken grilled, and not overcooked, with roasted peppers, and melted white cheese (I think it was pepper jack, but I’m not sure) on top. Quite good. their artisan bread (they call it «artesian» on the menu – sic) is really very fresh and good. I get the ciabatta to avoid the oiliness of foccaccia, though their foccaccia doesn’t look very oily, so I’ll have to try it some other time.

I was lured in here by the huge grand opening sign and the street sandwich boards. This place reminds me of Lightening Foods at the Embarcadero and Chez Carla. They have the same tables and chairs and the same set up. The plus is that this place is a whole lot bigger. You have to walk a couple of stairs to get to the food.
There’s a big salad bar filled with the daily special (empress chicken, pasta etc.). Everything in the salad bar looks yummy but I bypassed that to buy a sandwich.
I got a grilled chicken sandwich on foccacia bread plus salad. The foccacia was not greasy. It’s actually the best foccacia I’ve tasted. Sandwich was yummy and very filling.
I saw a sign that says everything on the salad bar is discounted 25% after 2:00 PM daily.
Oh yeah, I think they must read the reviews because there are now signs that tell you where to order and wait.

Oddly laid out restaurant, and they’re pretty slow to make cheeseburgers while their sandwiches come out with the quickness. They’re constantly changing the food at the pick, weigh, and pay buffet thing they have. The food looked pretty good, but the sandwiches seemed to be the popular item. The bread is good, and they press toast them like panini’s. The organic mixed greens are pretty good too. $ 7.50 for a sandwich and nice service, try it out for lunch next time.

Two parts to this review Food and Layout
Food– I had the roast beef sandwich, which was excellent… One of the better sandwiches I have had in SF. It came with a small salad of mixed greens and feta. For 7.50 I will go back as it was enough food to fill one up but not get too full.
Layout– Ok they are new, about 1 week so it is not clear where you order and pick up, everyone was all mixed up next to the counter where they make the sandwiches. No big deal we all were able to figure it out but if they get busy it will be an issue. Also only 1 trash can in a odd place so after you eat you then have to hunt the thing down. Again I am sure they will make some changes (this was more of a note for them)
As of now, the lines are not that long at 12:30, so I suggest trying this place before the lines start.
**Update, had the BBQ chicken sandwich today and it was great**

I can only comment on the salad bar — but what I’ve had so far I really like. They don’t have all that many items featured, but what they do have tastes really good and actually has some flavor to it. They have a small selection of fresh veggies but what stands out for me is the tasty olives (no industrial black olives to be found here!) and the rotisserie chicken. The small selection of dressings are also pretty high quality. I appreciate that they didn’t seem to order straight from a restaurant supply source for canned whatever — hence a Caprese salad that tastes like it should. The salad bar also features a few rotating pasta dishes, all of which have pleased thus far. It’s very similar in price/​setup to Lightning Foods, just a lot closer to where I work. Yay!
They don’t get 5 stars because they could use a few more items on that salad bar. At $ 6.25 a pound — it’s nice budget lunch choice in downtown fidi.

The décor is odd, looks old even though they just opened. The sandwiches are not tasty — the cheese was rubbery and the tomatoes were more white than red. The menu said the sandwiches come with «mixed greens» when it actually came with an overdressed caesar salad. Overpriced too… It was $ 10.25 for the sandwich and a snapple.

This place doesn’t cut it. The service is pretty slow, but mostly it’s just not good. The salad bar is really phsyically long but is pretty sparse and there is a lot of wasted space. I guess they wanted to spread their few ingredients over the space they had.
DO NOT CAN HAS the cheezburger! It was disgusting. Frozen, first of all, then pockets of fat and weird pockets of gristle. Flames and Zebulon are both nearby and much better. And Harvest and Rowe has better ingredients for their salad bar.
The mixed greens on the side is super meh.
I feel gross. :(

This place is brand new. I give it 3 stars only because they are still training. Normally I would give 2 stars, but the salad bar looks amazing.
Includes lobster ravioli, eggplant parm, tortellini with four cheese, sauteed lamb, potatoes au gratin, and feta cheese ravioli.
Sandwiches are okay, but the bread is good.
Check them out!