MealPal lunch restaurants review – Midtown New York
This is a guide to who is considering subscribing MealPal. I’ve been subscribing MealPal lunch option for about one year. If you have not signed up for MealPal, you can see the list of the participating restaurants but cannot see the actual menus offered. So I picked up 15 best MealPal restaurants in New York City. I hope this review will give you an glimpse of the idea how MealPal lunch actually look like.
If you’re interested in subscribing MealPal, also check my article ‘Does MealPal worth to subscribe? ‘!
150 E 51th St.
Meal size:
Pickup easiness: Excellent
Chicken Chettinad
I LOVE this restaurant. If you like the Indian Cuisine, this is the place to go. Their curry is super delicious. And their lunch box comes with curry, rice, AND naan! Oh and they even give you three different sources in a small containers. I usually eat a LOT, but their lunch box is big enough to even satisfy my huge appetite. Once you enter the restaurant, just tell their staff that you’re picking up the lunch. And your lunch is already ready for you. It’s one of the easiest pick-ups I experienced in my Mealpal life.
1333 Broadway
Meal size:
Pickup easiness: Good
This Restaurant is VERY popular, and their meal is sold out very quickly! Occasionally, I was able to reserve the lunch from Poke Bar, and can tell that their food is yummy. No wonder their lunch always sold out quickly almost everyday. They will give you Poke, and rice in a different container. Also they will give you furikake on the rice if you want.
Poke Bar has a separate MealPal pickup counter, so the pickup is smooth. You can enjoy the benefit of skipping the line during peak time. This is a small tip for you. As I mentioned above, their meal sold out quickly. BUT if you check in the next morning again, sometimes the meal is available if you’re lucky. That’s because someone cancelled their meal. So good luck!
E 240 W 40th St.
Meal size:
Pickup easiness: OK
Boi Noodle House is an authentic Vietnamese restaurant, where serves great food. They offer different types of meals, such as Pork Noodle soup, Beef Balls Lemongrass Noodle Soup, and Rotisserie Chicken. I LOVE all dishes from Boi Noodle Soup, and sometimes go there without MealPal. The size of the meal is big enough to fill you up but their food does not make you sleepy, which is another reason why I love their food.
Usually, the meal pickup is easy. If you’re fan of Vietnamese cuisine, this restaurant is definitely worth to try.
570 8th Ave
Meal size:
Pickup easiness: OK
Sakura of Japan is a tiny take-out food stand located on 38th st. They offer only Chicken Teriyaki for MealPal but have Shrimp teriyaki as a regular menu. The plate comes with TONS of chicken teriyaki, rice, and some veggies. Their teriyaki is amazing. I can eat this Chicken Teriyaki every day, and I actually did quite a lot.
They start preparing your food once you arrive at their location. Because it’s a small venue, sometimes you might have to wait a bit depending on how long the line is. Their peak time seems to be random.
If you order Chicken Teriyaki without MealPal, it’s $7.99. So this is a great MealPal deal.
587 9th Ave.
Meal size:
Pickup easiness: Great
As the name suggests, Chirping Chicken is a restaurant who is famous for delicious broiled chicken dishes. This place is also very popular, and the meal will be sold out quickly! The portion of the meal is HUGE! It’s almost as big as two meals. My favorite is Grilled Chicken Greek Salad. Their regular Chicken Greek Salad costs $10.50, so this is a GREAT deal.
Chirping Chicken does not have a separate counter for pickup, but meal pickup is usually easy.
320 Park Ave.
Meal size:
Pickup easiness: Good
Just Salad is always a healthy choice when you want veggies. The quality and the taste of the food is awesome. Also the size of the meal is pretty decent. You will be satisfied by the time you finish your meal. Not only their signature salad, I’m also a big fan of their wraps.
They have a separate corner for pickup customers, so pickup is pretty easy. However, since this place is popular, expect a big crowd inside of the store.
45 E 45th St.
Meal size:
Pickup easiness: Good
This is another excellent healthy choice. Pure Green is famous for their signature cold-pressed juice, smoothies, and Acai bowl. The store is super clean and cute. My favorite is Acai bowl, which is topped with a lot of fresh fruits and granola. Acai bowl looks like a small dessert but it’s actually very satisfying. Acai bowl is perfect when you want to eat light or have a hangover.
Their regular Acai bowls start from $8.75, so this is a great deal! Pure Green has many branches in Manhattan.
240 W 35th St.
Meal size:
Pickup easiness: Good
I am a big fan of Café Nunes. Café Nunes is a great Dominican restaurant located on 35th st. This is a great choice for MealPal as well as regular visit. They will prepare the plate for you once you arrive at the restaurant. And believe me, they will give you super generous amount of food. The lunchbox comes with Main, rice, plantain, mashed potatoes. Yes, it’s a LOT of carbohydrates! It’s a heavy meal. But it’s delicious!!! Also, their staffs are super friendly. During the night time, this place turns into a very lively bar.
844 2nd Ave.
Meal size:
Pickup easiness: OK
Curry-Ya is a Japanese curry restaurant. The difference between Japanese Curry and Thai or Indian styles is the consistency of the curry sauce. The consistency of Japanese curry sauce is thicker, and it tastes a bit sweeter. Caramelized onions, grated apples and carrots are the source of the sweetness. I love any type of curry, and I love Curry-ya’s curry. Curry-ya sold out their MealPal deal quickly. Make sure to reserve your meal as soon as the kitchen is open!
Considering the regular plate from Curry-ya costs $13-16, this is a great MealPal deal! They have three branches at Hell’s Kitchen, Midtown, and East Village.
30 Rockefeller Plaza concourse level
Meal size:
Pickup easiness: OK
Tri Tip Grill is famous for their flavorful sirloin. For MealPal, they offer burgers, Chicken Salad, some other stuffs. And their food is so good and the size of the meal is big, so you won’t be disappointed.
Because of the location, this place gets really busy during the lunch time, so go off-peak time. They do not have a separate MealPal counter, so pickup will be difficult during the peak time. Also, remember this place is in the basement. Without Internet connection, you won’t be able to pickup your lunch, as you need to scan the bar-code. My cellphone unfortunately does not have strong signal inside of this restaurant. I needed to go outside with MealPal scan board with me in order to open MealPal app on my cell phone. Yup that’s a pain. Make sure you open MealPal app open before going downstairs.
524 9th Ave.
Meal size:
Pickup easiness: Good
Tequeria Diana – Hell’s Kitchen is a small pretty Mexican restaurant with nice low-key ambiance. I’ve never been to this restaurant for a dinner, but I’d love to try one day. They have locations at East Village, Lower East Side, and Williamsburg as well.
They offer a couple of different types of Burritos for MealPal. The size of the Burrito is big and it’s delicious! Also they will give you a bag of fresh tortilla chips. The chips are thick and hard texture. I love hard chips, so this is perfect for me. When you pickup the food here, do not forget to get some their delicious spicy sources!
Their Burrito costs $10 – $11.50 each, and Chips is $1. So this is an awesome MealPal deal!
572 8th Ave.
Meal size:
Pickup easiness: Great
This is a Korean deli located on 38th st and 8th ave . For MealPal, they’re offering a couple of different meals, such as rice bowl, and noodle soup. My favorite is Korean Kmchi W/ Tofu Soup. It comes with white rice. It’s spicy but delicious! Their Spicy Pork Teriyaki Rice Bowl and Chicken Bibimbap are very popular. If you’d like to get those meals, make sure to reserve the meal as soon as the kitchen is open.
Their Bibimbaps are $7.95 – 8.95, Udon Soups are $6.95 – 8.95, so their mealpal deal is great!
Meal size:
Pickup easiness: Great
Naya is one of my favorite MealPalrestaurants. Their lunchbox comes with main, rice, fresh veggies, hummus, and small pita. The volume of the lunchbox is good.
This restaurant has a separate window for Mealpal pickup, so that you can skip the long line. Once you enter the restaurant, go to the right side of the store and you will find the MealPal pickup counter. Pickup is usually smooth, as the lunch box is already there to pickup. You scan the bar-code, and just show it to the staff, and they will give you a lunch. But this place is super popular. No matter what time you go, it’s always PACKED! Just go straight to the pickup counter.
Meal size:
Pickup easiness: Good
Foodbella is located inside of the very tiny park called Paley Park. Open space is rather suitable than park to explain this urban space. This space is decorated with ivy walls & waterfall, and you can enjoy somewhat calm ambiance. Plus, there are some chairs and tables, so you can enjoy your meal in the park. Especially during the summer time, sitting next to waterfall and having a lunch is great idea.
Anyways, like Paley Park, Foodbella is a tiny take-out food stand where only two persons can fit inside; a chef and a cashier. Their food is simple yet amazingly delicious. To be honest, I was not expected this quality from Foodbella, considering the location and the size of the store. I’d absolutely recommend this place.
Meal size:
Pickup easiness: OK
