Bento Box

I love Bento Box! I’m not kidding when I say my boyfriend and I usually eat here once a week. We have dropped all the Asian restaurants we used to go to and only come here. I swear by the spicy garlic chicken.

One of my favorite places to eat! The cucumber kimchi is so good. Menu items rotate by day so check before you go to make sure your favorite sides are offered. Another favorite is the potato and tofu. Selections are bento box style, with your choice of meat and starch (rice or noodles) and then 1 – 3 sides. Portions are generous. I wish the sauces were more flavorful/​spicy but that is my only complaint. Definitely a standout from a typical Chinese restaurant.

Not what it used to be. Service used to friendly. Food was fresher. And portions were more generous. Hopeful things will perk up soon.

I love this hidden gem of Madison. So many options: you get a main dish (with chicken, fish, shrimp, or beef, depending upon the day) and two sides, or you can get all sides. The mains are served over steamed BROWN rice (!), white rice, or noodles. There are several vegan options, as well. You then choose one of several sauces, such as yogurt-​ginger, teriyaki, etc.
The whole shebang is under $ 10, or $ 5.95 for one meat and one side. Iced tea or water comes gratis, but they also have bubble tea and sodas.
If you order something fried, like the curry dumplings, they fry it fresh right there for you – no soggy leftovers here!
The miso soup tastes homemade, and you can get the proper toppings: tofu, green onions, and seaweed. SO GOOD.

The chicken here is consistently tender, and everything always tastes amazing! Tea is free with your meal, and they have boba shakes that I’ve been looking everywhere for!

I feel that the food is terribly bland and the quality of meat is below average. I like the people here and the prices are fair, but the food flavor is underwhelming.

I got the bento box that has one main, one side and brown rice for $ 5.95. It also included iced tea. I chose red curry beef for the main and hot & sour soup for the side. I wasn’t super impressed with the food… The soup was a little too salty. The red curry beef wasn’t too bad and I liked that it had this home cooked taste. I would go back again if I’m passing it on the way home and I’m hungry, because I think it’s value for money. And because the ladies there are nice.

Great food and friendly people. You can sample any dish before ordering. I have been twice and have only good things to say about the place. I plan to make it one of my regular lunch spots.

Update to my first review. Just wanted to let you know that these super sweet people have family stuck in north Korea and can’t see them because
of the oppressive government there do keep in mind that of you help support these people you might actually be helping people escape great injustice. Just a thought thanks.

So delicious! The ladies working here are so nice and pleasant. The food is so good. The portions are WELL worth the money. Their teriyaki sauce is so good. My sister is a vegetarian and this is one of her favorite places to eat.

My husband and I just ate here for our first time. WE LOVED IT! We were greeted quickly with smiles and got samples and overviews of almost everything. The food is very tasty and fresh. I ordered the beef and veggies with noodles, sweet potatoes, and green beans which were the bomb! my husband ordered spicy garlic chicken with kimchi and sautéed mixed veggies which had a savory and mild spice to them. We were very impressed. I also tried the Boba Tea. Its a Thai milk tea with tapioca pearls in the bottom. They give you an extra wide straw to slurp them up. The tea tasted GREAT but I’m not a big fan of the gummy tapioca balls… perhaps because I’m pregnant and have been sensitive to textures lately. :) I enjoyed trying something new though… that’s fun.

Nice people, nice place, but the food wasn’t all that great. They definitely didn’t spend much money on decorating the place, but who cares, I was here for the food.
I came here because of Preston’s impressive 100+ check-​ins. I got the chicken teriyaki «special» which turned out to be a white slab of chicken breast sliced up and sauce poured on top. You get to pick one side with the special, drink extra.
For the price of what I paid for the lunch special and the amount of food I received (which did fill me up). I think I would be better off going to Sakkio, inside Madison Square Mall, who has tastier chicken teriyaki (other than the hassles of parking at the mall). Or even putting the money towards the all you can eat buffet at 88 Buffet. JMO

Staff was very friendly and offered samples. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make up for rubbery chicken and bland food. Neither my husband or I could finish the rubbery teriyaki chicken or choke down bland noodles. His shrimp and green beans were ok but nothing special. Egg rolls and spring rolls tasted frozen. We are new to the area and hoped we had found go-​to Asian takeout. We’ll keep looking.

Great food, friendly staff, large portions. And they do gluten free which my GF needs. And, they are open on Monday nights!

Man they got 5 stars from the moment I walked in the door! They greeted me instantly with smiles, figured out I was a noob right away, and then thoroughly explained the box options. I opted for the Daily Box which is one meat, white or brown rice or noodles, one side, and iced tea for $ 5.95.
She offered samples of anything I wanted to try but as soon as I saw that I could get grilled chicken with Thai Coconut Peanut sauce I was sold. The Korean BBQ chicken looked good too.
They have whole grain brown rice! I’ve asked other places about the availability of brown rice and end up on a tilt-​a-​whirl of «do you have brown rice» «yes fri rice» «no BROWN rice» «yes fri rice». :-/​
I chose the mixed green salad as my side and I added a veggie spring roll for $ 1.
Everything was delicious. The chicken was so moist and tender, the brown rice was soft and fluffy-​probably the best brown rice I’ve ever had, the salad had dried cranberries and a wonderful toasted sesame dressing. The TCP sauce didn’t have an overwhelming flavor but was still very good and light tasting. The spring roll had a thin, flaky crust and wasn’t greasy.
After I finished eating I asked her if they usually have kimchi as i didn’t see it when i was ordering and they pointed it out on hot bar and gave me a sample. She explained the kind that it was but I couldn’t quite understand what she said. It was delicious, crunchy, flavorful, and fairly spicy. I’d definitely get it next time.
I saw a lot there I’d love to try.
Even though everything is pre-​prepared and in a hot table it is still so fresh tasting. Things like the shrimp and dumplings I believe they fix made to order. I heard her tell someone that they don’t really make anything too spicy but do have Sriracha sauce for those more adventurous.
I’ve eaten out so much lately I was grateful for my light, delicious lunch at a VERY reasonable price.
List:
The BEST brown rice and side salad I’ve ever had.

I’ve tried many Asian restaurants in HSV, and this is the first one that actually «reminded me of home». Something about the way they cook their chunky meat dishes, just really comforting to me.
Seasoned lilies might be pretty weird for non-​asians, but i’m really glad they had it. I wonder if they’ll just let me buy a whole tub of that lily stuff… man, so good.
They have something different every day! it’s taking everything in my to not go there every night.
not like they need another 5-​star review, but here it is.

I discovered this restaurant because of its great reviews on Unilocal.Although this restaurant is 40 minutes from my home, we go often… It is THAT good.
Yes, the food is excellent, but the ladies who work at Bento Box are unbelievably friendly and helpful. They treat everyone like their best friends!
The food is fresh, no MSG, generous servings, tasty — just really GOOD!

This is a great quick and healthy alternative for lunch or dinner. I’ve been here quite a few times and everything has been great. Their service is awesome and the servings are large.
I love their sesame and cranberry salad as well as their Asian slaw. They recently added green beans, which were tasty and crunchy.
The selection of bubble tea is awesome, since not many places serve them. This is definitely a wonderful addition to the restaurant selection in this area of town!

We went here on a Wednesday night when neither of us felt like cooking and we didn’t want the same old things we normally go for. We had been talking about going here for some time now and were glad we did. We were afraid it would be mostly Japanese, but it seemed a lot more like Korean food when we saw and tasted it. They were fine giving samples of the meats and side dishes, and the lily flower was absolutely amazing! The cucumber kimchi was good, as was the steamed cabbage, but the lily flower stole the side dish show. I had ginger pork and my wife had beef with peppers, and both were good. The Hong Kong style bubble tea was good, too.
The décor is a little scattershot, but was charming overall. The staff was friendly, which seems hard to come by at a lot of Asian restaurants as well.

What can I say about The Bento Box? It’s a love affair, really. I will do my best to review the place critically… but it won’t be easy.
I see Bento Box as mall food court Chinese food on steroids. Of foremost importance: you will not find any of that unidentifiable fried garbage here. The chicken is clearly chicken as we know it. The (white meat) breasts are pulled out of bubbling sauce and chopped up right in front of you as you order.
Step one: Pick the number of sides you want. If you are hungry, go for one meat and three sides (they call this the Bento Box size. One meat and one side is called a Daily Special box). Then you choose between white rice, brown rice (yum!), or noodles. I don’t love the noodles.
Step two: choose your meat (s). The meat choices rotate by day of the week. You can pick up a menu while you are there. Typical choices include spicy garlic chicken, Mongolian barbecue chicken, mongolian beef, five spice pork, ginger pork, satay chicken (peanut sauce), etc. I love the spicy garlic chicken. I’m not a big fan of the ginger pork. But you really can’t go wrong. Try it before you buy it! The (very nice, Korean) employees will let you sample just about anything if you ask. Tell them it is your first time!
The sides range from the typical eggroll & springroll to the more exotic kimchi and asian slaw. The Asian slaw is sweet and tangy. They also have boiled cabbage and broccoli and a few other choices. A cup of soup counts as a side. Their hot and sour soup is delicious, but be prepared for… heat… and… sourness.
Most boxes seem to come with tea by default. I believe they also have fountain and bottled drinks available. They also make boba tea. I’ve only tried one of their specialty teas. It was a Japanese green milk tea. Tasty, but a little chalky. It was made from a powder. Stick to the basics and you will love The Bento Box. Come here for delicious meat, rice, and sides. I also won’t feel right about this review until I mention the service. I eat here at least once a week because of the consistent experience and proximity to my office. The staff is always warm and welcoming. Most importantly, they are always ready to serve me up some yummy food.
They are closed on Sundays.