Lunch Box

Looks like reviews vary greatly on this place between 1 and 5. My guess is it has to do a lot with what people’s expectations of a restaurant are.
This is a mom and pop restaurant. There is no money put into presentation and service is low key. I happen to really like the low key, simpleness of it. Food is great. But note, if you are looking for an upscale, full service place, this isn’t for you.
The atmosphere here can appear intimidating. It feels like a deserted sports bar. Red walls. Pale blue ceiling. TV with sports on. 85% of the light bulbs are out.
The service is as I said, mellow. One person there to take orders and cooked. He took our order, made our food and then went back to watching the basketball game on tv. He didn’t really ask if we needed anything or check in at all, but he was present and we could get his attention if we needed to. I actually like not having a server hover of me. Nice change.
We got a veggie combo and a order of shuro for 2 people. Plenty of food. The combo would have been plenty, but just in case we got two. I wish I had taken a picture of the menu because I’m not sure exactly we ended up getting. I think we ended up with Atakilt, Gomen and Misir. I think. =D
Injera — nice texture. sourdough texture to is was spot on. Good elastic pull to it. Nice taste.
Atakilt was good. Light sauce. Peppers in it packed a punch. Carrots, potato and onion were great.
Gomen — good texture and flavor to collard greens.
Shuro was interesting. I think its an acquired taste because the texture is sort of grainy and there is a lot of garlic and dried onion in it.
Misir — I think this is what we got. I’m honestly not sure. It was red like lentils but pretty thick. Whatever it was, it was my favorite for texture and flavor. Plain and simple.
Also was chopped peppers in the center. I think jalepeno. they packed a punch.
The only thing I didn’t like was that the veggie combo was suppose to have 4 sides, and I think it only got 3 (unless the peppers counted). without the menu. I’m not sure =P
Overall, I would recommend. if you are looking for a super casual place for some good Ethiopian food.

I recommend the vegetarian combo platter! Portions are bigger than expected so it is more than enough for 2 – 3 people. Be prepared to eat with your hands!

I really, really, really like this place. Really… You get good service, good conversation, and awesome Ethiopian food at a good price. Their vegetarian combo is enough to feed 2 people to satiety. My favorite dish is the stewed lentils. The spices are uniquely combined making it unlike anything I’ve ever had. The injera is good here as well. It’s not as tart as some other places I’ve been to. I order extra so that I can freeze it. It microwaves nicely.

After a grueling arm and cardio day at the gym, my body was craving carbs, fats and you guessed it PROTEIN.
I decided to stroll down the street and see what was nearby. I saw a pizza joint and thought «naaaah I just had pizza on Sunday for Game of Thrones, better not.» Then I stumbled upon a small slider joint that I’ve been too once before and thought «not feeling patriotic enough at the moment to sit down and enjoy a good olé’ fashion burger.» And then I saw it. This beautiful place on the corner of San Carlos and Irving. I was very skeptical at first because of the facts that I’ve never heard of the place and I’ve never had Ethiopian food before.
When you walk in you don’t really know what to think. You look to your right, left, behind, in-​front and all the walls are a light red which clashes with the lighter then light blue ceiling. The walls are somewhat bland due to the fact there is only 3 posters/​picture on them, but the content of the photos are what make up for it, «13 months of sunshine — Ethiopia».
Sooooo lets get to the good stuff. Like I said I have never had Ethiopian food before and I had no idea what to expect. I was somewhat expecting to see a huge menu with a enormous list of basically the same items with one altercation that makes them different, for example, this plate comes with chicken and rice while this one comes with chicken and salad. It wasn’t that at all. There was about 5 meat plates, 5 or 6 vegetarian plates, and about 10 combo plates. Me, being the carnivorous monster that I am decided to sprawl and stick to the meat portion of the menu. Now let me tell you there’s no chicken or fish here (from what I saw) it is just beef or lamb which I was somewhat disappointed with considering I stopped eating red meat 3 years ago buuuuuut I was hungry so I didn’t even consider leaving, and boy am I glad I made that decision.
Now I say I stuck to the meat section but I wanted to check out the combo plates to see how much food I could get. I read the #18, I believe, and it was the kitfo sandwich which was a steak tartar with chili, spread onto a French roll. This was one of the most simple, yet delicious and sensational sandwiches I’ve ever had. To me, this sandwich was like that sloppy joe you used to get in elementary school that your lunch lady made for you and nobody, not even my grandma, whom called herself the cooking queen, was able to recreate it. This sandwich was exactly what I was looking for and it was even more delicious then the elementary school sandwich! And to top it all off the owner made me a free latte which is the perfect pick me up I needed before I started work. I recommend this place to anyone who is open to trying new foods! I remind all readers that I have only tried the kitfo sandwich but I will be coming back soon to tell y’all about the other items as well!

This place is disgusting… Ive never had bad Ethiopian place besides this one. The 2 times i went they always tell me they don’t have a certain item. Everything was cooked with garlic… zeni or walia would be a much nicer choice.

What a wonderful find. Where else does one get home cooked Ethiopian food? Your cook is your cashier and the owner of the restaurant. Friendly service. Minimal décor, but why would you expect anything more in this part of town? I like this place because it reminds me of all the mom and pop places I have loved. Food is delicious. Will come back for more.

Very simple menu, less than remarkable setting and décor, but without a doubt very delicious, very cheap, very friendly, very authentic, and well worth eating if you enjoy East African cuisine. Service is always good, it typically draws a small crowd of the local Ethiopian working community who congregate there and talk politics, watch sport, drink a few beers or some coffee, and, of course, eat. Good amount of vegetarian dishes as well which is traditional fare for Ethiopian Orthodox followers who do a good bit of fasting.

A bit hard to find at night, but glad we did. Quite possibly the best Ethiopian food I’ve had! Flavorful but not greasy.
I felt a bit intrusive at first. Partner said it felt like we’d walked into someone’s home, as they sat around watching Ethiopian music videos on YouTube. They were welcoming, though, which helped the ease. Offered the food to be vegan if we wanted, even.
We always order the veggie combo so I’m bad about the names of dishes, but the greens dish tasted the freshest and most flavorful I’ve ever had. The foule was fresh and delicious, and the bread with it was definitely freshly baked. Yes, 10:30 pm on a Sunday night, fresh food. Awesome!
Always on the lookout for somewhere to eat at night after most places close, not only have we found that here, very pleased with the quality of the food. We’ll definitely be back, and I’ll be telling my friends about this one!

Food is good, they have meat dishes that are too die for! I would take it togo though place is a little depressing and dark. Also it is a little pricey, well compared to places in oakland it is, and the portions are perfect per person but not sharing.

Used to be my favorite spot to take friends to try Ethiopian food, but recently raised prices and served less food. Consistency of dishes was also an issue, sometimes injera or food would be cold and it wouldn’t always taste the same. Not like I’m expecting it to be perfect every time, but I want my food to at least be tasty.
Atmosphere is a little strange, but cool and cozy. Beer and coffee are a plus… but I don’t come by anymore because of the prices and inconsistent deliciousness of my food.

OK so we decided to try this place out for lunch because of all the good reviews. I’m giving one extra star because the food was good.
I wasn’t expecting the place to be grand inside but it was not quite what I was expecting. The place is small with small tables and the place just felt old and dirty to me.
When we arrived just after noon there weren’t any other customers inside. The lady who worked there just told us to sit anywhere. I’m sorry but I was quite disgusted by how dirty the place was. The tables and chairs were not clean and looking around the walls and floor were pretty filthy as well. I tried to overcome this because of the good reveiws on the food.
The menu was old looking and very dirty so i tried to not touch it that much. The prices of the food were cheap. Once we ordered the food took a long time to come out. I think the lady that greeted us was the same lady making our food in the back.
The food was quite good with good flavors but the injera was a bit old because the edges were crusty.
We did not finish our food so we asked the lady for a to go box. She came back to our table and started using her bare hands to put our food into our to go box which was a huge turn off.
The other thing I noticed was that each of our meals was $ 10 and the lady only charged us $ 20 total for the whole meal so we weren’t charged tax. I’m surprised being a restaurant that they would not charge us tax.
In conclusion, the food was pretty good but I will not be returning due to the lack of hygeine and uncleanliness of this place. I’m not sure why the health department have not forced them to clean this place up.

I took a pilgrimage to all the other Ethiopian restaurants in the area and Lunch Box’s kitfo is STILL the BEST. Next best IMO is the place on Business Circle, up the street.

I absolutely love the lunch box! My dad introduced me to this restaurant while I was visiting from college and I couldn’t wait to get back home to come here!
The food is the best ethiopian I’ve ever had, even better than my ethiopian friend cooks himself. I’ve tried a few other ethiopian restaurants in san Jose, but none compare. It’s a hole in the wall, but I’ll take taste over décor any day. I love the kitfo, lamb stew, and lentils. My dad loves the collard greens, as well.
I wanted to write this review to encourage others to come here. The owner is such a sweet man and always makes me feel so welcome. I’m sure the décor and location deter some from coming here, but if you are looking for an amazing meal, I urge you to give it a try.
Lastly, the prices can’t be beat. Three people can share a filling meal for under $ 30!
Try it out! You won’t be disappointed!

Flavors are good, but one of the dishes was way salty. Ke wot is nice & spicy. I like the combination meals that they offer. The injera is a bit cold and dry here. Good if you’re in the area. But ambiance is a bit lacking.

Average Ethiopian food. I’ve eaten at about 15 different Ethiopian restaurants, and this place was not close to being worst or best. Three of us ordered the kitfo, lamb tibs, and the veggie combo. The kitfo (ordered raw, de riguer) was the big disappointment — I usually love kitfo but this was pretty bland. The lamb was a lot more flavorful. For the veggie combo, we got: collared greens (best rendition I’ve had), red lentils (good but a bit too salty), chickpeas (good), and the potatoes (fine, but as usual I found this dish boring).
Prices were very reasonable. Service was friendly and prompt (we were the only customers). If you care about that sort of thing, the place has no atmosphere.

ATMOSPHERE: A little intimidating. Truly. This place really feels like the family opened it for themselves and a few friends to have a place to watch soccer and drink beer all day. And while Im a fan of both of those activities, I really felt like I didnt belong and I was kinda intruding. The place is full of Ethiopian men and I am neither Ethiopian nor a man. BUT they were friendly and started chatting with me almost immediately. NOTE: They Dont Have A/​C! So, its HOT. Really, Really Hot. But, I guess if you are from Ethiopia, you dont mind so much. But me? Im a big baby and it is a little difficult if it a really hot day. But spicy food and cold beer really helps with the heat! ;-)
SERVICE: The one waiter guy is very nice and attentive in his own sort of way. He does not, however approach you and ASK if you need anything. IF you look like you need something he is right there. I dont mind the different approach at all.
WHAT I’VE HAD TO EAT: The first time I went I had the veggie curry platter and a beer. OMG! So good! And its true, you dont actually get to choose which ones you get, if you want the platter, you get whatever they have that day. It was all SO good tho, so I was OK with that. The second time I had the lamb stew. Oh Wow. So Wow. Good. Really really good. Spicy and yummy and meaty. Good fatty bits of lamb that wasnt gamy at all.
All in all I really love this place and wanna eat here all the time. Its super authentic, and unpretentious.
And, you should ALWAYS get an Ethiopian beer with the dinner. SO good. Really.

I don’t give 5 stars too often, but this place definitely deserves one. I’ve frequented a few Ethiopian restaurants up and down the peninsula and you really get your bang for your buck at The Lunch Box.
The seating/​ambience takes a bit getting used to, but the servers were all really polite and attentive. My friends and I were there when there was a wedding/​bachelor party going on and the staff kindly asked them to turn down their music.
The portions are huge! We ordered a #15 which was one of their specials and the vegetarian sampler.
I read some other reviews… and I do have to agree that the area is a little shady and the restaurant looks closed from the outside. Thankfully, there’ s a bright neon OPEN sign and I called ahead to find out they closed at 9pm on a Sunday night.
I will definitely come here again!

After dining at each of San Jose’s fine Ethiopian establishments I give The Lunch Box the Blue Ribbon.
The portions are the largest, and they also have the best injera. Not sure what I wouldn’t eat here. All the old dudes who hang in front are really friendly. They have a bunch of bottled Ethiopian beers from ale’s to dark stouts that are awesome with different foods.

I came here the day after Thanksgiving with two of my closest friends. It was freezing outside and walking in the little restaurant felt like entering someone’s living room. The smell of fresh bread and tasty food from the kitchen filled the warm restaurant and the manager promptly came over to greet us and shake our hands.
The vegetarian sampler was outstanding, as always, and they brought us a plate of complimentary «homemade» bread during our meal. I couldn’t have asked for a better day after Thanksgiving meal!

My family and I were feeling adventurous, so we decided to try Ethiopian for the first time. We chose Lunch Box because of its raving reviews and less expensive prices (we didn’t want to spend too much on food we weren’t sure we’d like.)
When we arrived, we stood in front of the door, a little confused. Was the restaurant open? The windows were covered with sheets and doors were closed. There was no sign that there was life inside. We tried the door to find a very dark, empty, small room. So dark that we could barely read the menu. Even the owner couldn’t read it. Behind the counter was a very tiny kitchen with an almost empty fridge. We felt like we had just intruded into someone’s run-​down home. It took all of our will power to not get up and leave.
The food was okay. I wasn’t fond of the sour injera, but if I had a spoon and some rice – maybe some naan, I would’ve really enjoyed the meal. We ordered two meat dishes and a vegetarian dish. The owner better be grateful that I’m not vegetarian because when it came out, there was meat in it. Only we couldn’t tell that there was meat until the bill came out and the owner had explained why the dish was now $ 9.00 instead of $ 6ish, as the menu stated. The other two dishes weren’t $ 9.00, either. When we asked about the discrepancy, he explained that the menu prices were outdated and that he had added tax to each of the dishes. Mr. Owner, you can’t add tax like that and then round up! And if the menu prices are outdated, please invest in some white-​out or a Sharpie.