Lunch Box

The Lunch Box has the best Thai food I have had anywhere. The variety & freshness is incredible. They made dishes mild for our grandkids & extra spicy for me. The American menu is surprisingly good, especially the avocado seafood salad (the bomb). The Thai décor is exquisitely designed & constructed by renowned Venice Artist Rob Liseé. There is also a separate bar room, where real people hangout, buy each other beers & wine, talk about hot rods & share life.

Wasn’t overly impressed with the food. Had spicy ground pork… I think they forgot to put in the spicy. Tasted like pan fried unflavored ground pork. Had a taste of the red chicken curry, it was decent. The prices are pretty good, but you often get what you pay for. I may try this place again, but it won’t be the first on my list.

Legit Ventura locals joint. Never had a bad meal there and Nit cracks me up everytime I go there. insider scoop… its a favorite of a lot of Hot Rod/​car guys. Including the late Jerry Magnusson.

If you’re looking for something mainstream, this place if not for you. It’s tucked in an industrial area, off the beaten path and away from your Habits, Chipotles, etc. I have been going here since I started work a few blocks away. Nit, who is almost always our waitress, is the sweetest woman I have ever met. The service is sometimes slower than other places because she is the ONLY waitress serving the entire restaurant and she’s damn good at it. The food is always excellent. Wonton soup is a MUST try. My husband loves the green curry, extra spicy. Teriyaki chicken is really good, and surprisingly for a «Thai» restaurant, they make THE BEST patty melts. There’s a reason this place has regulars, like my father, husband and myself, along with SO many others, because the food is great, service is super friendly (just don’t go on a Friday because Nit doesn’t work Fridays and the other lady is… not as nice), and the atmosphere is unique and quiet. Might not be for everyone, but it’s worth a try! We love it!

Great food.
This place is a real treat. Authentic and fresh Thai food. The staff are friendly and the food is good. Lots of variety and worth the money. Get the Pad Thai and the Tom Gai soup.

this lunch spot if worth the drive. good food and good service is all you can ask for. to top it off they make you feel as if you been dinning there for years.

They deliver close by! Very friendly and I just love Tom khan soup! They have been there 30 years and are tucked away in an industrial area. That says something! I will be back!

Food is good service is horrid! We go for lunch during work and I cannot even fathom why it takes so long for a club sandwich! Then to get the bill lots really it took 30 mins! Lunch break people we are losing money waiting and there was only 4 other tables!!!

I wish I found this place earlier, it’s right by my work and it had lots of food choices, even a cool little bar. It’s a full Thai restaurant with burgers and more, I had the pad Thai and it was excellent, I will have to come back after work and try out the bar.

Dive bar with second rate Asian/​Thai food, cheap beer, and endearing old men.
For what it is… A bar/​Thai restaurant in the middle of an industrial park in Ventura… They’re pretty great.
If you’re looking for a great date spot, a fancy microbrew, or some classy ambience, look elsewhere.
If you’re looking for cheap pitchers of Coors Light, a kind and sweet barkeep, and the most delightfully weird old men (check out the guy in the corner who only is allowed water, yet keeps coming back???), you have found the right place!
I wouldn’t dare go here anymore, without the ex to escort me and keep the weirdos at bay, but truly… This place is a true gem, a one-​of-​a-​kind treasure tucked away in Ventura.
Shout out to Howard!!!

We used to go here and liked it but we got take out yesterday 6÷26÷14 $ 11.00 for the basil shrimp there were only 5 shrimp in the little rice container the cant singer was barely half full the pad tai was very dry won’t be ordering there again. Try the great little place in Oak View called OM. They are great

Full bar, American food and Thai food, it’s very good Thai. I called all over Ventura looking for congee no one had it, I called here they didn’t have it on the menu but the owner said call me a day in advance I’ll make it for you, now thats service !!! It was great to have real congee thank you very much!

First off, YES this IS a Thai restaurant, BUT, only AFTER 130pm on weekdays. Second, as you’re driving there, its location among commercial/​industrial buildings might be a cause for concern, making you think, «WHERE THE HECK AM I?» Yet there it resides, with no hints of Asianness from the exterior view, nor from the name. It’s in Ventura, a little ways behind The Barber Volkswagen Dealership on Main St. The easiest way to get there would be to drive on Main St. and turn onto Callens Rd., right on Market St., left on Morse Ave. Its basically American fare for lunch, as that’s what the kitchen is prepared to cook… burgers, soups, salads, sandwiches, fish n’ chips and such. There’s even oysters n’ chips! Also, some daily lunch specials that may have a hint of Asian cuisine. This is what you’d expect if you make assumptions from their chosen business title. Then POOF! Just when you thought you knew, the witching hour comes and things switch to the Thai cuisine around 1:30pm if it’s slow, for sure by 2pm. After hearing about this spot for months from my buddy John L. (Shout Out!), we were fortunate enough to hit it one weekday evening. There is a good sized dining area, clean with a light Asian touch. The other 3^rd of the building is a sports bar. We sat promptly and Nit took care of us for the evening. We sampled a few things from the menu…
*SATAY ($ 8.50): Ordered 2 of the 3 options, Beef and chicken. Comes with 5 pieces on skewers. Meat was average in size with good flavor. Beef was a lil on the chewy side. Chicken arrived somewhat overcooked, just a bit on the dry side. Mild creamy peanut sauce helps counteract the dryness. The cucumber salad was probably the spiciest part of the dish, but still very mild.
*SHRIMP FRIED RICE ($ 10): Pretty good fried white rice that has green onions, carrots, peas, and eggs mixed in. Not too greasy and not spicy at all. My little man couldn’t get enough of this!
*PAD SEE YEW ($ 10): Beef version with flat noodles topped with broccoli and eggs. Everyone enjoyed this. Beef was tender, tasty and dish was not spicy at all. Noodles were prepared just right.
*PAD THAI ($ 8.50): Classic Thai dish with chicken plus eggs, green onions, bean sprouts and ground peanuts mixed in. Sauce was soupy which made this dish bland in taste.
*YELLOW CURRY ($ 9): We chose the pork version. This had a nice flavor to it and the pork was tender. Asked for medium spiciness and it came very timid.
*SPICY BASIL TOFU WITH VEGGIES ($ 9): Asked for spicy and received a mild version of spiciness. The dish itself has a wonderful flavor to it. I asked Nit why this was so mild when I asked for it to be spicy. She said usually that’s as spicy as most patrons here expect. So how do I get real Thai levels of spiciness? Apparently you have to specify «VERY SPICY» and ask for numbers of Thai chili scoops. The usual spicy here is 1 Thai chili scoop.
One of my favorite Thai dishes is not on the menu, massaman curry. Their «tom yum soups» are called «spicy soups», so I was initially let down that this fave Thai dish wasn’t seen, but I just had to read the fine print. There is an option for brown rice here… yay! Everything was A-​OK. Food overall had good flavor and service was friendly and attentive. We didn’t have to wait too long for the food to arrive nice and hot. It seems this place is geared for those uninitiated to the Thai cuisine or prefer «less pizazz» in their food choices. So, if you’re curious about what Thai food is, this would be a good place to get your feet wet ;)

Great Thai food. Friendliest staff. Good atmosphere. Come here to eat dinner with the family or sit at the bar and catch the game. The Lunch Box has it all. Family owned. Support your locally owned restaurants.

So the Lunchbox is my go to place for Thai food in Ventura. When I walked in for the first time I had my doubts because there was a bar full of people watching TV and the dining room was empty. Once the appetizers came I was relieved though. Everything they make is just delicious and full of flavor. The staff is great, and super friendly. The portions are big and we’re always bringing home leftovers. The Thai tea and wonton soup are my personal favorites!

NO. Just, no.
Don’t do it man, there are people that love you out there; there’s so much to live for.
Don’t eat at the Lunch Box. Eating there willingly is a desperate cry for help, when no other option seems viable. There are better restaurants out there. Please, remember when there was good in the world, it’s still out there, but not here. There is nothing here for you but suffering and sadness, and I don’t wish that on anyone.

What a cool little bar/​restaurant. Full disclosure: my Aunt is a bartender here, so my review is intrinsically biased, but FWIW, it’s a neat little spot for a drink after work.
$ 2 happy hour, everyday? Check. Cool crowd of regulars around the bar? Definitely. Food that’s pretty darn good, too? Yep. Super nice owners who take the time to get to know their employees and customers? Sure thing!
I enjoyed my pad thai, as well as my $ 2 brew. And the Thai iced tea is to die for.

Since moving to Ventura for work, I have had to leave my beloved Thai Kitchen in Simi all … alone. It’s been a missions trying to find a great Thai place and this place absolutely disappointed. This place is half biker bar, ¼ old folks home, and ¼ Thai restaurant. The musty scent in the air while I was waiting was almost enough to just get up and go.
I ordered the yellow curry chicken which was more of the highlight. The curry was a bit too runny for my liking, but still flavorful.
I would go back again for the curry, but only if they install a drive through window.

Even though most of the posts say don’t go here for lunch, I didn’t listen. It’s right up the street from my work so I decided to check it out.
First of all I ordered Spicy Ground Beef and received Spicy Ground Pork (I had to get back to work so I didn’t say anything when he handed it to me).
I get back to my desk and find a pile of rice COVERED in a ridiculous amount of onions and huge chunks of bell pepper with some bland ground pork sprinkled in on top.
The dish was not spicy or seasoned well at all and the huge amount of rice it came with made it even more bland.
Even though it sucked, I might check it out one more time (maybe at dinner) or go with a curry dish for lunch. I’m a sucker for Thai and was really hoping this place would be decent since it’s so close to me.
The restaurant itself is nothing fancy at all, the staff seemed to be irritated with each other and the guy at the counter (as nice as he was) just didn’t seem cut out for this type of work.

A quick side note, I’ve only eaten the Thai food here. I’ve never had any of their lunch food, but my dad, who has been coming here for years, says it is his favorite place to grab lunch.
This is one of the few decent places to get Thai food in Ventura County. My favorite dish to order at any Thai restaurant is the Pad See Ewe, and this place has consistently served theirs with fresh vegetables and never skimps on the meat. It isn’t too oily either. Also, I like their soup. My favorite one is the Wonton soup (not sure of the exact name). What I love most about their soup is the portions. The smaller size gives you a generous amount, my mother and I share it because I wouldn’t have room for the rest of my dinner if I had it all to myself. My parents usually order Shrimp Fried Rice, Kung Pao Chicken/​Shrimp, or the steak dinner. All of which are really good.
The best part about this place is their Fried Bananas with Coconut Ice Cream! It is delicious! The fried banana is actually like an egg roll, but filled with sweet banana. It is crunchy and is paired nicely with the ice cream. If you’re not into fried bananas, the mango and sweet rice is worth trying too. I recommend saving some room for dessert!
The service is fantastic. Annette is always our server whenever I have gone, and she is very friendly! The prices are great as well. This place also has a bar w/​tvs sectioned off from the dining area. Hidden and understated, but a good place to have a delicious dinner with the family.