The Lunch Box

I know that this is a dive but I still prefer it to a lot of the other hipster places around for breakfast. The ceiling fan in the kitchen was hanging on by a thread and wobblying for the longest time and the place has no ac which is very noticeable in the summer.
it’s a no frills korean dinner that employs and is frequented by hamptownies. The omelette and coffee hits the spot! I think it’s kind of charming. I prefer the food to overpriced hipster fare and it’s fast and quick.

Waited 40 minutes for eggs and toast. Everything came out soggy. Kitchen is disgusting — chef is eating, handling meat, cooking — all with no gloves. Never coming back again.

My goodness what an awesome breakfast sandwich. We did a quick stop here to get the kids breakfast. We ordered bacon egg and cheese sandwiches for everybody. They we quick in getting us the order. Maybe a 7minute wait. I just tasted one of their sandwiches and it tastes AMAZING!!! This place is definitely on my list of return visits for all the right reasons!!!

Good, hot, tasty food with great service. Hipsters across the street were paying twice as much for less good food.
My favorite spot for breakfast in hampden.
And the very sweet and charming waitress doesn’t hurt a bit.
Great grub.

The lunch box is what you would expect: a small, friendly diner with simple foods. The waitress was super friendly and taking care of everyone with a smile on her face. My partner got a cheeseburger and I got a turkey Reuben. Both foods were prepared nicely. If I’m around Hampden again and I want a quick, cheap bite, I’d definitely come here again. On a more personal level, I accidentally left my credit card there and they called my credit card company to get a hold of me. I’m so glad that my blunder was made in a place with trustworthy people!

This place is a very casual and cheap place to get quick food. However, it’s not the cleanest place in the world. As soon as we were seated, I was given a dirty fork that still had remains of some dried up egg yolk.
Other than that, the food was pretty good. It’s not anything gourmet but it’ll fix your dirty food cravings. My boyfriend ordered the cheeseburger with fries (their fries taste just like the Popeyes fries!). I ordered the French Toast with two eggs and bacon. The prices are pretty good too.
I give two stars even though the food was good. It’s pretty dirty in there and you kind of feel dirty after eating too.
PS– I read somewhere on the reviews they only take cash. They take cards, just not American express

USED TO LOVE THIS PLACE!!! Would have given it 5 Stars every time except for my past few experiences. The new owners apparently don’t remember anything because they are always OUT of everything. And it takes forever for a meal to come to the table. They have a menu for no reason. Half of it is unavailable.

Just left here a little over 30 minutes ago. .had the French toast platter. .delicious I will be returning with my children… the place was neat clean and the waitress was very sweet

YUCK! Came here on Saturday for breakfast/​brunch with two friends. This place needs a serious upgrade/​makeover. Now I get it… this isn’t Miss Shirley’s or some fancy place… its a quick, local dive with cheap greasy food. But for God’s sake at least make it clean! We sat down and I immediately noticed the abundance of fruit flies. I felt like I was sitting in a mud hut in Africa somewhere. The kind Asian waitress promptly came over to us (best part of the whole experience) and asked us what we wanted. I felt like just leaving at that point but the waitress was nice and the girl I was with insisted this place was «legit.» So I stuck around.
As we rummaged through the menu deciding on what to consume, the waitress tells us they are practically out of everything but omelettes. When we asked her why, she said the owner/​chef is terrible at restocking his own food. Well that’s a great sign… I immediately thought to myself, if the owner can’t even restock his own food, why does he own a restaurant? And how old is the food I’m about to eat?! I decided to play it safe and ordered the spanish omelette, which was eggs and onions topped with canned salsa. The hashbrowns were surprisingly good but overall I think they serve better omelettes in refugee camps. No seasoning, no substance, no care. I don’t think my friends like their food at all either. One got a terrible looking frozen patty burger. The other got oatmeal that looked like the bonding adhesive for bricks. After sitting there for 30 minutes once we were done eating I decided to go to the bathroom and try to poop this stuff out of me. It didn’t work but at least the bathroom was relatively clean. Thank God.
I think the worst part of this experience was that I was siting at a table with at least half a dozen fruit flies swarming all around me. I felt itchy. On top of that was this horrendous smell of dirty mop water that still haunts me. When I finally left here I felt like I needed to burn my clothes and take a three hour shower. This may sound harsh but its «legit.» What a shame because this dive has a great location.
In the meantime they should change the name from The Lunch Box to The Dump Box. Maybe the lame ass hipsters would find it «cool and ironic.»

Really gone downhill under what appears to be new ownership. Expect a needlessly long wait and subpar food

Incredibly slow service, but that’s because there’s one server for the whole restaurant. The cooks are backed up beyond belief, and it took us over 45 minutes to get out food (with no drink refills during that time). The same was true for all the other patrons. With such long wait times, they should definitely offer more than one free refill on sodas and coffee.
The server was way overworked, but she maintained a positive demeanor. The same is not true of the back kitchen staff. They were all grumpy and rude.
The restaurant could use a good deep clean, too. Lots of sticky surfaces.
They get two stars because the coffee was fresh and the food was delicious!

In town to visit a friend and she brought me here. Ordered the cheesesteak, & it was good! Tasted even better the next day.
Cheap, delicious, greasy food! & Super fast service. It really is no frills, get and go. Also a plus they serve breakfast all day, for those that don’t wake up super early!
The atmosphere is very relaxed and causal, typical of what may be expected from a diner. A must next time I’m in town.

Not worth it.
Came in for the «no frills breakfast» and it was definitely basic diner food. This place is playing at being a cheap greasy spoon diner, fine, but waiting 45 minutes for pancakes when the restaurant is dead is completely unacceptable. Also, only 1 coffee refill? Give me a break, most places are bottomless cup. The pricing is OK, but this place isn’t worth the time or effort. I’d rather just hit up a dunkin.

We had a late morning breakfast here on a weekend and the cuisine was very good. The menu was your average type breakfast menu with all the basic options. I had an omelet and it was very well prepared. The service was good and the Staff was very pleasant and congenial. Prices are very reasonable too. The only issue was the coffee. If you are a passionate coffee drinker, this is not your kind of place. The coffee was very mediocre at best. Try this place for breakfast when in Hampden.

Whenever I’m in Baltimore, I have to come to The Lunch Box at least once. This no-​frills breakfast spot is my favorite incentive for waking up and crawling out of bed.
My boyfriend and I call this place «Korean breakfast», not because there’s anything particularly Korean about the food, but because of the friendly Korean family that runs the place. The first day my boyfriend and I stumbled upon The Lunch Box, one of the cooks came out from behind the stove to chat with us. Now the family greets us familiarly every time we go and we leave with a cheery «Come back again!» chasing us out. I’ve never been a consistent regular at a restaurant where the staff treats me this well, and we’re not alone in the good treatment!
I’ve never had to wait to get a table. Service is usually very good and the food comes out quickly.
I get the same order every time, A6, which consists of two pancakes, eggs cooked any way and my choice of meat (which my boyfriend inevitably bogarts). The dish is so satisfying and well-​balanced. Not too much pancake, not too many eggs or meat.
My boyfriend usually gets some combo of eggs, potatoes and bacon and digs in like he’s never seen food before.
I’ve never left The Lunch Box hungry or unhappy. For someone who loves breakfast as much as I do, The Lunch Box has been one of the greatest finds in Hampden.

If you’re the soy-​milk drinking, gluten-​free eating, egg-​white requiring type, The Lunch Box is not for you. You should eat at Golden West across the street, where though you will pay more, they will accommodate you beautifully.
The Lunch Box is not bad at all but it’s just as basic and no-​frills as it comes. It is fast old school diner food.
There are 8 four-​top tables and a small counter with about four seats. Service is fast and they are not willing to make fussy accommodations or substitutions. For example, scrambled eggs with feta was a no-​go. They have feta (as evidenced by the Greek omelet on their menu) and they clearly have eggs… but they wouldn’t make it. Toast is sometimes stale tasting.
My boyfriend loves their simple French toast and cheap coffee, and I’m sure we’ll be back because they serve breakfast all day long!

Good breakfast spot. Down South we call ‘em greasy spoon cafes. I want good eggs at a very reasonable price this place is dead on! If you’re a hoity toity yuppie this probably isn’t gonna be your cup o tea. And please don’t ask for «gluten-​free» anything… You WILL be asked to leave…

I filled in for grandad! Thanks for sharing, Stephen :)
Eggs, potatoes, toast (and meat for the non vegg-​type). Basic breakfast, prepared well with extremely quality service. We were pleasantly greeted to our table with a cutie (orange) and a chocolate just because it’s holiday season. How nice! The food more than satisfied that breakfast craving after a ‘late one’ the night before. The atmosphere made it feel okay to go in un-​showered, and still be treated like family. There’s definitely a time and place for this local eat in my life, and I will be back.

Great, no-​frills breakfast place in Hampden. Went on a Sunday during prime brunch time and we were seated immediately.
Service was fast and friendly and the prices are hard to beat. The food overall isn’t anything spectacular, but it is very well done for the basic menu. I got a breakfast sandwich with bacon and cheese on an english muffin, and the egg/​bacon were cooked to perfection.
Great alternative when you aren’t feeling up to a big Sunday brunch production.

The boyfriend and I were on the way to Philadelphia this morning and decided to stop for breakfast before hitting I-​95. We headed for Hampden, originally intending to go to Golden West, but we arrived just a bit too early — they were closed. I originally thought, «ugh, not Café Hon», but then the Love of My Life, in a brilliant move, turned around and saw The Lunch Box across the street with its bright, cheery «Open» sign. What the hell, it’s breakfast, let’s keep it simple.
It turns out that we couldn’t have made a better choice. The minute we walked in, we knew this was our kind of place — it’s unassuming, unpretentious, and delightfully inexpensive. I saw diner-​style food and worn (but very clean) tables, not «ambiance» and high prices. It only took me one look at Golden West’s menu to see that I’d be paying double digits for a simple omelette — no, thanks.
I had the French toast special with eggs and sausage, LoML had the «hotcake» special with more or less the same options, and coffee. Everything was cooked just the way we asked for it; it was simple, delicious, and filling, which is just what was required. It was very obvious that the Lunch Box has its regulars, as a lot of the waitresses seemed to know folks on a first-​name basis, and that’s great. Service was very good, no complaints here.
This little place is a refreshing break from the upscale (which equals expensive) eateries in Hampden. I was telling LoML during breakfast that the Lunch Box is like what Hampden USED to be — inexpensive, cheap, with down-​to-​earth Baltimore natives who don’t like a lot of pretentious, snobbish attitude. In other words, this place made me feel right at home.
THIS is the place where the REAL «hons» hang out — hon.
We’ll definitely be returning for more breakfast, coffee, and Sunpapers.