Tokyo Lunch Boxes & Catering

I stopped in to Tokyo Lunch Box for lunch and had an enjoyable meal.
Décor: It’s pretty basic: there is a counter to the left, with the register, and a counter in the back, with hot and cold food. The lighting is good, everything is nicely presented and clean, and there are a handful of seats if you want to stay and eat (most are bar-​like seating).
Bathroom: unknown, but I doubt it.
Staff: The lady working the register was very nice and the guy who prepared my soup was quick.
Food: I was craving Udon, so that’s what I had. I was tasty and hit the spot. While it isn’t the best I’ve had, I enjoyed it. I also had a Spicy Tuna Roll which was decent. This type of «pre-​made» sushi is what I refer to as «supermarket sushi» and is really hit or miss. I’d rate it as a hit.
Value: As you’d expect, the prices are a bit expensive (b/​c it’s sushi). But not only that… I used to get Udon (same size) and a sushi roll in NYC for probably $ 3 — $ 4 cheaper… I’d certainly like to see their prices come down, then I would be able to include them in my normal rotation.
When I have another Udon craving I know where to go. However, given the prices, I will try to make it less often than I’d like…

I came in skeptic — being a fan of NYC Udon Soup and not finding anything in Chicago that could compare. Today I tried the Ken’s U-​Dong (beef, chicken, shrimp tempura) and it was delightful. The broth was that perfect balance, not being too salty from over reducing or watered down. The spinach was fresh and wilted perfect. The vegetables were still crisp. The quality of meat was above expectation and the noodles were the perfect texture (not over done and chewy or under and hard).
The service was great, the place was clean, and prices reasonable. I will certainly be returning here throughout the winter to warm up with Udon soup!

This is a by of a hidden gem in the loop… conveniently located next to the El, it is a great choice for «grab and go» sushi for lunch or dinner. Prices are pretty reasonable as well. If you like sushi, check it out.

Overall: Expensive, overpriced mediocre sushi. Also, the room was uncomfortably warm… no doubt leading to unfresh sushi.
Food: I ordered 5 pieces of salmon sashimi for 10 dollars. The pieces were thin and about the size of my pinky, which isn’t terribly big. I felt like I would still be hungry after so I went and got a sandwich from Subway after.
I’m a big sushi lover and definitely not a sushi snob. However, I just had Rollapalooza and spent 19 bucks for 4x the amount of sushi and food overall. The other premade sushi options didn’t look to fresh and were a little over priced. However, they did have other things like pork buns and noodles, as well as a deal for buy one get one free sushi after 3:30PM. It’s close to my work place, so I might be back, but I would definitely recommend not ordering the salmon sashimi.

Solid 3 stars. I came in for a quick snack or second lunch because the sign for the chasu or pork bun caught my eye. Two pillowy, porkalicious buns for $ 5, you say? Just try and stop me. They were fairly small but the taste was there. Needs more pork though. I did love the spicy hoisin sauce and the pickle. The other menu items were all quick, pre-​made food like sushi, soups and gyozas. Come here if you’re in a time crunch. They did have ramen as well, but something was telling me to stick with the more popular items.

May seem convenient. I do like the concept. But there were too many misses. It’s interior does strive to be a bit less «Chicago dirty» as other spots in the area might be. Efficient wood counter seating. Ideal for lunch, or an otherwise quick bite.
WARNING!!! Stay away from any pre-​made, ready to go food. I thought this was where they would excel, in catering to the person with a quick lunch break, or for someone trying to catch a decent bite right before/​after hopping on the next bus or train.
Sushi: cold. Hard. Too much rice. Rice tastes bad. Meat color is suspect. Definitely not fresh. Jewel has better pre-​made sushi. It may be better freshly made… But I grabbed a to-​go box, thinkin id have a snack for later.
Squid salad: lemony. But old. Bad meat. Grayed. Too sour after taste. You can’t appreciate it. I took one bite.
Pork belly ramen: the only star of the show. Ramen al dente. Some kimchi vegetables. The pork belly a bit over cooked with a thin cut. It tasted great. But there were only 3 pieces of pork! I’d happily have spent another dollar for more meat. Instead I was cautiously nibbling to hope my pork belly would last to the end of the bowl.
Expect all here to cost you at least $ 7+. I appreciate this option for the non-​greasers like I am, who don’t mind payin a bit more for a better bite.
But unless you’re willing to sit and wait fresh, I’d look elsewhere. Commuters and downtown workers probably also look elsewhere.

I really love this place. It’s a no frills cheap spot to stop in the loop for some westernized Japanese served by a delightful staff.
Think of Tokyo like a cafeteria, you go to the back left corner where the sushi and salads are to place a specialized order or proceed to your right to grab a pre-​made. At the cold station are various salads: garden; squid; seaweed; and cucumber. All of which are very fairly priced — the garden is only $ 1.99 and includes mushrooms, cucumbers, and carrots with a ginger dressing. I don’t eat fast food sushi so I can’t speak to that quality or price point. The hot bar has various rice sets along with a few soups. The vegetable rice soup is super tasty and only $ 1.99. It comes with rice, broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, greens and one other ingredient that I believe is miso paste. If you’re in the mood for ramen the pork belly is fantastic as is the vegetable. I’m also quite keen on the tempura.
If you’re looking for something simple, fresh and [mostly] fast I recommend Tokyo. Remember, this is fast food so don’t expect Morimoto quality. Also, I would NEVER recommend fast sushi. Never…

This is by no means the best sushi I’ve ever had. It is, however, the best QUICK sushi I’ve ever had. I was feeling a sushi craving coming on and after browsing through my Grub Hub I decided to give this place a go, as it’s steps from my office. I was wearing, as a small cheap sushi place could mean a sick night. But I took a chance. Everything was actually pretty good, the service was friendly and quick. I was able to bring my lunch back to my desk and had plenty of time to munch on it before the end of my break. I got the Nigiri lunch box, a miso soup and an order of edamame. Past 3:30 sushi is buy one get one free, which is great as I usually take a late lunch. I’ll definitely be back.

Their new pork belly ramen is quite satisfying. Certainly not traditional but quite flavorful. Noodles are actually cooked better as perfect al dente than many places known for their ramen.

Been there once and had the house special roll. The other ones look mediocre, so I didn’t try. Not the best sushi I have ever had, but not the worst either. It’s just average.

I shouldn’t give these guys a good review, because then my fellow Loop workers might get wind of what good deals and food are here!
Tucked into a conga-​line of quick places to grab a bite for us busy bees on the Wells street hive, Tokyo Lunch Box stands out for its fresh food, high quality, and surprisingly cheap prices for the Chicago Loop. While the new fancy ramen place on Randolph demands $ 13 for a bowl of noodle soup (!), Tokyo accepts it’s fate as a quick lunch spot, and serves dollops of udon soup for $ 6 – 7, sushi trays for $ 4.50-$ 9 (the shrimp tempura is a favorite of mine), and perhaps the best deal… spicy tofu/​veggie soup for $ 1.99 and a box of rice for a $ 1!
That’s right, kids… I GET LUNCH IN THE LOOP FOR A LITTLE OVER $ 3. SUCK IT, SUBWAY.
Oh, and if that didn’t tickle your fancy… all boxed sushi is BUY ONE GET ONE FREE AFTER 3:30 PM! That’s been a quick dinner for me on many an occasion! They usually will toss in a miso soup at this time as well, because waste-​not-​want-​not is a big thing in this little restaurant.
Oh, seating is usually PACKED around 12 – 1 pm, so come in, grab, and get out as soon as you can, unless you like getting elbowed by surly paralegals.

for a lunch spot it’s alright. quick, healthy-​ish, and efficient. they do have a great deal after 3:00pm where it’s buy one get one free. so if you eat lunch late, great chance to get it during that hour.
i like their dragon roll because i’m a sucker for avocado! and this has TONS of avocado!!! other favorites there are their udon noodles. the thick, chewy noodles are made to order. try the tempura udon. deep fried shrimp with your udon, and if you get it to go they will put the shrimp off to the side so it’s not soggy by the time you get it back to your office desk. Sushi choices are quite limited, so if you don’t get their early you won’t have a whole lot to choose from.
quick appetizers that are also good are the vegetable dumplings they have in the hot line, seaweed salad, and miso soup. The spicy miso vegetable soup is a bit salty, and lacking in flavor so I wouldn’t get it. Otherwise the regular miso is good.
Price is very reasonable. You can get a lunch for about $ 10.

This is my weekly spot from Nov-​March for some hot Udon soup. For those that don’t know, Udon soup is beef or chicken with thick rice noodles and some fine diced vegetables. I prefer mine served spicy, which isn’t too spicy, but the right amount of heat. I haven’t had any of the sushi, other than the samples, which seem pretty nonesistent in the last year or so. Whats up with that?

Not a bad place, had the Tokyo deluxé, Philadelphia roll and dragon roll. The dragon roll was really good, Philadelphia roll was okay but the Tokyo deluxé (sampler box) wasn’t that great. It may be because I like my rolls full of flavor and not simple but the sushi a pre-​made which may or may not be a good thing depending on how you look at it, still it’s a good place for an okay price if you’re in a hurry.

#tokyolunchbox serving #tofu in their regular chicken teriyaki dish. Not cool #chicago
I’m not sure if I go there again

When I really miss Japanese food, and I am alone n expect to spend less money to have it, I will go here:) it’s not bad for really want to taste something like real Japanese cuisine

I ate from Tokyo Lunch Boxes /​Express Tastes Of Japan a few times. I really like their Vegetable Tempura Udon Soup and their House Special Roll.

Great sushi
Great soup
Go here! It is amongst the best-​priced places in the loop. The sushi is made fresh, and can also be custom made.
I would recommend the fried shrimp roll with the spicy vegetable soup. You cannot go wrong. The staff is friendly and the service is quick. All good things when you’re in a rush!
Go here!

Came back again, but this time ordered the Chirashi bowl and it was awesome!!! Blew any of the pre made box sushi around. Will be back for lunch soon!

This fast food sushi place was tastier than I thought, but it’s still pretty expensive for what you get. I came in with three coworkers at 1130 am and the place was nearly empty, but it started filling up as noon wore on, so if you want to get an actual seat then come early! Or late.
I wasn’t really clear on what I could order, I just saw some things in cold-​display and hot-​display cases and made my lunch from there. Apparently you can order non pre-​made items but there isn’t an obvious menu for that or anything. So I grabbed, for about $ 9, a six-​piece spicy tuna roll served with 3 pices of nigiri (salmon, tuna, and unidentified white fish). I also grabbed a $ 1.50 miso soup (careful not to touch the metal slab on which it rests — OW!) and a $ 4 seaweed salad. So my meal ended up being $ 15 which seemed a little ridiculous, but I guess you’d pay that much in a real restaurant. But the quality/​atmosphere would be a lot better.
The food wasn’t bad though. Miso soup came in a big portion, bigger than in a restaurant. No tofu in there, but some seaweed floating around and it was comforting on a cold day. The seaweed salad was great and had good sesame flavor. The sushi was pretty good too — the roll was «rice-​heavy,» with a little circle of fish in the middle but tons of rice around the outside. The nigiri was just okay too — didn’t taste bad at all, but not nearly as fresh and flavorful as you’d get at a sit-​down place. Felt safe eating it though!
Not much atmosphere, just a few wooden tables and a bigger table in the middle for communal seating. They have cups for water, canned pop, and low-​sodium soy sauce available. Not a place you want to hang around for a long time, but if you don’t feel like eating at your desk it’ll do.
It is cheaper than a sit-​down sushi place, but it isn’t as nice atmospherically and the food is okay, not the freshest. So if you need a sushi fix in a pinch, this should meet the craving just fine. But if you’re a sushi lover and don’t mind spending a few extra bucks, I’d go somewhere else.