US Markets Loading... h m s

HOMEPAGE

Tech

I tried Mealpass, the ClassPass of lunch — here's what happened

Leanna Garfield

2016-04-20T17:18:00Z

One of my Mealpass lunches. Leanna Garfield/Tech Insider

Mealpass, a new monthly lunch startup, just launched in New York City.

Advertisement

The service is similar to ClassPass, a service that grants you access to local fitness studios after you pay a monthly fee. With Mealpass, you get an all-you-can-eat subscription — in this case, allowing you to pick-up a daily (albeit not unlimited) lunch from participating restaurants.

Over 100 NYC restaurants have signed on for Mealpass. It's also available in Miami and Boston.

For the monthly price of $119 (without tax), the service promises lunch Monday to Friday for less than $6 a day. If you live in New York City, you know that sounds too good to be true.

I decided to try the service for a week. Here's what happened.

Advertisement

The Sunday night before the first day, I chose my lunch from the Mealpass pre-selected list. I'm instructed to log on between 7 pm and 9:30 am every day to reserve my lunch and pick-up time.

Mealpass

I filtered by restaurants near the Tech Insider office in Flatiron, which narrowed it down to 10 within a three-block radius. I ultimately choose to pick up pulled pork sliders from The Hog Pit.

Screen Shot 2016 04 19 at 3.54.25 PM

Advertisement

On Monday, I ventured outside to pick up my food, which felt strange since I never buy lunch. Usually, I eat a sad homemade sandwich.

I soon arrive at The Hog Pit, a dimly lit BBQ bar on 26th Street. Except for a few men at the bar, it's completely empty. Partnering with Mealpass, which is guaranteed to bring lunch-goers, probably sounds ideal to the restaurants that don't usually get strong daytime crowds.

Advertisement

The three sliders come with a side of cole slaw and extra BBQ sauce. The bread is a tad soggy from sitting before I arrived, but otherwise, thumbs up.

On my second day, I decide to go with a healthier option: an Asian sesame grain salad from Just Salad. The best thing (besides the food) about Mealpass is that I can skip the lines. All I need to do is tell the cashier my name.

Advertisement

Here's a close-up of my salad, complete with a chunk of bread and a tub of Asian sesame dressing.

On the third day, I choose pork shoulder tacos from Tres Carnes. Again, when I pick them up, I skip the long line line, grab my bag, and am out the door in under a minute. The portions look pretty wimpy today:

Advertisement

But on the fourth day, my margherita pizza from Waldy's Woodfire is huge. The delicious 10-inch pie looks giant next to my previous meals. I am stuffed.

One of my Mealpass lunches. Leanna Garfield/Tech Insider

Two evenings during the week, I forget to reserve my lunches and scramble at the last minute to choose (Popular meals sell out if you wait too long). Finding a lunch spot is still a daily habit I needed to adopt, and sometimes, it feels weird planning the next day's meal. On my last day, I reserve a chicken and roots bowl from Inday.

Screen Shot 2016 04 19 at 4.59.31 PM

Advertisement

But the next day around 10 am, Mealpass notifies me that Inday is 'unable to serve lunch.' No reason is given.

Screen Shot 2016 04 19 at 5.11.11 PM

I decide to go with Stinky Bklyn, an artisan cheese shop. I bought a turkey and dry jack cheese sandwich on focaccia and a bag of BBQ chips. This is my favorite lunch of the week.

Advertisement

Overall, my food was great and the service was convenient. Mealpass is a sweet deal if you already pay upwards of $10 for lunch in NYC. But there is a limited menu, and it requires that you work in Manhattan every day. If you always buy lunch, want to explore more restaurants in your city, and enjoy avoiding lunch lines, it's perfect. But if you're on a food budget like me, it doesn't beat grocery shopping and bagging lunch.

combine_images

Food Cities New York City

Advertisement

Jump to

Main content
Search
Account