There are so many great options to choose from when it comes to grabbing a bite in the middle of the day downtown. Here are a few of our favorite places to retreat to for lunch.
If you’re in a time crunch
Royal Blue is fantastic when you want options and don’t have much time. They have multiple ready-made meals for you to grab and go. Sandwiches and salads here are always good if you don’t have time to throw something in a microwave and the rotating grab meals are great if you do. A tip from the pros: You can never go wrong by going to Royal Blue on Thai Thursday. Hoboken Pie serves up ready-made slices of Jersey-style pizza that are handed to you as soon as you order. P Terry’s serves up burgers so fast, the person behind you can barely finish ordering. For more inspo, our Quick Meals Between Shows blog has a ton of fast meals to choose from.
If you’re eating healthy
Flower Child and The Well are great healthy options if you want to walk around 2nd Street for some lunchtime window shopping while being mindful of what you put into your body. Both have excellent vegan and vegetarian options and are featured in our Vegan and Vegetarian Places Downtown blog.
If you’re trying to impress
When you need a nice place to bring someone, Gloria’s Latin Cuisine has a beautiful patio, gorgeous indoor dining with water features, and delicious food and drinks. Verbena is another beautiful place inside and out to take someone with a carefully curated menu full of flavor. If you want an impressive lunch spot featuring excellent cuisine, North Italia is the place to go for Italian food and Wu Chow is great for authentic farm-to-table Chinese cuisine.
If you’re looking for a good lunch special
Nothing is worse than when you are starting to get hangry and need to find a good lunch special to brighten your mood. Foxy’s Proper Pub has a great lunch special if you need a mid-day beer and sandwich combo. Fareground is full of a variety of vendor options that offer lunch combos we love and is perfect if you need to feed a group of people who can’t decide on one place. Slake Cafe has a mouthwatering lunch menu we can’t get enough of all at good prices.
If you’re REALLY hungry
Some days your stomach feels extra-large; on those days we recommend you enjoy a meal at Irene’s. The vibe at Irene’s is as big as the meals so it’s easy to enjoy your experience there. Eureka is also a good spot to hit when you’re extra hungry. The burgers and sides are large AND delicious. And for those days you just need a bunch of chicken in your belly to feel satisfied, we recommend hitting up Happy Chicks or Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken.
If you just want a dang taco
Is there ever a time when a good taco doesn’t sound amazing, especially in ATX? Tacodeli, Torchy’s Tacos, Vaquero Taquero, Velvet Taco and Veracruz All Natural all serve up delicious tacos for lunch when you just need a dang taco.
If you want to order takeout
It’s not a secret with the long daily lunch line that people love CAVA for lunch. We recommend that you skip the line by ordering takeout. Sweet Green is another great place to order online to make your pick-up quick and smooth. RA Sushi offers a lot of great lunch options, so looking at the menu and deciding what you want before you go is a must if you’re hungry. It’s a bonus that we also love the takeout here. For fans of Neopolitan-style pizza, Desano is ready to make your mouth water the entire walk back to your office.
If you want something fun and delicious
When it’s hot out, sushi is the perfect refreshing meal. Try Maiko Sushi Lounge on any of the numerous toasty Texas days. If you like crazy hot dogs or breakfast after 10 AM, try The Grey Market under the Thompson Hotel. Have some Korean BBQ at Chi’lantro to shake up your taste buds. Get inventive crepes based meals at Ze Crepes. We cannot get enough of the sweet or the savory crepes there.
If you need to soak up the sun at lunch
When you need to make lunch a memorable experience, we highly recommend Taquero Mucho with their fun personality, pink everything and tons of instagrammable patio space. Escape to a Parisian-style cafe patio and people watch at Le Cafe Crepe. Sip on some bubble tea and enjoy your lunch on the cozy red patio at Koriente where they make you feel right at home.
We hope this help you you find a new, delicious place to try next week. Bon appétit, y’all!