lunch munches from MealPal

A friend at work sent me this blog post last Weds, and I managed to snag myself a spot in this deal.

MealPal is a lunch program that gives you better deals for lunches around your area. For its recent launch in London, they were giving away 5 free consecutive lunches when you sign up.

Normally, MealPal offers two subscriptions:
Lunch a Lot: Up to 20 meals per 30-day cycle, £4.39 per meal, including VAT and fees.
Lunch a Bunch: Up to 12 meals per 30-day cycle, £4.79 per meal, including VAT and fees.

You get to order the day before lunch at 17:00 and closes the day of lunch at 09:30. A map of your area shows the options and dishes when this starts, so you choose one and reserve the time for pick-up that sounds the best for you.

I’ve had my 4 lunches now, with my final one reserved and waiting for me soon.

Overall, I think it is a good deal if you tend to buy lunches a lot. The meals I’ve found are usually around the £6 range. This means it saves you £1 ish each time.

I must admit, some places did it better than others. The first lunch I had at To a Tea was very disappointing but I thoroughly enjoyed the last 3 days lunches (good service, and food is the same as if you bought it straight out from the restaurants).

I go to To a Tea from time to time in the past. This time, the lasagna I got from To a Tea is half the usual portion. Plus it was slightly burnt, dry, and cold after being left behind the counter for what tasted like quite a long while. (Reserve times are in 15 minute slots, and I arrived probably within the first minute or two. I was hungry!) The 2 salads were pretty much just boiled peas and carrots with a bit of flavouring tossed in. All in all, not very pleasant.

The subsequent 3 lunches were pretty much exactly as they’ve advertised it. They were lovely, hot, and very very filling. I enjoyed Beboz’s pasta so much that I reserved another one for my last lunch today (sausage and pasta with olives).

Will I actually sign up for the subscription? Probably not. The smallest batch they have is for 12 meals in a 30 day cycle. This makes it 3 meals a week. The meals would get very repetitive and seem to be rather pasta/burrito oriented at the moment.

If they had a smaller meal batch, I might reconsider. But until then, I’m sticking to my usual veggie and rice based bentos.