For the price point — most to-go lunches in downtown San Francisco run $10 to $15 — the bowls are pretty hard to beat. Hearty and fresh, they don't skimp on the toppings. I preferred the Bento Bowl to The Mediterranean; both were pretty good. The Bento Bowl's stir-fried quinoa was particularly tasty, though I had a few relatively minor issues with the rest of the bowl. While everything else in the bowl was bite-size and easily eaten without a knife, the mushrooms were in big, unwieldy chunks. It's also worth noting that the stir-fried quinoa includes egg (similar to fried rice), though the bowl's description fails to point that out. This seems odd, since bowls with dairy or gluten are labeled as such. Worst of all, there was a small piece of plastic in my bowl. Accidents happen, but yikes!
Would I go back? While it was a fun, novel experience, I don't think I'll become a repeat customer unless the hype and line die down considerably. The quality for price point is pretty great, but I'm not keen on waiting 30 minutes, all told, for a to-go lunch in the middle of a busy workday. Personally, I didn't find the minimal amount of human interaction off-putting; that said, I regularly use apps like Washio, Instacart, and Postmates, so take that assessment with a grain of salt.
