5 Of The Best Office Lunches, Ever

Nothing brings a company together quite like a shared meal. While everyone has their own tastes and favored cuisines, the best office lunches allow employees to take a small step outside of their culinary comfort zones. It’s a collective experience, allowing coworkers to learn something new about each other while enjoying great food.

That said, it’s not always easy to come up with great new ideas for office lunches that offer something for everyone. The food needs to have variety, but not be so far out there that the less adventurous workers decide to skip out on lunch instead. Here are five safe bets for the best office lunches your employees will ever have.

1. Gourmet Pizza Party

You can’t go wrong with a pizza party, but that doesn’t mean you should feel compelled to stick to the half-pepperoni, half-cheese status quo. Mix it up, and go gourmet. Your workers might not even realize that incredible options like pesto-and-walnut or grilled Thai chicken pizzas are even a possibility. Get a variety, including a few vegetarian options, and watch the stress of the workweek fade away.

2. Tacos Vs. Burgers

The great lunch break question of our time may well be “Should we get tacos or burgers today?” Will authentic Mexican tortillas and fillings win out over artisan buns and perfectly grilled meat? Why not both? Better yet, why not use Fooda’s guest restaurant popup service to invite the best taqueria and best burger bar in your area to show off what they can do? This kind of friendly competition may just create one of the best office lunches, ever.

3. Kick It Up With Cajun Spice

Is there anyone in your office who would pass at the chance to try out some legit Louisiana seafood gumbo? The company daredevils can thrill at a spicy jambalaya, while the more cautious may get to try a still-quite-delicious shrimp po’ boy. There’s something for everyone in Cajun cuisine, and you may even end up with an office “fais-do-do” over lunch as a little “lagniappe.”

4. BBQ Is The Great Equalizer

There’s something primal about coming together to share a meal of perfectly cooked and seasoned meat. Today’s best BBQ places have even learned how to win over vegetarians and non-red meat eaters with exceptionally tasty sides, so it can truly be a meal for everyone. Sure, if you don’t have enough napkins and wet wipes, it may get a little sloppy. You may also see a decided post-lunch productivity drop, as workers struggle with the urge to nap from having full bellies. Plan accordingly, because it’s totally worth it.

5. Turn Up The Heat

If your have a particularly competitive, risk-loving kind of staff — sales teams come to mind here — you might want to try something a little more … exciting. From Nashville-style hot chicken (spiced with peppers from pleasantly warm to instant-regret hot) to Korean donkatsu (pork cutlets in spicy red chili sauce), there are no shortage of options out there. Most places that specialize in truly eye-watering dishes have at least a handful of milder options for the more faint of heart, so no one needs to be left out.

The best office lunches are the ones that employees think of as a true workplace perk. At Fooda, we have some great ideas about how to make that happen.