MealPal Review: Is It Worth It?
(Screenshot from the MealPal app)
There’s no doubt that technological advances have totally changed the way we eat. From grocery delivery services, to apps like Seamless and Postmates, our next meal is often just a few swipes away on our smartphones, ready in a matter of hours or even minutes. Grabbing lunch in a large city like New York can be expensive and time-consuming. In New York City, it's not uncommon to spend half of your lunch break standing on line, ordering, and waiting for your meal to be ready. Keep reading to learn how a service called MealPal has completely revolutionized the experience of getting lunch in New York City.
What is MealPal?
MealPal is a subscription service that allows you to reserve lunch in advance, choose the time you want to go get it, and pick it up without having to wait in line. To join MealPal, simply create an account on their website, then choose the plan that works best for you. They have both lunch and dinner plans, but my experience has only been with the lunch plan, so that’s the service I’ll be focusing on in this post. For the lunch options, you can either choose a 12 meal monthly plan or a 20 meal monthly plan. I opt for the 12 meal plan because it gives me the freedom to make alternate lunch plans a couple times a week (and also takes into account the occasional holiday or day off of work where I wouldn’t need to order through MealPal). Lunch is available Monday through Friday, so the 12 meal plan usually averages out to 3 meals a week. The 20 meal plan is also a good deal, but you have to really commit to using it daily in order to use up all the meals by the end of the 30-day cycle (Since this post was first published, MealPal has changed their plans slightly. The current plans now use a credit system where each meal is worth x number of credits, depending on the portion size, and at the end of your billing cycle, you’re allowed to roll over a certain number of unused credits to the next month’s cycle). You can browse and reserve meals on the MealPal website or on the MealPal app, which is available for both Android and iOS. You’ll also need the app to pick up your meals. Participating restaurants leave out a sign with a QR code near the register. Simply scan the sign, show it to the staff member to confirm, grab your meal, and go.
A peek at the MealPal app
MealPal Pros
One of the biggest pros of using MealPal is that it saves you a lot of money. On the 12 meal plan that I use, the cost averages out to $6.39 per meal, which is much cheaper than the average price of lunch in NYC. When I don’t use MealPal, I typically end up paying at least $8 - $12 for lunch, depending on where I go. Another advantage of using MealPal is that you choose your meal in advance and pick the time you want to go pick it up, so you don’t have to worry about waiting in line. You can reserve your meal as early as 5pm the day before, and as late as 10:30am the day of, choosing from 15 minute windows between 11:30am and 2:30pm. I find this especially convenient on days when I have multiple meetings planned because I can reserve my meal for a specific time, know that it’ll be ready to pick up when I get there, and get back to work in time for my next meeting. Another feature that I like about MealPal is that there’s a pretty nice variety of meals available. I’m making an effort to eat healthier, and MealPal has made that pretty easy to do.
Lunch from PokeBar
MealPal Cons
Each participating restaurant offers one meal per day, and they prepare a certain number of those meals based on how many people reserve it in advance. This means that you cannot make any adjustments to that meal whatsoever. So if you want that sandwich with no mayo, that salad minus the avocado, or extra pickles on your burger, you’re out of luck. Another thing I’ve noticed about MealPal meals is that sometimes the portion size is a bit smaller than what you’d get if you ordered directly from the restaurant. This is not always the case though, and even when it is, it’s not a deal breaker for me because most meals are still filling enough for it to not make a difference. But on some days, particularly when I plan to get in a workout after work, I do find myself needing a snack to hold me over until dinnertime. Another con is that many restaurants offer the same meal over and over, which can get a little boring if you typically order from the same restaurants. But again, this isn’t a deal breaker for me because I tend to be a creature of habit and order my favorite dish over and over anyway; plus MealPal periodically adds new restaurants and lunch options, so the options do eventually change. The only other downside of MealPal is dependent on the neighborhood you work in - some areas have better options than others, but this also really depends on your taste in food.
Vegetable Dumpling Ramen from Poke Junke
So Is MealPal Worth It?
In my opinion, MealPal is absolutely worth it. I’m really bad about bringing lunch from home, so MealPal saves me a ton of money each month. And with the 12 meal monthly plan, I only have to figure out lunch myself once or twice a week on average. I work in a busy Manhattan neighborhood, so MealPal also saves me time by letting me skip the line. MealPal also helps me with portion control, and the options help me make healthier choices and try out new restaurants and meals that I might not otherwise select. If you find yourself buying lunch at least a couple times a week, I recommend giving MealPal a try: you can always cancel after your first month if you find it’s not right for you. But I can speak from experience, MealPal definitely saves you time and money: two things New Yorkers can never have too much of.
Have you tried MealPal? What’s been your experience? Let me know!
One of my favorite MealPal lunches, from Mulberry & Vine
Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. However, MealPal does periodically run promotions that allow new users to get a discount on their first month if they sign up using a referral link. When those promotions are in effect, I may receive a referral bonus in the form of an Amazon gift card if you sign up using the link below: