Munchery – Healthy Chef Crafted Meals & Food Cooking Kits?

Munchery is a food delivery service based in San Francisco. Find out how Munchery stacks up against its competitors today in our review.

What Is Munchery?

Munchery is a San Francisco startup founded in 2011. Like other food delivery services, Munchery promises to deliver fresh food made from high-quality ingredients at a reasonable price.

You can view Munchery’s menu online today. At the time of writing, the food delivery service had an average rating of around 4 stars out of 5 on Yelp with nearly 1000 customer reviews to date.

One of the things that makes Munchery unique is that you don’t need to subscribe to the company to order food: you can just call and order food from the menu online or over the app.

However, you can also pay a $9 per month subscription fee to get a 20% discount on all food orders through the company – so if you plan on ordering a number of meals per month, then you may want to become a Munchery member.

Munchery was one of the first big players in San Francisco’s food delivery service world. Let’s take a closer look at what makes them unique from their many competitors.

Munchery Features

• Ready-to-Heat Meals: Munchery claims to use fresh, wholesome ingredients in its food. Meals are delivered to your home ready to heat, or ready to be created.
• Cheaper Prices: Munchery claims to offer cheaper prices “than similar dishes at restaurants”. They also tend to be cheaper than some of the more premium-priced food delivery options in San Francisco. Munchery dinners start at around $8 per meal.
• Online or App Ordering: Like other food delivery services, Munchery lets you order online or through the mobile app (available for iOS or Android).
• Choose your Meal: Some food delivery services only offer one or two options for each meal. They mass produce food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner across all customers, which means you’re given little choice. That’s not the case with Munchery, where you can order off the menu just like an ordinary takeaway food place or restaurant.
• Cooking Kits: If you’re outside of the Munchery area, you can order “food kits” instead of fresh food. These food kits give you ready-to-make meals that can be assembled or cooked in 15 minutes or less.
• Chilled Meals: Munchery arrives on-time in a chilled container for maximum freshness. You can then heat it up in the microwave or your oven.
• Order When You Want: Other food delivery services require you to lock into plans where you receive a certain number of dinners, lunches, or meals every month. With Munchery, your subscription is much more flexible. On-demand delivery is available in some areas, and you can schedule dinner deliveries for specific dates in the future.
• Menu Changes Daily: Munchery promises a diverse range of meals and menu options from all over the world. We’ll list a few of those foods down below.

Sample Munchery Foods

Some of the Munchery foods currently listed on the official website include the following:

Main Dishes

All of the main dishes listed below are priced between $8 and $11. With some dishes, you can order a “family pack”, where you get a complete meal for four at a discounted price (typically about $35 for a meal for 4).

• Tarragon Chicken Salad Wrap
• Fire Grilled Chicken
• Pork Lettuce Wraps
• Chipotle Grilled Chicken Breast
• Cavatappi Pasta with Kale Pesto
• Pan Seared Branzino
• Hawaiian Loco Moco
• Mexican Shrimp Caesar Salad
• BBQ Chicken & Slaw Salad Bowl

Cooking Kits

The Munchery cooking kits let you make dinner for two people in under 15 minutes. A kit with all required ingredients arrives at your door.

As long as your home has basic cooking equipment – like a pot, pan, and salt and pepper, you’ll be able to make the Munchery cooking kits. Kits are typically priced at around $18 to $22 for one meal for two people. Options include:

• Spicy Korean-Style Beef Meatballs
• Kung Pao Chicken
• Tangy Mahi Mahi & Brown Rice
• Goat Cheese & Mushroom Flatbreads
• Tuscan Tortellini Soup
• Cheesy Grits with Shrimp Pozole

Sides

Want a snack, a side dish, or a light meal? The Munchery sides category has what you need. Sides range in price from $4 to $10. Sample options include:

• Harissa Asparagus Side
• Teriyaki Beef Jerky
• Hearty Vegetable Miso Soup
• Jalapeno Mac & Cheese
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts
• Loaded Baked Potato
• Steamed Spinach
• Butternut Squash Bisque
• Petite Crème Brie

Kids

Looking for small meals that your kids can eat out of the box? Or, Munchery also offers kids can easily make themselves – like DIY tacos. Munchery’s kids menu is priced between $4 and $8 per meal. Here are some of the options:

• Kids’ DIY Beef Tacos
• Kids’ Grilled Chicken & Salad
• Kids’ English Muffin Pizzettas

Desserts

Munchery’s desserts include the usual mix of pastries, cakes, and baked goods. They’re priced between $3 and $6 per dessert. Options include:

• Chocolate Truffle Shortbread
• Almond Croissant
• Vegan Berry Muffin
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake
• Lemon Yogurt Pound Cake

Breakfasts

Munchery isn’t really known for its breakfasts. On most of the menus we saw, there was only one breakfast item listed (chocolate espresso scones for $3).

Drinks

Unlike most food delivery services, Munchery actually has an entire category of its website dedicated to drinks – including wine, beer, cold brew, and more. Some of the options to order include:

• Cold Brew Espresso
• Watermelon Water (WTRMLN WTR)
• Coconut Water
• Mexican Coke
• BLK Water
• Lucky Rock Pinot Noir
• Barrique Cabernet Sauvignon

Munchery Pricing

Munchery has a unique pricing program. You can order each meal as-is, and pay the listed prices on the official website for every meal you order.

Or, you can sign up for a Munchery subscription and save 20% off the cost of your meals all year long. Typically, you need to order more than 6 Munchery meals per month to make the subscription worthwhile (the subscription is $8.95 per month or $85 per year).

Main dishes on Munchery are priced between $8 and $12, with most snacks, breakfasts, side dishes, and other meals costing less than that. The company also occasionally features a premium-priced option on its menu – like lobster on certain days of the week.

Munchery just launched their $8.95 per month membership plan in 2016. Today, the company’s service area is available across the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, New York City, and Los Angeles.

Anyone can try the Munchery membership program for free for 30 days.

Munchery Reviews: What Do Customers Have To Say About Munchery?

Munchery is generally well-reviewed on Yelp, where it’s received an average rating of 4 stars out of 5 with a total of over 1000 reviews (Munchery originally launched in San Francisco way back in 2011).

A 4.0 star rating puts Munchery in the middle of the pack for food delivery services – which is pretty good considering the company offers cheaper pricing than most of its competitors. In any case, here are some of the pros and cons of Munchery that customers reported in their reviews:

Pros

• Cheaper and healthier than take out food
• Great portion control to prevent overeating
• Competitive pricing, especially when dining for two people
• You can subscribe to save money, or pay a slightly higher rate and just order food whenever you like
• You can order up to two weeks in advance
• Rotating selection of meals that are surprisingly tasty and varied
• Munchery claims to give you credit if your food is late (you provide an hour-long delivery window)

Cons

• If you like big portions, then you may be disappointed (this is pretty much true for all food delivery services)
• Like all food delivery services, some customers have major quality complaints about drivers not arriving on-time, food arriving in bad shape, or food not arriving at all

Should You Order From Munchery?

If you’re expecting to get a 5 star dining experience from a food delivery service, you’re going to be disappointed.

However, if you are okay with eating decent-quality food at a reasonable price, delivered to your home address within an hour on-demand, then Munchery is generally a popular food service.

Most reviews for Munchery are positive, with customers praising the quality of the food, the ease of use, and the customer service offered by the company.

However, like all food delivery services, it’s easy to find customers who have had major problems with their food – like food arriving late, food being inedible, and other issues.

Ultimately, your mileage will vary with Munchery. However, most reports online seem to indicate that Munchery is a good food delivery service at a more competitive price than some of the premium options available today.