Indian Office Lunch Ideas: What to Order for Your Team

If you have been asked to order lunch for the office, a list of dishes is only the beginning. You need a meal people will choose, enough variety without too many decisions, and a clear way to distribute it. Indian food gives you shared and individual options; the best starting point depends on whether the team will eat together or collect meals separately.

This guide uses Mehfill’s current Toronto and GTA catering menu. Menu combinations below are planning suggestions, not promises that every requested dish is included at a particular package rate. Named bowls have fixed published recipes. Once the group has chosen, confirm the menu, quantities and delivery details in one written order.

Should I choose a buffet or individual lunch bowls?

For a shared meal, plan where guests start, collect plates and move after serving. For individual meals, collect choices in advance so the organiser can match the delivered quantities to the list. Neither format removes the need to confirm the selected dishes and dietary requests. The office-lunch service page connects both formats to the event quote.

What should I put in a shared Indian office lunch?

Build around a small number of mains, then decide on rice, bread and accompaniments. More dishes are useful when they serve a purpose, such as adding a vegetarian choice or giving a celebration an appetizer course. They are less useful if the menu becomes difficult to explain or serve during the break.

A straightforward mixed-team lunch

Ask for a chicken main and a vegetarian main, one rice choice, naan or roti, dessert, raita and salad. For the flavour conversation, a tomato-based chicken dish and a paneer or chickpea direction give the team two recognisable starting points. Confirm which actual dishes are eligible for the selected package; a bowl recipe name does not automatically become a buffet selection.

A vegetarian team lunch

Ask whether a paneer-based main and a chickpea or dal-based main can be combined within the two-main framework. Add the selected rice, bread, dessert and accompaniments. This gives the kitchen a concrete request instead of “anything vegetarian.” If any guests need vegan meals, record that separately before approving a paneer-based menu.

A client lunch or team celebration

Start with the shared meal, then decide whether appetizers are worth the additional menu and serving time. Deluxe Lunch includes two appetizer selections; Corporate Lunch expands the number of appetizers, mains, rice choices and desserts. Ask for the final eligible dish list rather than assuming a longer package name means unlimited choices.

These are the current office lunch package frameworks, all starting at 15 guests. The selection counts describe variety within a meal; they are not the number of trays delivered.

Which Indian bowls can I order for individual lunches?

Use the actual recipe descriptions when collecting choices. Mehfill’s boxed-lunch menu has a 10-meal minimum, included utensils and free labels. Substitutions are not available, so resolve ingredient questions before recording a choice.

For a first order, circulate a short selection list instead of asking everyone to invent a custom meal. Chicken Tikka Masala, Karma and Chickpea Curry are three available options you can put on that list. Add other published bowls if the team wants them. Record the chosen base as well as the bowl; the available base choices must be confirmed with Mehfill.

The Karma Bowl contains paneer and is labelled vegetarian. The Chickpea Curry Bowl is labelled vegan recipe. The Charred Chili Chicken Bowl is labelled spicy and includes habanero hot sauce. Those distinctions are useful when choosing, but none is a substitute for the chef’s review of an individual dietary or allergy request.

How do I handle spice preferences and dietary requests?

Ask about these separately. “Mild” is a flavour preference; vegetarian, vegan, Jain and allergy-related requests concern different aspects of the meal. An order sheet that puts all of them into one “special meal” count leaves the kitchen with too little information.

• Meal choice: the exact bowl or requested shared-menu direction.
• Spice preference: what the person wants, with confirmation of what can be accommodated in the chosen format.
• Dietary request: the specific requirement attached to that meal, rather than an assumption from its name.
• Confirmation: which recipe and preparation questions have been resolved before the order is approved.

Do not offer a “remove the sauce” option for fixed-recipe bowls or promise a mild version of every dish. Ask the team to choose from the recipes that can be supplied. Mehfill’s dietary planning page explains the existing review process; the kitchen does not make an allergen-free or zero-cross-contact claim.

What would lunch for 15, 25 or 50 people cost?

The table multiplies each published starting food rate by the headcount and adds one C$40 standard GTA delivery charge. Every amount is before HST, menu upgrades, drinks, staffing, equipment and other requested extras. It is a comparison of the listed frameworks, not an all-inclusive event quote.

For individual meals, calculate from the actual choices. An illustrative 25-bowl order of 15 Chicken Tikka Masala Bowls at C$16.80, five Karma Bowls at C$16.80 and five Chickpea Curry Bowls at C$16.50 totals C$418.50 for food. Add C$40 standard delivery for C$458.50 before HST and any extras. The split is an example of arithmetic, not an assumed dietary profile for every office.

A lower starting food rate does not tell you which format fits the event. Shared service needs serving space; individual meals need accurate choices and distribution. Compare the complete quote with those responsibilities in mind. For wider event costs, use the Indian catering cost guide.

What should I send for a 25-person office order?

Use this example as a template and replace the details with your own. It is an enquiry brief, not a reservation or a confirmed menu.

We need lunch for 25 people at [full office address, floor and room] on [date], ready to serve at [time]. We prefer [Classic shared lunch / the attached bowl choices]. Our dietary requests are [requirements and counts]. Please confirm the eligible dishes or bowl recipes, quantities, delivery arrival window, setup, utensils, labels, all charges and what our receiving person must do. Our contact at the building is [name and phone].

If using bowls, attach counts that add up to 25. If using shared food, identify the intended diners for each main rather than inventing a tray count. Our tray-size and serving guide explains why a tray label does not represent a complete meal.

For Toronto offices, include loading access, reception instructions and any booked elevator window. A street address alone does not tell the delivery team how food gets to the meeting room. The office lunch checklist covers the full handoff without making this menu guide repeat every logistics detail.

Office lunch ordering questions

Can we repeat the same lunch every week?

Mehfill supports recurring office lunches and rotating bowl selections. Reconfirm each date, headcount, menu and delivery slot; a previous order does not reserve the next one. Keep the building instructions and update the food choices so the organiser does not restart from a blank page.

Can we order on the same day?

Urgent enquiries need at least 4 hours’ notice and depend on availability. The routine final menu and guest-count deadline is 24 hours before the event. For a short-notice request, ask Mehfill to confirm the available menu and exception to the normal schedule before telling the team lunch is booked. See the same-day ordering steps.

What if we want a Diwali or holiday lunch?

Start with the everyday format decision, then add the celebration’s timing and food priorities. The separate Diwali office catering ideas article compares seasonal buffet, bowl and chaat plans. A special occasion does not require adding every available course or station.

Choose the food, then confirm the event

Choose one shared framework or collect the individual bowl counts, attach the dietary requests and send the brief through the office catering quote form. Mehfill can then confirm a specific meal, date and delivery plan rather than guessing what “lunch for the team” means.