The Best Local Lunch Specials in Baton Rouge

It’s that time of day again.

It’s been a long morning, and you need a break. But more than rest, you need food — something fast, convenient and tastier than the sad, soggy PB&J you packed for lunch — again. You don’t have time to drive across town, so you start walking, hoping to find a new favorite place with a good lunch special.

Luckily for you, you’re in Baton Rouge, and high-quality food is all around you. But especially downtown, the number of options can be overwhelming. Don’t worry — we’ve done the heavy lifting for you. At both Milford’s on Third and The Gregory, we can provide you with countless lunch options that will have your mouth watering in no time.

The Best Restaurants for Lunch Specials in Baton Rouge

• Milford’s on Third
• The Gregory
• Stroubes Seafood and Steaks
• Zeeland Street Market
• Zippy’s Burritos

Milford’s on Third

150 Third St.

You need something close to downtown Baton Rouge, but you don’t want anything you’ve had before. Maybe you’re tired of your regular locations, so you’re seeking a new “regular” with delicious food, a relaxing environment and lunch that will perk you up midday. Look no further — you’ve found the solution at Milford’s on Third. We’re located on the ground level of the Watermark hotel, a convenient spot for our countless happy customers who often return to taste our lunch menu’s many mouthwatering options.

A refreshing mix of New York delicatessen and southern charm, Milford’s on Third gives a fresh take on the downtown lunch scene. Baton Rouge’s premier NYC-style deli offers hearty hot and cold sandwiches sure to keep you full all day. Be sure to try the Smoked Salmon Bagel with a generous Boursin caper schmear or the Third Street sandwich with roasted round and provolone on po-boy bread. For a greener option, check out one of our crisp, locally sourced salads for under $12.

Designed to be less stressful than many delis, Milford’s on Third is perfect for a relaxed sit-down meal away from the office. But what sets us apart from the rest of the restaurants is its exceptional variety of grab-and-go-options. Pick up our signature matzo ball soup to make your coworkers jealous, or grab an affordable gourmet sandwich that transports you to the heart of NYC.

You can even bring your coworkers in to impress and delight them with a casual, leisurely lunch outing, or take some of our to-go options back to make everyone’s day a little brighter. If none of those options sound like what you’re up for today, enjoy the beautiful weather of Baton Rouge by packing up some of our quality-made fare, grabbing some friends and family and enjoying some scrumptious deli salads and sandwiches during a picnic at a local park. It all packs up quickly while providing a nutritious meal you’ll crave again later.

Don’t be surprised if even a quickly chosen bit of our food fuels you for the rest of your day! Whatever you select, Milford’s on Third’s fresh, distinctive menu and quality to-go options establish it as one of the best lunch places downtown. Once you bite into any one of our offers, you’ll find out why our guests have given our food a rating of 4.7 out of 5. Check out the specifics of some of our most well-loved food specials in Baton Rouge — they’ll make for a lunch you won’t soon forget:

• Soup: You won’t be disappointed with the variety of signature soups you can find at this quality delicatessen. Since we offer a soup of the day, you can count on a surprise each time you stop by. While you may find Milford’s Matzo Ball soup one day, you can enjoy something totally different the next. No matter what it is, we can guarantee you’ll leave warm and happy.
• Salads: If you’re looking for something a little lighter, you’ll likely gravitate toward our extensive menu of greenery items. While you can add salmon, shrimp or chicken to any one of our green options, we also have several salads with pre-determined ingredients lists. They include the chef salad (greens | tomato | shredded cheddar | boiled egg | ham | ranch dressing), the salmon salad (fresh greens | tomato | flaked salmon | quinoa | strawberry vinaigrette), chopped Thai (fresh greens | cucumber | chicken salad | chopped peanuts | curry chili dressing) and the simple salad (baby greens | roasted pecan | goat cheese | honey balsamic vinaigrette).
  
• Cold between breads: Our list of popular cold sandwiches includes four delicious options with several favorite toppings. Select your favorite from our turkey/ham wrap (choice of turkey or ham | tomato | lettuce | swiss cheese | honey wheat tortilla), turkey sandwich (turkey | bacon | lettuce | avocado | tomato | swiss cheese | multigrain bread), smoked salmon (smoked salmon | Boursin caper schmear | onion bagel) and hummus wrap (hummus | tomato | lettuce | cucumber | swiss cheese | honey wheat tortilla).
• Hot handhelds: No matter your favorite hot sandwich ingredients or current mood, you’ll find something on our hot handhelds list that will satisfy your midday cravings. The options are nearly endless and include the hot sausage poboy (split green onion sausage link | tomato | lettuce | mayo | poboy bread), the Milford (pastrami | spicy mustard | swiss cheese | rye bread), cochon (pulled pork | bbq sauce | cheddar cheese | sesame seed bun), tuna melt (tuna salad | avocado | Cavender spice | swiss | sourdough bread), kids combo (grilled cheese sandwich | chips | cookie of choice) and many, many others.
• Something on the side: You might just be stopping in for a quick bite, or maybe you’d like to add a little extra kick to whatever meal you’ve chosen. You’ll be happy to find that we offer cole slaw, chicken salad and potato salad to give you just a little more selection for this already-memorable meal.
• Happy endings: If you’d like to finish your delicious lunch off with something sweet — and you’ve left yourself enough room to do so — you won’t be disappointed by the selection here. We have candy, brownies, lemon bars, cookies and cakes of various flavors, so you don’t have to worry about that sweet tooth or let it bother you throughout the day.
• Wall of chill: With most restaurants, it would end with dessert. Not with Milford’s on Third. We even make two “walls” available that you may want to stop by on your way out: the wall of chill and the wall of groceries. If you’re thinking of a quick getaway to make your way back to work or wherever else you’re headed, you can take advantage of our grab and go offerings on the wall of chill. You’ll find signature salads and cold sandwiches to hold you over until your next visit.
• Wall of groceries: Finally, make off with some of our assorted and sundry snacks, specialties and wine to go. We also have energy drinks in a variety of flavors, including almond cola, cream soda, satsuma mint fizz, Jean Lafitte ginger ale, Ponchatoula Pop Rouge and more. Forget about going to the grocery store later to complete your to-do list — we’ve got everything you need right here!

The Gregory

150 Third St.

If you find yourself seeking succulent flavors from fresh ingredients in a unique atmosphere in the middle of the day, The Gregory might be the perfect location for you. You shouldn’t overlook giving yourself something delicious for lunch just because it’s seen as a more casual meal than dinner — stop by a place with some of the best food specials in Baton Rouge for food and an atmosphere highly favored among professionals and business people as well as anyone else looking for something scrumptious.

The Gregory is the kind of spot you can take someone to for a professional lunch meeting to impress them and show them you know the best places in town. You can also just stop by on your own to have a nice, calming, sophisticated lunch before heading back to a hectic workday. Whether you’re coming by yourself or bringing coworkers, clients or family, you’ll find that our restaurant has the best kind of atmosphere and the most mouth-watering food for everyone at the table — upscale or casual makes no difference.

Our master chefs are well-established and willing to use only the freshest, tastiest ingredients in the lunch specials we provide. They blend world influences into the traditional cooking of the South to give you unique combinations of flavor that you’ll find highly satisfying and representative of the Deep South — but in a new way. Whether you’re starving or just a little peckish, you’re sure to find something to hit the spot from our array of dishes.

If you’re looking for the best places for lunch specials in Baton Rouge, come on down to The Gregory and enjoy any number of choices from the following:

• Small plates: We keep it interesting with our appetizer solutions, offering frog legs (caramelized onions | roasted peppers | Ville Platte bbq sauce), pork and oysters (seared pork belly | crispy-fried gulf oyster | goat cheese | dried plum jam), crawfish cake (fried crawfish cake | chili threads | tarragon aioli), redfish pate (smoked and beer-brined redfish | crostini | cayenne mayonnaise | lemon green Tobasco sauce) and sausage (alligator sausage | green onion sausage | caramelized onions | andouille sausage | grain mustard | roasted peppers).
• Cast iron vegetables: If you’re looking for a somewhat healthy side to go with your other delectable selections, you’ll love our range of vegetables and the unique spin we put on each one. We offer Korean corn (cast iron roasted corn | red pepper powder | creamy cheese), Padron peppers (blistered Padron peppers | Louis dressing), brussels sprouts (charcoal-roasted brussels sprouts | apple-smoked bacon | butter broth), roasted asparagus (fire-roasted asparagus | feta | chickpea | sesame bagna cauda | sumac) potato leek fritters (with green apple ketchup) and seasonal harvest (charcoal-roasted seasonal squash | peppers | eggplant | roasted tomato).
• Hot cups: While you can likely find soups and hot dishes at many restaurants in Baton Rouge, it’s not probable that you’ll find more interesting or tasty options than you can at The Gregory. Try our crawfish artichoke (Louisiana crawfish | roasted spring garlic | artichoke | lemon gremolata) or gumbo (smoked hen | Patton’s hot sausage | popcorn rice | file) for a surprisingly fresh and delightful dining experience. You can also choose our soup of the day, which should be a surprise each time you walk in.
• Garden offerings: You’ll find a vast selection of salad offerings at The Gregory, including chop house salad (chopped romaine | Roma tomatoes | bacon | crumbled bleu | house bleu dressing), market salad (local greens | goat cheese | pickled root vegetable | candied pecans | steen’s vinaigrette), Caesar (crisp romaine | grana padano | garlic butter crostada | anchovy oyster dressing), sensation salad (classic Baton Rouge iceberg salad | romano cheese | baby heirloom tomatoes | lemon romano vinaigrette), beet salad (roasted beet | pea shoots | fava beans | honey bee pollen | lump crab | white balsamic reduction) and salad add-ons like salmon, steak, smoked chicken and cocktail shrimp.
• Wood-stone flatbreads: You won’t find flatbreads like these at any other restaurant in the Baton Rouge area — or probably anywhere else in the country. We have seersucker pie (Roman-style flatbread | goat cheese | caramelized red onion | arugula | balsamic reduction), classic (either pepperoni, Margherita or blend of cheese), swamp (alligator sausage | okra | crawfish | mozz-provolone blend | turtle sauce piquant), Boucherie (butcher sausage | smoked pork belly | Ville Platte bbq sauce | andouille | hogshead cheese | mozz-provolone blend) and fess pie (Louisiana crawfish garlic butter | mozz-provolone blend | green onions).
• Handhelds: Once you try one, you’ll want to try them all, including the pig stand bbq (chicken | brown mustard | pickles | Ville Platte bbq sauce | local baked bun), cochon de lait poboy (cajun pulled pork | steen’s cane coleslaw |French loaf), vault burger (charcoal-roasted beef patty | caramelized onions | green leaf | Milford’s pickle | sharp cheddar cheese | Wampold family pepper mayo | local baked bun) oyster poboy (crispy fried oysters | tomato | pickle | lettuce | cayenne mayo | French pistolette) and banh mi burger (char sui pork patty | chile mayo | cilantro | ‘azn’ pickles | ciabatta).
• Big plates: Just because you’re in the lunch hour doesn’t mean you can’t have something on the heavier side. Sometimes you’re just looking for a hefty lunch, and that’s where our big plates come into play. We offer three full meals for lunch, including redfish (cast iron seared | potato leek fritters | tin roof meuniere butter | fire-roasted green tomatoes), chicken (pan-seared chicken breast | baby heirloom tomatoes | ribbon pasta | pink sauce) and The Gregory steak (charcoal-roasted 8-ounce filet | creamed potato | charred scallion butter baste | mushrooms | pan-flashed baby spinach | glace de veau).

When you decide to stop by The Gregory for lunch specials from Monday to Friday 11:00AM-2:30PM, you’ll even be able to put together one of our express lunch daily specials. You can choose one delicious meal component from each of four different categories: soup (gumbo or soup of the day), salad (Caesar or house), main (fish almondine, today’s half sandwich or main of the moment) and dessert (dessert of the day). It also includes one non-alcoholic beverage, so you’ll quickly have everything you need in one nice, perfectly portioned lunch.

The Perfect Combination

Baton Rouge overflows with exceptional restaurants. At Watermark hotel, we’re proud to be a part of this rich and growing tradition of quality food. With a relaxed atmosphere and plenty of grab-and-go options, our premier delicatessen — Milford’s on Third — is a delicious and affordable stop for a downtown lunch. If you’re looking for something a little more sophisticated, you can stop by The Gregory and have your fill.

We hope this list helps you navigate the best lunch specials in downtown Baton Rouge, and we think you’ll agree that Milford’s on Third and The Gregory are the best options for your lunch break!