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Feeling the January Greens?
With the festivities over for another year and our waistlines feeling the effects of one too many mince pies, we all want to get back in shape and our bodies are craving healthy stuff. With TB_HQ being in the heart of London’s West End, we’re lucky to have plenty of healthy options right on the doorstep, so we thought we’d share a few of our go-to places to for some new year goodness in and around Covent Garden & Soho…
One of our absolute year-round favourites, 26 Grains is especially appealing right now as it’s some of the tastiest food we’ve ever sampled but not naughty in the slightest. Located in the epicentre of healthy living that is Neal’s Yard, this small (but perfectly formed) restaurant is great for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Founder Alex Hely-Hutchinson started selling savoury porridge bowls from a stand at Old Street station a few years back, but is now in her second (larger) premises in Neal’s Yard and has published an awesome cookbook to boot. After sampling the fantastic and regularly updated seasonal menu in this very hygge hangout, you’ll never view porridge in the same light again…
Another Covent Garden favourite is Drury Lane’s Farmstand, a welcome edition to the local area’s burgeoning healthy dining scene that has really taken off given the constant flow of people in and out on a daily basis.
Taking inspiration from (and indeed named after) the roadside farmstands from founder Steven Novick’s hometown of Milwaukee in the US Mid-West, the menu is ever-changing, but the canteen-style allows diners to mix and match mains such as lamb meatballs, harissa chicken, beef brisket, miso trout or smoked aubergine, with an array of tasty and healthy sides including various veg (the broccoli is our fave!), slaws and a wonderful quinoa & squash salad. The cafe is a great place to spend time with its industrial vibe, high ceilings, exposed brick and comfy leather banquettes, but you can take away or even order delivery if you preferred.
We’re super excited at the prospect of New York’s hippest ‘fast-casual’ vegan diner opening its first UK outpost on Covent Garden’s Russell Street in the very near future. By CHLOE has seven sites in the Big Apple (as well as Boston & L.A.) and queues around the block are often found at its Greenwich Village flagship.
Perhaps we’ll see the same effect here in Blighty given the fully plant-based yet classic US Diner inspired menu. Entirely vegan-friendly, there’s burgers, healthy fries, great sounding smoothies, even a vegan take on classic mac’n cheese. Bring it on!
If you’re keen to add a bit of healthy sunshine flavour to the grey winter, we’d recommend Island Poké on Carnaby’s Kingly Street.
Poké is a traditional Hawaiian dish of cubed and marinated fish, and here you can build your own Poké bowl with a base of rice or slaw, topped with seaweeds, fruit salsas, pickles and garnishes. Quick, tasty and healthy to boot!
Somewhat of a Soho institution, Lexington Street’s Mildreds on was one of the first modern style London vegetarian restaurants when it opened on Greek Street back in 1988.
Now boasting sites in Kings Cross, Camden & Dalston as well as it’s spiritual Soho home, it offers a rich and varied menu featuring wonderful vegetarian dishes from across the globe, and during January they are supporting Veganuary with a vegan advent calendar featuring daily vegan recipes, videos and inspiration for the entire month of January, as well as special vegan dishes on the menu, check it out on their blog…
We’re always dashing around the West End and regularly use Earlham Street on our way from the office in Covent Garden to Soho and if we’re ever in need of a quick, healthy and juicy pick-me-up, the Juice Island van always delivers!
With a huge menu of fresh juices and smoothies, there’s something for every occasion, you can also choose your own blend if you prefer, although their combos are always a winner, plus you can call them and order delivery for three or more juices.
Cold-pressed juices have been on the scene for a while now and one of our favourite places is Press on Soho’s Denman Street. Cold presses are generally healthier than regular juices with up to 30% more nutrients contained in the juice and so flavoursome.
If you can’t make it to the cafe for one of their super juices, Press offer a range of juice & soup based cleansing programmes to which you can subscribe online, or build your own bespoke cleanse pack. All are available for delivery to your home or office. They also offer nutrition consultations and tailored weight loss plans (handy at this time of year!)
For more cold pressed juicy goodness and other super healthy things, pop over to Soho’s Detox Kitchen on Kingly Street (or their other outlet at Fitzroy Place on Mortimer Street in Fitzrovia) for a scrumptious selection of detox friendly bites, free from wheat, dairy and refined sugar, but with lots of green (other healthy colours are available…)
Back over in Neal’s yard, you’ll find the perennial favourite Wild Food Café that celebrates raw, fresh and wild food, it really doesn’t get more healthy than this!
You can dine on a veggie/vegan friendly ‘Bacon’ & ‘Mozzarella’ sandwich served with ace kale chips, or perhaps the Wild Burger (olive & shitake with a cultured wild sauce, salsa verde and babaganoush) served with a side of sweet potato wedges (sounds naughty, isn’t) and if you really can’t shake those post Christmas cravings for sweet stuff, you can follow up with a raw chocolate tart (it’s chocolate Jim, but not as we know it…)
With so many great places to choose from in the West End, 2018 is going to be a happy and healthy year!
Tavistock Bow are Covent Garden’s leading boutique residential estate & letting agents. Based on Long Acre in the heart of London’s vibrant West End, we specialise in the marketing, selling, letting and managing of studios, flats, apartments, lofts and houses across central London from Covent Garden to Soho, Fitzrovia to Bloomsbury and across to The South Bank.
Tavistock Bow offer the full suite of property services including Residential Sales, Lettings, Property Management, Property Search & Acquisition along with professional services including Block Management, Asset Management and Development Consultancy.