With new and exciting restaurants and coffee shops popping up every week in east London, there’s ample opportunity to eat well. But when you’re on the run and it’s a healthy fix that you’re after, there’s nothing that will deliver quite like a salad bar. Here, we list the best of what’s on offer in the easterly part of the city.
Discover the best salad bars in central London here.
Fussy eaters, you’ve met your match in Vital Ingredient, because the concept here is that you can choose exactly what goes into your salad, from the style of leaf in the base to the dressing on top. Ingredients are prepped daily to ensure optimum freshness, and if you’re feeling uninspired or you’re in a rush, there’s always the pre-made bowls to satisfy the hunger pangs. For winter, we love the Roasted Butternut Warmer, and in summer, something lighter like the Oriental Prawn tops our list.
Bradley Hill founded his business, Simple Health Kitchen, to prove that clean eating doesn’t have to mean unexciting mealtimes. There’s a freshly made selection of salad dishes on offer each day, and it’s a mix-and-match situation so you can craft your plate to suit your cravings. From kale and rainbow chard, to black rice with apricots, expect some surprising but delicious combinations that will make staying on track all the more effortless.
If chain salad bars aren’t your thing, then make Ginger and Mint in East Village your go-to, as it’s a little more personal than some of those that you might find on every London street. The aim is to inspire customers to lead healthy, active and happy lives so there’s a positive vibe about the place from breakfast to lunch when their selection of 8 different salads, hot dishes and wraps become the focus.
There’s something novel about the presentation of the dishes at Salad Box as they come artfully positioned in a branded box, making healthy eating feel just that little bit more fun. What we particularly like about this place is the tagline below each menu option that adds a little more insight into the benefits of each dish. Looking for a lunch that’s ‘packed with protein’? Salad Box recommends the Alaska, but if you want to ‘fill up and feel good’ then it’s the Boston that should tick the box.
Part of the oh-so-pretty Daisy Green collection and positioned in picturesque Broadgate Circle, Beany Green is so much more than just a place you can grab a quick salad between meetings. It’s designed with two coffee hatches, which means there’s a constant buzz about the place, and it serves up Australian-inspired dishes, fresh juices and some of the best coffee that we’ve managed to get our caffeine-loving hands on. If you’ve got time, definitely dine in here and enjoy the presentation of the food and the atmosphere as well as the fresh ingredients, delightful combinations and interchangeable menu.
Dotted around the city in convenient locations, Chop’d is arguably one of the easiest lunch options for London commuters, and the branch on Leadenhall Market is perfect for anyone working in the area. The focus here is on you building your own salad to make it exactly what your body needs so you choose every ingredient that goes into it, and there are enough options that you won’t ever have to have two combinations the same in one week if you can’t pick your favourite.
If you’re a lover of a personable atmosphere and evidence that there’s love behind every dish on a menu, then family-run Café Below in Bow might just be the spot for you. Not as much of a grab-and-go establishment as some of the others in our list, it’s so inviting you’ll want to dine in and perhaps while away the afternoon moving from salad to coffee and settling in with a magazine if you’ve got the time. Each day, the kitchen serves up three different salad options, all served with a protein dish as well. Expect interchangeable vegetable concoctions to sit alongside smoked salmon or goat cheese soufflé.
