Posted on

Wild Beets, Ibiza

,

Away from the clubs, beaches and hippy markets, Ibiza is undergoing a lifestyle shift towards healthy food. At the forefront of this is Cliff Grubin -the man behind the island’s first juice bar on Benirras Beach and the iPurify juice brand.  He also runs Wild Beets, a gem of a plant-based café in Santa Gertrudis. The food is fresh, organic and seasonal and the eatery is dedicated to innovative vegan cooking.

The setting

Wild Beets is in pretty Santa Gertrudis, one of Ibiza’s loveliest villages in the centre of the island. The village is known for gourmet food and upmarket shops.

The space

Wild Beets is a stylish white cube of a building set back from the road. It’s fronted by a mini-jungle of bamboos and palms in planters that surround a sunny terrace. Inside is equally white and light with warm woods and pot plants. It’s busy when we arrive on an April day.

The fresh juice test

Wild Beets is home to the iPurify juice brand.

The range of 15 juices promise to energise the body by providing an instant and intense shot of nutrients, vitamins, minerals and enzymes. So, there’s a pretty impressive choice.

We decided to review the green Vitality. It was packed with spinach, chard, romaine, carrot, cucumber, celery, parsley, lemon, dandelion greens and ginger. It was refreshing and super tasty. There are also fruit and superfood smoothies and elixirs on offer. We chose a Mango Tango fruit smoothie. It was a zingy mix of mango, banana and orange.

What we ate

Wild Beets has quite an extensive vegan menu.

We eventually went for the tacos – a raw combination of cabbage slaw, guacamole, pico de gallo and cacao mole in two vegetable tortillas.

Plus a Veggie Burger – a veggie pattie with buckwheat millet bread, guacamole, caramelised onions, roast potato, sweet potato, miso gravy and homemade ketchup. It’s worth noting that the kitchen is dedicated to creating as nutrient rich food as it can – all based on scientific evidence and the extensive research of the founder Grubin.

What else?

The iPurify range of cold-pressed juices can be also be packaged as systemised cleanses for home delivery or collection. You can also get in touch to discuss tailor-made programmes. If you visit Benirras beach, make sure you visit the sister establishment Sejuiced for juices and smoothies.

What we’d go back for…

The setting, the food and the juices.

Next time we want to leave room for the extensive and picture perfect dessert menu…

The bill

Juice  €11.50
Medium fruit smoothie  €6
Tacos  €15.50
Veggie Burger  €17.50

 

Posted on

Ibiza: Passion Café, seaside plant-power

Passion Café have a must-visit chain of plant-based cafés across Ibiza.

The focus is on vegan, vegetarian, macrobiotic and raw cuisine. We tried a couple of their cafés, but our favourite by far was the one in Santa Eulalia.  Why? The location by the sea made it very special and it was quieter and more tranquil than the one we checked out by the marina. In fact the setting was so magical we visited two days in a row.

The setting

Wrapped round by sea views, palm trees and a cool Mediterranean breeze. Passion Café is a gem of a Glowcation.

Inside it is bright and spacious with whitewashed wooden walls and benches with pretty leafy patterned cushions. There are flowers dotted on the marble tables. The large outside terrace has rattan chairs and wooden tables. The vibe is relaxed and holiday like.

The little things

Passion source locally grown and organic produce as much as possible.

The green juice test

Passion are known for their freshly made juices and their best selling green is Super Detox a blend of cucumber, celery, spinach, lemon, apple and ginger. They also offer Protein Shakes, Superfood Smoothies and Bliss Smoothies! We couldn’t resist the Superfood Protein Shake – a mix of banana, maca, chai, mango, goji berries, bee pollen, hemp, raw protein powder and almond milk. Topped off with coconut shavings, berries, nuts and honey.

What else?

They have six locations on the island. Plus they have a  Passion Pantry-a bio shop and a Passion Juicery.

What we ate

We had a Spiritual Quinoa Bowl with added egg- a mix of quinoa, rice, avocado, broccoli and pumpkin. Then a  Buddha Bowl featuring pumpkin, avocado, cabbage, rice, broccoli, almonds and marinated tempeh and tofu.

To finish we had a Turkish Delight Latte made with beetroot powder, agave, rose water and almond milk and a Back To Black Latte – charcoal, cashew milk and agave. Delicious!

The bill

Superfood Protein Shake  12.50 EU
Spiritual Quinoa Bowl   15.75 EU
Buddha Bowl   16.95 EU
Back To Black Latte   4.50 EU
Turkish Delight Latte  5 EU

What made us glow?

The smoothies! And the choice of 13 Lattes…and those sea views. The staff were also super friendly and helpful.