Greenspeares, Chelsea

My new favourite spot in London is Greenspeares in Chelsea’s Walton Street.

Alessandra Brownsword-Matthews is a former financial analyst who gave up her job to follow her passion of running her own healthy food business.

Her new café offers wholesome food sourced locally and sustainably.

It serves fish, eggs, dairy, and sourdough bread but also offers the option of making a dish dairy-free, vegan, or gluten-free.

The setting

The café has an amazing space with a ground floor with a food counter covered in mouth-watering sweets and fresh salads at lunch. You can find a fridge packed with takeaway salads, snacks and juices.

 


They’ve got a lower ground with a beautiful conservatory above a few more tables.

The quaint back room is decorated like the cosiest of living rooms.


The little things

I especially loved the natural light that the conservatory gives the lower ground floor. They have a “living room” for guests who want to sit an enjoy an afternoon latte and healthy treat. The “living room” makes me want to cuddle up with their hazelnut hot chocolate and read a nice book on a rainy day!

They also use Neal’s Yard Remedies in their bathrooms which is always a nice touch.

Plus, the owner Alessandra has been there every day since opening. She wears the same uniform as her team and is behind the counter leading the service which gives a nice family atmosphere to it all.

What we ate

My friend and I tried the sweet potato and cauliflower coconut milk curry that comes with wild rice (£14.00). The curry packed a real flavour and spice punch, it was so delicious and filling! My friend added a poached egg to her bowl which came out perfectly cooked (£2.75).

We also shared the crudité board with baby heritage carrots, baby beetroot, and breakfast radishes with carrot top pesto (£7.00).

I also had a delicious fresh mint tea (£2.80) with lunch while my friend had a silver needle tea (£3.20)

After lunch, we shared a classic green juice (£5.75), their signature hazelnut hot chocolate (£3.60) and the most moreish vegan brownie (£3.00). The brownie is made of the upcycled chickpea water.

The bill

The total bill came to just over £56 and while it was not inexpensive their exceptional tasting food, super friendly service and focus on quality produce (plus their amazing ceramic bowls and mugs that all the goodies came in) made it worth every penny.



I could eat a whole tray of these brownies they are so good!

What made us glow

All of these small touches, beautiful spaces and the delicious food and drinks make it the amazing place it is. But what really made me glow is their focus on seasonal and sustainably grown and sourced food and the minimising of waste.

They use the carrot top greens to make their hummus and quinoa.

They use the leftover chickpea water in their baking (sounds odd, I know, but it gives an amazing fluffy texture similar to using eggs). And they have an oxtail dish served with polenta (very man friendly!) using the lesser desired cut of meat to reduce wastage. Alessandra uses British grown produce throughout.

For more Central London review click here.

Fitzrovia: Discovering The Detox Kitchen

Lily Simpson founded The Detox Kitchen in 2010 when she opened in Kingly Court in London.

Since then she has opened two more cafes in Fitzrovia, one on Mortimer Street and the other on Bernard Street.

There are rumoured plans to expand to ten cafés.

The Detox Kitchen serves up an eat-in or take away menu. It specialises in gluten-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free and vegan options.

What can we expect?

The menu ranges from pre-made salads to freshly made ones. There are smoothies, juices, homemade treats and hot drinks. I stopped by with some friends at their Bernard Street location for lunch. They open all day serving breakfast, lunch and an early dinner (open to about 7pm on weekdays).

A little insider’s tip is to stop by after 5pm on weekdays.

Their fresh salads are half-price in an attempt to minimise food waste at the end of the day.

The setting

I was welcomed by a cheery young girl into a meticulously clean deli. It was packed full of vibrant plates of salad. Once my two friends arrived we decided to share everything to really taste the whole menu. It was a beautiful sunny day so we went for takeaway to enjoy it in the cute Bloomsbury Square just next door.

What we ate

We made up two cold salads boxes plus protein and chose one of the many hot dishes. We chose the the chicken and sweet potato stew (£5.95 for a really filling pot also served over quinoa).

The salad boxes are a ‘build your own’ concept so the choice of three salads (or two for a lesser price) and the option of an added protein side.

Each bowl is £8.95 for a really generous portion. We made up one box of Korean BBQ Aubergine, Mustard and Caper Cauliflower and Super Greens Salad plus Roasted Salmon.

Our other box was made up of Squash & Chickpea with Tahini Dressing, Winter Pad Thai and Pesto Courgetti with a Cauliflower Frittata for our protein. We also shared a basil and tomato savoury muffin (gluten free).

The green juice test

I decided to give their Green Machine fresh pressed juice a test. It was a blend of broccoli, celery, cucumber, spinach, courgette, ginger and lemon.

Green indeed it was!

I would have personally loved it with a bit more ginger and lemon so recommend you ask for that if you ever give it a go. It was however a great price at on £3.95.

The little things

They had little flower pots on each table and offered lemon cucumber tap water which is always a nice touch.

What made us glow

For dessert, we did a tasting of their chai latte with almond milk, Ginger Cake, Raw Cacao & Coconut Slice, Coconut Truffle, Pistachio Truffle and Raw Cacao Bites. They were all gluten, dairy and refined sugar free, but some do contain eggs.

The ginger cake made me glow the most as it was just so delicious and I will definitely be back for more!

My only feedback would be that some of the food was a bit bland so if you like food that packs a flavour punch I would recommend adding a little extra salt and maybe some chili flakes.

The bill

The total came to about £50 for all that goodness!