Wild Food Café, Islington, North London

Wild Food Café in Islington is a far cry from the cosy, rustic feel of their Neal’s Yard location, but it’s just as inviting and a short walk from Highbury and Islington tube on Upper Street.

Wild Food Café strive to find the most nourishing and inspiring ingredients available. Their sources include wild crafted and foraged foods from pristine eco systems, small organic farmers and ethical and local suppliers.  Everything is raw, plant based and, I think, delicious.

The space

The interiors feel sleek and millennial. There is also much greenery, with marble tabletops and pink detailing to round off the beautiful, open space.

Founders Aiste and Joel have created the most aesthetic, innovative feel to their second location, which is reflected in the food served.

The little things that make a difference

From the plants to the open kitchen, the stylistic details are what make the open space so magnificent. I’m a sucker for an open kitchen, complete with pizza oven and breakfast bar, as it allows for an element of transparency. There is no fear in presenting the labour behind the food, the ingredients and process behind every dish.

Whilst there are plugs and yes, there is WiFi, Wild Food Café will always first and foremost be a restaurant. You could sit for the odd hour or so with your laptop, especially as the environment feels ever so calming, but I wouldn’t stay more than that. There are so many other options on Upper Street to set up camp for the afternoon, save Wild Food for a magic elixir with friends, or a blowout brunch date.

The fresh juice test

I’ve had many a green juice at the Neal’s Yard branch. The Vibrant Green I decided to review contains celeriac, sea beet, watercress, nettle, sea purslane, mint and apple. However, it is the smoothies and hot elixirs that I urge you to try. From a rose hot chocolate to the cacao ecstasy I guzzled, they are every so dreamy.

What we ate

Each plate can only be described, as a masterpiece in its own right. Every dish as different in structure, flavour and finish as a row of art works in a gallery.  In my opinion, there is nowhere in London quite like it. It’s the main reason I keep coming back. The menu combines both the healing nature of food with the taste and presentation of a Michelin star restaurant.

The menu changes with the seasons introducing new ingredients, medicinal plants, adaptogens and herbs.

 

We had the Italian pizza  made with marinara sauce, cashew cheese sauce, cherry tomatoes, wild leaf pesto, sun-blushed artichokes, pink olives, rocket, basil and nori and the Fawaffle.

It was a falafel waffle served with cashew and mint cream, sweet chilli sauce, red cabbage slaw, pepper and tomato salsa and sprouted lentil hummus.

They were both part of the weekend lunch menu. The menu during the week varies. Then we shared the limited edition Easter egg, part of the Easter weekend specials. This dessert was the star of the show. The white chocolate cream was gloriously fluffy and decadent and formed a lovely sweet bed for the double-layered chocolate egg to sit on, filled with hazelnut praline. This was seasonal, but it’s worth saying that there’s always an amazing selection of raw desserts year round.

What we’d go back for…

Dessert. I won’t stop until I’ve tried every sweet dish on the menu.  Plus, the staff themselves who greet you so warmly as you walk through the door and serve each plate with love are another reason to return.

The bill

Vibrant green juice  £8
Italian pizza  £15.50
Fawaffle  £12.50
Desserts from  £7.50

 

Covent Garden: The plant-food innovator, Wild Food Café

Wild Food Cafe’s vision is to provide “innovative plant-food for the new generation of movers and shakers and to transform humanity’s relationship with food”.

As you enter the first floor café you walk up the steps past a William Blake quotation -“To see the world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower, to hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour”. You turn right through a velvet curtain and the buzzing cafe awaits.

The energy hits you, the food is vegan and the innovative menu certainly lives up to their mission statement.

The setting

The decor is pink and pine but don’t be fooled – the menu and clientele are all bang up to date. The first floor room is flooded with light from large windows overlooking the rainbow-painted Neal’s Yard. It’s communal and casual.

The kitchen and bar is at one end of the room and most of the long tables are shared.

The staff are energetic and friendly. We didn’t spot any plug sockets, but it’s a great place to settle with a laptop.

The little things

We loved their unique water filter system. All water used in cooking and the complementary water served at the tables has been filtered through a state of the art filtration system with 10 levels of natural media mimicking nature’s cycles.

Wild Food Cafe then further ‘activate’ the water using leading-edge vortex and infrared ceramics.

The fresh juice test

There’s choice of 3 juices and all are tempting. We had the Vibrant Green a combo of cucumber, celery, seasonal greens, pear, swiss chard, parsley, ginger. Tasty and not too sweet. We will return for the Price of Persia  a mix of pomegranate, dulse, rose water and sea salt…

What we ate

We shared the Venus Bowl- a wholesome mix of  Mother Mary root super-slaw, quinoa, Jerusalem artichoke, roast sweet potato, broccoli, sprouts, hemp seed, olives

However, the showstopper (and Instagram star!) was the Golden Milk Latte.

We were already fans of turmeric latte, but this took a “hug in a mug” to whole new level! Presented like an ice-cream sundae, you can eat the topping of coconut whip and granola with a spoon, before sipping the creamy mix of turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, pumpkin, black pepper, date caramel, ginger. It was beyond delicious!

It was difficult to choose from the tempting dessert menu, but we went for the raw chocolate tart with date caramel plus the pear and hibiscus cheesecake with pumpkin seed and coconut granola.

Both were delightful, dairy free and exceptionally Instagrammable.

The bill

Juice £6.50
Venus Bowl salad £14.50
Chocolate tart £7.00
Pear and Hibiscus Cheesecake £8.00
Golden Milk Latte £5.00


What else?

Wild Food cafe has an online shop, they run cooking courses and the food is available for delivery on Uber Eats.

What made us glow?

The Golden Milk latte and the buzz! We will return for more!