London Restaurants | London Guide

Food Secret - London Restaurant and Take Away

Open weekdays from 9.00am and Saturdays from noon, Food Secret is a new concept in fast food located in the heart of Soho. It has invested considerable resources into unlocking the secret behind the best food experience; a secret which it is now sharing with the capital’s time-‐poor, health-‐conscious population.

The aim of Food Secret is to provide a wide range of tasty foods, from breakfast through to early supper, whilst at the same time educating customers about the positive effects nutritious foods can have on their bodies.

To this end, Food Secret founder Sergio Mottola tracked down international recipes and techniques and challenged leading chefs, nutritionists and consultants, Kate Cook and Chris Barber among them, to help deliver his vision.

Nutrition is at the core of everything at Food Secret; from its tailor-‐made menu toits unique labelling system. Another thing that sets Food Secret apart from the competition is a database that turns complex nutritional facts into accessible yet detailed information.

This means that customers are not only assured of a perfectly balanced meal, but they will be able to know exactly what it is that they are eating.  Meanwhile Food Secret’s 5 star rating system shows which foods are fine to eat every day and which should perhaps be reserved for an occasional -‐ but well-‐deserved -‐ treat.

Along with a counter allowing for the design of tailor-‐made creations, there is also a fine array for those who simply want to grab and go. Everything is prepared on site each day, using only the freshest and finest ingredients.

The Food Secret menu guarantees customers a healthy, balanced and delicious snack or meal, whatever the time of day.  Breakfast options include porridge, muesli, granola and a selection of fresh fruit.  Come lunchtime and the choices are as varied as they are irresistible, from Feta &Mango Salad through to hearty soups such as Spicy Surf and Turf, a wonderful concoction of king prawns, chorizo, perfectly poached chicken, red peppers, baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, carrots and a touch of harissa.

A Sandwich Bar allows customers to make their own creations, combining delicious breads including foccacia, pitta, wraps and croissants with freshly sliced meats, salads and sauces. Also on offer is a range of perfectly portioned flapjacks,cakes and desserts.  Aside from eat-‐in and take-‐away, orders can also be delivered anywhere within a one mile radius of the store.  Another factor setting Food Secret apart from virtually every other fast-‐food joint is its glamorous and inviting décor.  More akin to an upmarket urban spa than a busy urban eatery, the interior of Food Secret is light and airy. Five communal tables and benches face a long counter laden with irresistible offerings, while separate tables of twos and threes are also available for those seeking more privacy.

59 Broadwick Street, London, W1F 9QQ
www.foodsecret.com

 

Whole Foods to Open Second London Branch

Whole Foods, the upmarket supermarket, will open a second London branch in Richmond, six years after the first branch opened in Kensington.

Whole Foods has an amazing array of high quality food and is a popular but expensive place to shop in the US.  It will be interesting to see how it does in Richmond.

The store will take up two floors and about 20,000 square feet, a quarter of the size of the three-storey Kensington site, former home to the Barkers department store.

It will be situated in Lower George Street, serving one of London's wealthiest enclaves, on a site currently occupied by Uniqlo, and is to be completed in 2013. A store is also planned for Glasgow.

Whole Foods is yet to make a profit in Britain which it puts down to the size of the Kensington site, a downturn in demand for expensive organic food during the recession and stiff competition from Waitrose and Marks & Spencer.

The chain's founder and joint chief executive John Mackey, announcing the opening, said: "When we opened our Kensington store, pretty soon after that the economy collapsed, so our timing wasn't great. But we've weathered that."

Richmond clearly is the place to be nowadays, what with Pizza Express opening the first of a new wave of restaurants there recently (reported by me here).

Ella's Bakehouse in Covent Garden Cupcake Offer (Groupon)

Ella's Bakehouse in trendy Covent Garden has a special offer today - get a gift box of 6 cupcakes (you get to choose the flavours) for only 5 quid instead of the usual 12 quid.

Find out more about the offer here