Five of the City of London’s top salad bars
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
This article is part of FT Globetrotter’s guide to London
“If you have a vegetarian coming for dinner, don’t lose heart — you can go wild on salads and have a wonderful time,” reassures Julia Child on her US TV cooking show The French Chef, which aired from 1963—73. It’s fair to say that attitudes towards salads have come a long way since then, and that is especially true in London, as illustrated by the long lines that feature at many of its salad bars at lunchtime.
In recent years, the capital’s salad offerings have exploded and this is matched by a public shift on healthy eating: a 2022 McKinsey study found that 38 per cent of UK consumers claim to eat significantly more healthily since the start of the pandemic.
A good salad starts with fresh quality produce, but there is an art to creating a perfect salad which US salad chain Sweetgreen co-founder and chief concept officer, Nicolas Jammet, attributes to a combination of well-balanced, raw and cooked ingredients of differing textures, with added crunch on top.
After careful diligence, we have narrowed down the best spots in the City (or within reasonable walking distance) for a satisfying salad lunch. Each has its own story, ethos and sourcing, but what they share is a delicious twist on flavour combinations. From funky new salads such as “Mex on the Beach” to seasoned regulars like the trusty Caesar, these salad bars offer something for all palates.
The Salad Project
1 Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1DW, and locations in spitalfields and Oxford Circus
Prices: £7.95–£12.95
Online orders: Via its website and app or Deliveroo
Opening times: Monday–Friday, 11am–3pm (Bank branch)
FYI: Order in advance to skip the queue via the recently launched app. To end your lunch with a sweet treat, the SP Cookie, a classic chocolate-chip cookie with extra-flaky salt, is divine
With floor-to-ceiling, logo-embossed windows, The Salad Project, founded by best friends Florian de Chezelles and James Dare, is hard to miss. Inside, its counters are overflowing with fresh vegetables, and with staff in matching the produce in green uniforms, it all feels reassuringly healthy and efficient.
Its expansive menu is created by chef and nutritionist Clementine Haxby, whose salad names will make you chuckle, such as Thai Me Up, a combination of Asian slaw, kale, barley and chicken drizzled with a peanut dressing, and Mex on the Beach, a medley of roast corn, avocado, pickled onions and tofu or chicken, dressed with “coco-coriander” and lime. Its bestseller is the (appropriately titled) G.O.A.T mix of rocket, honey-soy chicken, goat’s cheese and sweet maple walnuts, though the salads are entirely customisable, and most customers curate their own.
While there’s something here to satisfy most tastes, don’t expect to see classics such as the Caesar or niçoise. The menu is updated regularly based on the produce in season, and limited editions are created in collaborations, including with chefs such as Max La Manna, who is also a cookbook author and low-food-waste campaigner. But the key characteristic of all their salads is the “warm protein component that transforms them into being hearty and filling”, says de Chezelles.
Urban Greens
Ground Floor, One New Change, london EC4M 9AF, and locations in St James’s and Canary Wharf
Price: £9.85–£12.85
Online orders: Website or Deliveroo
Opening hours: Monday–Thursday, 11am–9pm; Friday, 11am–3.30pm;
Saturday, 11am–4pm (St Paul’s branch)FYI: Urban Greens is ideally located near St Paul’s Cathedral for those who like to eat in the churchyard on a sunny day
Urban Greens was founded by three university friends, Rushil Ramjee, Houman Ashrafzadeh and Yannis Drivas, who felt that while there was an abundance of sandwich shops in London, healthier lunch options were lacking. Their solution is salads built with a clean-eating ethos based on simple ingredients such as glass noodles, quinoa and kale. It’s ideal if you’re looking to count macros, with all ingredients and calories clearly documented, or simply want to incorporate a nutritious balanced lunch into your week.
The salads here are satisfying and flavourful, with many influenced by Asian flavours and ingredients, including the Beef Saigon, with pulled brisket, pickled cabbage and beansprouts; the Seoul Chicken, which is dressed with a fiery gochujang miso, and the Gogosan, with sesame marinated glass noodles, kimchi and toasted cashews. My personal favourite is the Jakarta, which comes with ginger, glass noodles, Cajun-spiced tempeh and a habanero lime dressing.
Atis
145 City Road, London EC1V 1AZ, and locations in canary wharf, belgravia, notting hill and borough
Price: £6.50–£12
Online orders: Website or Deliveroo
Opening times: Monday–Thursday, 11am–9pm; Friday–Sunday, 11am–3pm (Old Street branch)
FYI: The Old Street flagship store is an urban oasis. Natural light illuminates the concrete walls and exposed pipes
Atis was founded by partners Phil Honer, Eleanor Warder and Graham Hedger with a mission to make plant-based nutrition the new norm in food-to-go. However, although the menu is 90 per cent plant-focused, meat and fish protein are still available. Warder explains: “One day you can have your favourite plant-based salad, and the next you can add chicken”, but “every bowl that you don’t add chicken to is a good step”.
The cult classics include Seiz’a Caesar, a plant-based twist on the Caesar; the Green Goddess, packed with greens including edamame beans, peas and roast broccoli; and the Azteca, my preferred order, which is a reimagining of classic Latin American flavours with tortilla, avocado, black-eyed peas and a zesty lime coriander dressing. I’m usually satisfied with the plant-based protein included, but you can easily add any extra of your choosing.
All salads come with suggested additional proteins. As a pescatarian, I typically opt for the sweet chilli salmon when I need a little bit more to keep me full. The skin is crispy and the flesh perfectly cooked without being dry. Additions range from £1.50 to £5.90, on top of the cost of the salad.
The Salad Kitchen
72 Queen Victoria St, London EC4N 4SJ, and locations in Farringdon, Old Street, Canary Wharf and Oxford Circus
Prices: Starting at £3.85 (for a Leaf Box) or £5.60 (for a base salad), but the overall cost is highly dependent on protein additions. I typically pay £7.65
Online orders: Website, app or Deliveroo
Opening hours: Monday–Friday, 11.30am–2pm (City branches)
FYI: Do order in advance on the app to avoid the queue, which can get unwieldy at peak lunch hour
Nestled between a souvlaki stand and a hairdresser, the tiny Mansion House branch of Salad Kitchen is easy to miss. But served from the diminutive space are salads that pack a big punch.
Tired of the “crunchy water” they were finding in London, university friends Sam Cole and Ross Cannon set out to have “Ottolenghi-type salads at Pret A Manger availability and price”, they say. All salads begin with a vegan base that includes slaw, couscous, potatoes, beans and mixed leaves, so your first decision is simply: how hungry are you?
From there, customers choose from six different protein options that can be added in half, single or double portions, allowing variety within each bowl. My favourite mix is roast tempeh, kimchi and goat’s cheese for gut health and a touch of indulgence. Other options include pulled chicken, halloumi and avocado. For added crunch, there are crispy shallots, chilli flakes, sourdough croutons and toasted seeds at no extra cost.
The salads are stuffed into small containers, so you won’t be able to do a Kardashian salad shake once you add your dressing, of which there are seven, also at no extra cost. I typically opt for smoked Thai chilli mayo to intensify the kimchi and chilli flakes, but the honey mustard adds a nice touch of sweetness, and the fresh lemon pesto is lovely too.
Kastner & Ovens
13 Frying Pan Alley, London E1 7HS, and a location in Covent Garden
Price: £7.60–£10 (a tub of side salad is £4.20)
Online orders: No
Opening hours: 11.30am–2.15pm (Spitalfields branch)
FYI: Get there for 12–12.15pm and take a friend to chat with in the queue
Kastner & Ovens, named after its founders Anne-Marie Kastner and Sue Ovens, is a small and intimate takeaway shop with two locations (Spitalfields and Covent Garden) run respectively by each founder.
The menu rotates regularly based on the fresh produce they select each day. Their chefs are also an international bunch and often introduce flavours from their home countries. Despite the frequent changes to the menu, there is a distinct feel to a Kastner & Ovens dish — that it’s “pretty traditional”, says Kastner. They don’t innovate on the classics, but aim to do them supremely well. “The praise must really go to the team of really amazing cooks,” she says.
The salads are mostly vegetarian, with proteins such as lentils and chickpeas. Meat can be found in the hot dishes on offer, such as Mexican chicken with refried beans and salsa, braised-beef pasta and mushroom and leek bread pudding. Depending on your appetite you can opt for a small or large container with three or five servings, split as you please between the salads and hot dishes.
The menu is posted on their Facebook page each day, and also taped to the window (“We’re bloody useless with technology,” says Kastner), but I often wait to make my decision until I get to the counter and see what’s available. I’ve learned that there are no wrong choices here.
Who in your opinion does the best salad in the City? Tell us in the comments below. And follow FT Globetrotter on Instagram at @FTGlobetrotter
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