I think I'm addicted to salad from The Willow. I end up going there for lunch at least once week…read more I'm not sure I've ever seen salad as comfort food, but here it definitely is. They normally have 5 salads on the go and you get to choose which ones you want in a box. I normally go for all five! It's much more interesting stuff than just lettuce, tomato,onion, cucumber - the salads often contain roast squash, gnocchi, seeds, lentils, broccoli and lots of other nutritious ingredients. I normally go for the large box (£5.95) but the medium (£3.95) should be enough for most people. They also do freshly made soup for £2.50, and a soup+medium salad combo for (£5.95). The people who run it are very friendly too. The only down side is that the salad is so good, by peak lunch time (1pm) the queue can be 10-15 mins long. I try to beat it by getting there at 12:15, but even this tactic doesn't always work.

I am a regular and I would stake my life in defending this place. Amazing salad and amazing staff…read more One of the best places in the area by far for a good lunch!

Fantastic place with comfortable wooden seating benches, pillows along the windows seating,…read moreeclectic posters and decor and buzzy but not overtly loud or obnoxious convo happening. Although £12 for my lentil burger made me blanche, the generous sides of salad and housemade slaw (I asked for no fries nor burger bun) made it all worth it. There's so much on the plate I boxed half for home (I had drank a smoothie before I had arrived here). The slaw in particular is divine: it doesn't have that gross mayo gloppiness I usually despise. It's quite fresh. There's a lovely vinaigrette on the greens and the burger has a moreish artichoke sauce. The staff is friendly as are the customers; dog-friendly too!

I totally go out of my way for a good vegan cafe or restaurant - especially when it is called…read more"Black Cat" (I live with several black cats, so feel a kinship). My friend and I popped in for brunch on a Saturday and staff were very helpful and flexible with our orders. I got the big vegan breakfast (sans beans) and my friend got a gluten-free version that subbed a bunch of salads. Both of our meals were HUGE -- I ended up bringing home enough for breakfast the next morning! The restaurant also has a divine assortment of vegan cakes, cupcakes and desserts with MANY gluten-free options so of course we bought up about 4 items to bring for later. They also sell some packaged grocery items and have a lovely lefty/anarcho/vegan book selection. The t-shirts are 15 GBP and well worth grabbing one as a souvenir since you know the leftovers won't last the whole way home! Cafe is super cute inside with many small tables and lots of art (I especially adore the big cat mural in the bathroom). Keep in mind - they are closed on Tuesdays. :( Totally worth going out of your way -- it's not too bad of a walk from Hackney Central or Hackney Downs (check out Pemberton Pub on your way back if you have the time!).

Yess! I'm the first to review this fantastic business. They are top top notch…read more We got loads of deliveries from them to our office and they have consistently been: 1) On time! Such a good delivery service from them 2) Delicious and healthy. Such a good selection of stuff and it's all different and fresshhhhh Really are perrrfect for office lunches that aren't sandwiches and wraps. They just hit the nail on the head and there's loads to choose from. The salads come in the giant boxes like in their pictures and are so colourful! My only one little tiny thing that irritates me is that their little pots of dressing are quite difficult to open and therefore every so often they spray everywhere as you attack it too aggressively.

Salad days was a fantastic solution to a last minute catering decision for an all day event for 10…read morepeople. They were helpful, thoughtful, and flexible, with great menu suggestions. Their food was incredible. Mathias was a joy to work with. I hope to need a caterer again so that I can work with them again. Thanks very much, salad days!

This is a cute new little café and shop in Dalston Lane - a very welcome addition to the…read moreneighbourhood! The café is smaller than it looks from the outside - there is basically one table to sit at, but when the sun is as brilliantly shining as it is at the moment, one can enjoy food and drinks al freso at additional tables outside. The coffee I had was ok, and perhaps because we got there late on a Sunday afternoon the food selection wasn't overwhelming. (A couple of cupcakes and a sandwich). But they do sell delicious bread, cakes and cupcakes from London's best bakery (E5) and the "Happy Kitchen". That means the sweet stuff is vegan - thumbs up for that! In addition they offer a variety of health foods and ingredients (including Asian food), as well as eco toiletries, cleaning products, etc. The selection is somewhat limited compared to other, bigger stores, but if you live in the area "Healthy Stuff" definitely provides a useful resource.

I managed to smuggle my boyfriend into this cafe/shop without him seeing the name. "Healthy Stuff"…read moremight have put him off. But we were both happy when we sat down at one of the three tables. This part of Dalston Lane isn't very busy so there'll proably always be a free seat and you wouldn't be disturbed by shoppers passing by either. The blackbord above the till lists a menu of salads, toasies, fresh juices, and other wholesome treats. I loved my green salad with avocado, sprouts, and basil tofu. For a dish and a big glass of juice you'll pay about 10 pounds per person. It's unlikely that I'll find myself in that area again soon but I'd recommend a visit to anyone who happens to be around.

Fab coffee and simple eats, it's what this erstwhile shabby end of Dalston has been longing for!…read moreSupport it!

Cozy local place serving good coffee…read more They're definitely taking the rustic angle here, with creaky chairs and tables and a generally DIY aesthetic. The food menu is focused on bread, with a variety of pastries and sandwiches, pretty standard for a cafe, but not quite extensive enough that I'd want to choose it for lunch. Maybe a few more salads would grab me. Anyway, my wife and I split a latte, and it was quite good, definitely better than the one we had earlier in the day from another nearby cafe. It was also a few p cheaper at £2.40, which I consider a pretty good price. I noticed a "bowl latte" for £2.80 on the menu too, which I could definitely see diving into. The sunshine coming through the big front windows was nice, too, and the place was filled with small groups of people in relaxed conversation amid low-key background music. Overall a very nice atmosphere, good coffee, and just enough funkiness to remind you that you're in Dalston.

This is an ok place for breakfast. They have a vegan and vegetarian option which is great but food…read moreis very plain and not very flavorful to my taste. Service was efficient and friendly and the place looks nice and clean

My friend and I stoped here for dinner around 18:30 on a Saturday. It was not busy at all. I…read moreordered a red wine to drink (pinero merlot). The wine tasted great and there were plenty of options. For my main course, I was torn between the chicken thighs and the lamb shawarma. I asked the waiter and he recommended the lamb. I'm very glad I asked because the lamb dish was phenomenal! The portion was huge and I wasn't able to finish the whole thing but had trouble stopping! My friend had ordered the jackfruit dish since he is vegan. He typically is not a fan of jackfruit but said the food was great and he was craving more.

Great food and nice friendly service. I had the Haddock Hash. Great variety of items and a good…read morevalue. I think two people could share along with a pita and green labne appetizer. We sat outside because more room for the baby which was nice. I would go back!

Great service and atmosphere. The food was excellent. They even do a kids tray for my 4 year old…read moregranddaughter. Very impressed.

I'm still very confused when I see such new and exciting offerings in Dalston. Growing up here, my…read moreperception of the area was so fixed as grim and scary, that I seem to be stuck in that, despite being part and parcel of the gentrification myself! I was starvin like Marvin on the day in question when I tried this spot. After dithering around the new places for ages, I picked this one as it looked heathy and speedy (2 of my fail-safe concerns for food ordering these days ;) The new-ish staff were very kind when I got confused about what the mushroom option entailed and the care they took over creating my order was touching. I do hope that the enterprise succeeds as the salad in particular was super-fresh and of good quality :D

Arancini! So good when done right....and these guys get it right again and again…read more The set up inside is relaxed and the staff, always super friendly. There's several booths where you can eat in but they also do takeaway. But whether eating in or taking out, I love the food here. The salad boxes are £3.50 for any combination of apple slaw, bean salad, jalapeños and other freshly made veggie delights. And of course, the arancini. Crunchy on the outside soft and creamy on the inside. These little morsels are perfect with the garlic and tomato sauces that accompany them. Once you start you won't stop. Luckily they're sold in snack boxes of three, five and if you're feeling up for a challenge (or sharing), twelve. I keep coming back to this place and they never fail to fill my luchtimes with arancini perfection. Yay arancini!

Yeah, I'm fully bought in. It's a simple concept, you either choose the "salads" of the day or just…read moregreens, choose whether you want a regular or a large, and the can add single or double portions of various premiums and dressings. I got a large crunch box and added goats cheese and chicken. For my dressing I chose the lemon pesto. I was shocked at how large it was. I mean the thing weighed like a kilo, and the portions of the premiums I chose were so generous. Nothing worse than when you pay like £4 to add chicken and they give you a paltry amount. This was the opposite. Now, quantity aside, I also found that the quality was superb. Everything was super tasty and the pesto dressing was delicious. My only recommendation is to be a bit more specific on what the "salads" are and what's in them for people with dietary restrictions but overall yeah, this place do a bang up lunch at a good price.

Such a great find - thanks to Yelp!…read more It's actually quite hard to find a good salad bar in London. So, as always I turned to my Yelp app and found this great place at Old Street. The wait is long during lunch hours as the line goes down the street...though that should be a good indication, yes ? The Salad Kitchen is in a funky little food community near Old Street with numerous places to sit, easy or to grab something from the food stalls. The Salad Kitchen has VERY limited options, both times I've been, it's only been chicken or eggplant in the salad. The cost was £5.40 - which is a very good price, I feel. There is only 2 tables, both with two chairs - so I think most people grab their salad and then head somewhere else - though I did get in (without having to pay extra) and it was fine. A great place for a great salad, for a great price on the run. I walked 20 minutes out of my way, and it was so worth it! :-)

You'd either prance into Stoke Newington Farmers' Market as the mecca of your fresh, organic,…read morelocally grown pilgrimage, or you'd stumble on it by mistake. It was the latter for me, and I couldn't feel luckier to have found such a gem. Since that day I've learned that all that fruit and veg and cheese and meat and yummmmmm that I was drooling over all comes from within 100 miles and is sold (and transported) by the growers themselves. How legit is that? Oh, and it's the first farmers' market in the UK to offer only organic and biodynamic produce? I love you. (Oh Portland, you crunchy little city, you -- you're just borrowing ideas from everyone now aren't you?)

This is a Farmers Market in every sense of the word. There are about twenty stalls give and take,…read moreand every one is organic or healthy in some way. The punters were very savvy as to what they wanted too, so talking to them about the villainy of supermarkets was great. With more organic fruit & veg than you can shake a stick at, vegan ice-cream, Indian food, organic fresh breads, not to mention a fantastic butcher, Stoke Newington Farmers Market is a great find.