Conscious eating has suddenly become the talk of the town with many popular restaurants incorporating organic cuisines and some creating their entire menu on gluten-free food
Finally, it is that time of the year when festivities are over and New Year resolutions of maintaining a healthy diet can come into effect. With post-Christmas weight on your back, it would seem difficult to shift to a diet which demands all-healthy, leafy greens, no sugar and no carbs. But who says you have to compromise on taste when the healthiest restaurants in the world are offering outrageously delicious cuisines. The culinary creativity at some of these restaurants has redefined the culture of healthy diet. Conceptualised with the vision of serving nutritiously-potent and sumptuous flavours, these restaurants have food lovers raving about their innovative take, which is inevitable for today’s busy lifestyle.
ALAIN DUCASSE AU PLAZA ATHÉNÉE, PARIS
Alain Ducasse, the mind behind the restaurant, represents the naturalness cuisine inspired by the fish-vegetable-cereals trilogy. Housed in Hotel Plaza Athenee, Alain Ducasse Au Plaza Athénée is known for its menu which centres on ingredients that are healthier, more natural and respectful of the Planet. Innovative, authentic yet simple flavours build the meal into an experience that engages the entire body. Dishes served are instinctive interpretation of Haute Cuisine, revealing the produces’ original flavour. Ducasse menu is strictly no meat; instead it offers seafood (turbot, langoustines, lobster, caviar), vegetables from the gardens at Versailles and a variety of pulses including green lentils and bulgar wheat.
FLAX & KALE, BARCELONA
One-of-its-kind, Flax & Kale is the first flexitarian restaurant in Barcelona. Don’t be surprised if you didn’t get this term either. To be a flexitarian means you are a vegetarian with benefits. Thus, the menu here comprises mostly vegetarian dishes. The cuisines are created to maximise the organoleptic experience without compromising on their nutritional value. Among food choices 80 per cent is plant-based and the remaining 20 per cent have oily fish. With a line up that includes, Gluten Free Healthy Pizzas, Healthy Asian Fusion Cuisine and Kombucha Lab, people won’t find it hard to follow a disciplined diet. Infact, the vision of Flax & Kale is to feed people happiness that gifts illness-free health for a longer life. For a healthy stop during lunch, Flax & Kale à porter includes Healthy Grab & Go Eatery + Cold-pressed Juice Bar + Coffee Specialty Bar.
COUNTER KITCHEN, LONDON
Sitting quietly in the heart of Clerkenwell is Counter Kitchen which was conceptualised around mindfully sourced food. It proudly mentions, “Our menu offers a variety of health conscious options and we’ve said goodbye to artificial flavours, nasty hormones, refined sugars and preservatives.” Focussed on creating a nourishing and balanced diet, the restaurant offers avocado toast with fresh green chilli and homemade cucumber kimchi during breakfast. Packing world flavours, the lunch menu offers Tarka Dal, which includes ingredients like red lentil & dal stew, onion seeds, curry leaves, kachumber salad, strained yoghurt, black rice and lime. With wholesome, nutritional and mouth-watering ingredients, the resolution of avoiding junk and maintaining good health would barely feel like a task.
TRANSFORMER, MELBOURNE Proudly vegetarian, Transformer is original and inventive in its concept which is spear headed by a relative newcomer chef Luke Florence’s food. It is partly vegan and half plain veggie. It may sound a tad boring but it’s outright delicious. The interesting menu depicts the health-conscious nature of the restaurant and ranges fusion dishes from various continents. Its Elixirs and Shots include Ayurvedic elixir, fresh ginger, tumeric, tamarind & coconut water.. Soba noodles with smoked tofu and gnocchi made of golden puffs of rye sprinkled with ricotta and a pumpkin mousse are favourites among the locals. The healthy combination of flavours make you want to visit the Transformer over and over again. Moreover, the interiors have been brushed by the award-winning local architecture firm Breathe. The company turned the place into a fantasia of calm low lighting with evergreen plants, creating an ambience for date night.
SOME OTHER HONOURABLE MENTIONS:
• TENDER GREENS, CALIFORNIA • SEQUEL BISTRO AND JUICE BAR, MUMBAI • NINJA CUT, SINGAPORE • CAFE CLOVER, NEW YORK • CAFÉ PINSON, PARIS • EARTH TO TABLE, MELBOURNE