Page 20 – La Muse Blue

Gauthier: inspired by vegetables for a fine vegan tasting menu in London

Alexis Gauthier was the first Michelin chef serving fine vegan tasting menu in London. At his restaurant Gauthier the French chef has offered by far the most sophisticated vegetarian plates in Soho for years, and caused an outrage when he put the calorie counts to his two tasting menus. Like the three Michelin stared Alain Passard, recently joined by Alain Ducasse in Paris, so far Alexis Gauthier has served the vegetable menu along with his omnivore gourmet dishes, so people with mixed diets can dine together while eating what they want.
Being diagnosed with fatty liver, a lifestyle change abound, his focus shifted from butter, cheese, foie gras and meat to using more plants in his cooking. A vegan himself, the former apprentice of Ducasse should not be confused with his namesake Alexandre Gauthier of the experimental La Grenouillere near Calais. Now in gastronomic terms, Gauthier is shaking the cosmopolitan London as much as the Brexit vote. The forward looking chef intends to embrace a totally plant-based menu soon.

The animal rights fighting stars flock into his Georgian townhouse for a treat – Stella McCartney, Benedict Cumberbatch and the co-warrior Al Gore dined at Gauthier supportively. Approachable to all foodies, a vegetable-centric cookbook for non-vegetarians followed. The book, Vegetronic uses meat broths to infuse plants with rich flavours, but the restaurant has evolved from removing foie gras in 2015 to offering also Les Plantes vegan tasting daily. Sadly, his Michelin star was taken by the red guide. Probably a bad day when the inspector came, since our most recent meal was as intriguing as three years ago.
A rich vegan faux-foie gras and well-oiled toasts were served with both tasting menus at Gauthier recently. A disclosure, I’m an eco-conscious flexitarian, balancing off my animal-sourced consumption (mainly in dairy and seafood) with about half of my meals being plant-based. Gauthier in Soho caters to such flexible, but responsible indulgence. The chef rises our awareness.

In an interview with Medium Gauthier said: “We have to start from the beginning — create new flavour combinations rather than recreate what we have been doing but with vegetables. For the next generation, I don’t want to sell them fake burgers — that’s is rubbish. Instead we must entice them with new combinations of flavours and ingredients.” Indeed, his food is more mature than at trendy vegan cafés, even at the best plant-based restaurants like Crossroads in Hollywood.

In June for lunch à la carte I chose three vegetarian courses. I was curious about how the vegetable king of London fares with the prince of late spring – the asparagus. A green garden of asparagus with peas, pea puree and a thick, flavourful chicken emulsion landed first. It could have less salt and the asparagus should had been a tiny bit less cooked, so I can see what Michelin had noted. I followed with Green and white asparagus in balsamic vinegar, sweet and a slightly acidic reduction, poached quail egg, hazelnuts and a black quinoa crisp, poured over with a smoked tea. An intriguing, complex plate at the level the Michelin stared vegetarian Tian in Vienna was then.

The main, truffled risotto was impeccable. A signature staple of the chef served already at his former London venue Le Rousillon that in fall includes the precious white truffle. The Italian Acquerello rice absorbed the stock into al-dente, a just amount of parmesan and generous flakes of the aromatic tuber aestivum were shaved over like a forest hat. A London-based critic, Andy Hayler reviewed the non-vegetarian cooking at Gauthier ever since its opening in 2009, so check his website for details. He agrees with me on the supremacy of the risotto over anything rice-bound served in London.
Returning this fall with a friend, she had the regular Goût du Jour without gluten – lobster tortellini, white truffle risotto, black halibut, deer, but no 70% chocolate mousse from the chef’s Louis XV. days. Instead, she had the naturally gluten-free chocolatey blackberry tartlet from the Les Plantes vegan tasting menu that I had. She pronounced the risotto her favourite plate.

Replacing egg whites with whipped chickpea water, using carrots in a tartare prepared at your table, the Plants menu sounded like a healthful millennial choice to me. A Deutz champagne was poured as an aperitif, instead I asked for a glass of red. The Franco – Italian wine list is generous, yet the sommelier offered a tight Loire Saumur Champigny. I longed for Burgundy so he pulled out a juicy Mercurey by Domaine Charton from his cellar. A cheaper alternative to other premium crus in the north-eastern French region.
Beware, the oversupply of superb house bread, butter and extra snacks and desserts can spoil your healthy resolve. The gluten-free option was reportedly excellent. You get the calories printed on the menu, but who counts the extras? Temptations. Gauthier, the former pastry chef at the three star Louis XV in Monaco, bakes a perfect plain baguette, sourdough, black olive, cumin and walnut roll, rosemary & olive focaccia, atop the superb parmesan crisps (not vegan). An artisan butter and canapés with creamy toppings come with the à la carte.

My vegan tasting starter with elegant, fall bounty heralding, Wild mushroom tortellini hidden under leafy greens. Just as our empty plates were cleared a waiter placed Miso caramelised Turnip and Quince in front of me, pouring a warm dashi broth over the Japan-inspired, locally sourced dish. A wholesome, fall, and soupy creation, my favourite plate. Celeriac and apple velouté followed. Quite subtle for a vegetable the Noma chef René Redzepi chose for his legendary plant shawarma in his summer, vegetables themed menu. The service was faster than our forks, which on a workday lunchtime is appreciated, but not on a weekend friendly encounter, so we rushed our last forkfuls to give space to the Heritage beetroot terrine for me. This was the most contemporary plating with powders and cured vegetables as the centre stage, good.
A dessert time landed on a red saucer with an inner applause. Ladies love their sweets. The Blackberry tartlet, chocolate ganache, and blackberry sorbet stroke the right balance between rich sweetness and refreshing berry sourness.
Unfortunately, they do not serve any more the small batch organic teas by Lalani & Co. Previously I enjoyed, an excellent vintage Indian white tips, but this time my dessert went dry.

The house is charming and the three dining rooms exalt very different qualities. After ringing the doorbell, climbing up the narrow staircase your grasp that Gauthier is not a barrier-free restaurant. I prefer the cosy English living room feel of the first floor, while a quirky vintage game and contemporary art halo the dining room above. The top floor is for private meals. The Soho townhouse feels somewhat clumsy, but the white-clad tables, seasonal vegetables replacing flowers and an oil lamp capture the Arpège country style.Dining at Gauthier feels like visiting a friend who cooks well. A heritage fire place on each floor was left over from the previous tenants feels homey. Escaping the chaos of Central London, the previous owners smartly left the house over to a more sociable venue. Gather with friends and savour the seasons through the fine, vegetable-centric food.
+44 20 7494 3111

21 Romilly Street, W1D 5AF London, UK

Monsaraz: slow, prehistoric Portugal where crafts and rural beauty sooth the soul

Monsaraz is the walled in triumph of a fiercely battled past. Reaching deep into the abyss of conquest, the prehistoric settlement had imprinted pagan whispers in the megaliths crumbled like galactic sermons across the rocky region. Later, Christians, Moors, and the Knights Templars, all stamped their presence on this Iberian hilltop phenomenon. Circling the hilltop parish in a defensive pose, the walls survived millennia of domineering desires.

Car-free, Monsaraz is the UNESCO heritage contestant for the prettiest tooth-white village in Portugal. It is like a Greek village with a longer history. Enter through the Porta da Vila to rub your feet with the keyboard of hardy stones that as if someone played an impromptu jazz set, crooked, spiking up and down, edge against your soles. Stopping by the wall or climbing up to the remains of its Castle, your fingers can literally touch Spain as you point over to the glistening and expansive Barragem de Alqueva reservoir. Not just a game-changer for Alentejo, but it is also the largest manmade ‘lake’ in Europe. Sailing, paddle boarding, and boating in summer turned the borderline reservoir into a recreational hotspot. A plus and a bummer at once.

Mysterious doors

The fascinating doors in Monsaraz emblem each house with a unique pride that keeps you wondering – what inspired the choice of horse shoes, why the sword, the dachshund with a cow’s head? The female hand on the door knob looks elegant, but the rest must be related to the livelihood of its inhabitants. In Monsaraz, roosters halo the chimneys, pottery and flowers dot the window rims, and pomegranate, orange, and other, distinctively local flora decorate the painterly village.

The charms of Monsaraz

The frames of the white houses, the wrought iron balconies with pelargoniums hanging down in all shades of red are matched by the ochre of the brick roofs. Monsaraz is pretty by all accounts. Enter the 16th-century Igreja Matriz and the mood instantly changes. The church feels like a deep cave in a bright blue sea. The edifice shields Monsaraz’s darkest public space. My positively-tuned self much preferred a small chapel hidden from the main paths. Repainted with respect to its original frescoes it now houses contemporary local art. In the saintly named surrounding villages, such charming catholic chapels, walled in convents and opulent churches are still the social hubs of local gossip and worship. The tow somewhat go along. If you like hand-painted ceramics then visit also some of the 22 potteries in the nearby village São Pedro do Corval.

Portuguese crafts: carpets, cork, honey, pastry, pottery, and shoes

Come in fall, winter or early in the spring. Skip the herds of visitors that brave the heat spiking towards the 50 degree Celsius longitude of mercury. Not that it is just dessert hot, the crowds spoil the experience. On the last Sunday of every month a flea market, then in September and on Easter the bull-fighting season draws in thousands of visitors. In the tiny, narrow patched village this December only four people joined our bumpy promenade on the cobbled fangs that bleed your thin soles. Wear hardy shoes, otherwise you are screwed.
The Japanese revel in such rusticity and particularly in the hand-woven wool carpets by Mizette Nielsen. In the trendy boutiques of Lisbon you pay double for her pieces. In winter the craft shops do not hive in throngs of photo hunters, it is all yours!

Snail life, slow food

Alentejo region is poor but now thanks to the reservoir also known as the breadbasket of Portugal. Apples, asparagus, grapes, olives, and acorns (bellotas) thrive. Following these oak nuts are the celebrated black pigs of the same breed as on the Spanish-side of Extramadura, the king of pork made into an excellent “jamón iberico“. The land of cork now protects its slow growing trees, but you can still buy long-lasting wallets, coasters, even umbrellas made from this organic material. The shaved off bark trees characteristically dot the region as do sprawling vineyards. Alentejo is the largest wine producer in Portugal, known more for its port wines, but one should broaden his vinous horizons beyond the fortified vinho. Honey sweetens the typical egg cookies.
If you need to eat in Monsaraz, be open to rustic home cooking of the Portuguese ladies at Sabores de Monsaraz. Often, vintage oak barrel tops left over from winemaking front a cafe or eatery in the village making your orientation easier. For a finer local cuisine, head out of town to restaurant Sem-fim. Set in a former olive oil mill bought by a Dutch-born sculptor where his wife makes rugs for sale, the restaurant is of many locals favourite. Grilled meats like lombo de assado no forno (pork) and rego assado (lamb) are local specialties.

The sheep roam and hum in baritone on the lush pastures surrounding Monsaraz. I recorded the wooly creatures in a spawn of excitement as a dog herded them towards another herby and grassy patch of land. The sheep’s wool and skin is used to make cosy fluffy shoes sold in the village stores. Cows lead happy grazing lives here too. At São Loureço do Barrocal farm, recently converted into a superb luxury hotel, the fleet of hazelnut butter haired bulls and cows with babies zoom in any approaching living thing. They seem peaceful and keep roaming the pasture if you just continue on trotting on the ironed path.

Alentejo: the region of millennia-old monuments

A few minutes walking downhill from Monsaraz, over six thousand years old megaliths rise oomphs and ohs. Graceful feminine fecundity circles a phallic menhir. In the background the palm-framed silhouette of a former covent (a hotel for some time before the government shut it down) mysteriously shadows the millennia old formations. The region is full of these pagan stone statuettes associated often with the Celtic tribes. Unlike Stonehenge up north though, these mystic manmade sculptures do not yet attract buses of selfie hunters from around the globe.

From the fortified Monsaraz, the cloudless nocturnal sky is perfectly suited for plain stargazing. Reportedly, the galactic canvas is so clear here that only the far-flung deserts can promise such an experience. An observatory nearby allows for a closer exploration of the Universe in two-hours lasting daily sessions starting at 18:30(except for Sunday and Monday).
The poor area has become so rich in experience, that there is no need to drive 45 minutes west to the much larger Evora. Although this is one of the most historic towns in Portugal with a castle, museums, bone chapel, and cobbled streets with Rua 5 Outubro offering a broad diversity of handicrafts, Monsaraz is eons more beautiful. Evora was just too shabby for our purist tastes. Stay in the countryside.
A bonus: when the brown sheep were herded to a fresh pasture on the verdant hills of Montsaraz, I stopped and immersed myself into their meditative singsong. Listen…

CLOSED Ethos: slow-food served fast in central London

Ethos trots the middle road, a potentially fast meal can turn into lingering over the wholesome vegetarian food in a freshly designed and transparent eatery. Birch trees scattered throughout transmit you into the Nordic forests, while ensuring more privacy.

Ethos: Slow-food self-served fast

VEGETARIAN VEGAN-OPTIONS GLUTEN-FREE SELF-SERVICE CONTEMPORARY

With plenty of seating, why would you rush out into the office to eat your lunch or dining in the loneliness of your apartment? Sit down, and savour the vibe together with the dairy-, gluten- and meat-free meal. Refined sugar is scratched off the dessert offerings, so you may enjoy the pay-by-weight dishes inspired by the world cuisines. As a guardian of your own health, you choose what you want to eat. Ethos is the opposite of the current wave of chef’s blind tasting menus, where the cooks decide what to put in your food, an adventure, but usually not the best feeling after the meal. Still, with the flexibility at Ethos, you might over combine, so keep it simple, down to two – three offerings from the buffet. The tags on each dish are informative, allergens and dietary-restrictions are catered to, while the staff was trained to advice where in doubt.

Usually, when you pay by weight of your food, quality stumbles. Catching the cooked dishes at the right temperature can be a marathon between your seat and the buffet. Ethos attempts to break this stereotype, and it does so better than any other vegetarian buffet in London. Clearly marked dietary restrictions, clean, contemporary design is spacious enough for browsing through the daily buffet. Middle-Eastern, Mediterranean and by hip superfoods inspired offerings are refreshed from breakfast through lunch to dinner daily.

All the sauces are made in-house, no additives, and most of the ingredients are sourced locally for the utmost freshness, high nutritional value and food waste reduction. The only drawback is like with most “healthy” eateries in London is that the produce is not biodynamic or organic from small farms, both best options for our and our planet’s health. Still, eating at Ethos is healthier than at 99% restaurants in the British capital. Macrobiotic eaters can join in the dining out revelry.

Ethos dwells in a convenient location on a calm side street near the Oxford Circus. Shoppers and office crews stream in from breakfast through lunch or for the popular early supper. Sitting between the silver bark-clad birch trees, sipping tea or fresh juice while forking into your colourful, loaded plate filled with nature’s bounty, feels like picnicking in the park. Mostly locally sourced salads, legumes, whole grains, meat-free dips like hummus, baba ghanoush, guacamole and warm vegetarian and vegan dishes were all delicious. You can still have your free-range eggs omelette or greek yogurt, but plant-based options are always available and so is the GF toast with the avocado.

The desserts would not score a high grade from me though, but try yourself. There can always be an outlier. Maple sirup et al are used to naturally sweeten them. ‘Healthyfied’ Afternoon tea is being served in this contemporary, reverse of the posh luxury hotel glitz and generally low quality and touristy tea time. Served between 3 and 5pm, it must be reserved two days ahead. Savoury tarts, vegetable crudités, gluten-free blueberry scones can be served with clotted cream or a cashew cream for a dairy-free lushness. Next to Earl Grey, chacras-inspired POSITIVI-TEA (check my Ayurveda post) and/or herbal blends, tisanes, treats like Rhubarb and Vanilla Tart reminiscing or Marzipan rooibos brews are served. Now, this is the opposite of the digestion clogging “Traditional Afternoon Tea” in London! Tea time has never been healthier in England. Now also the Hemsleys, Tanya’s Raw, Farmacy et al. serve it for the more health-conscious millennium where sedentary lifestyle next to processed, sugary foods causes so much damage to our well-being.

MUST HAVE: Seitan (high-gluten, low-starch wheat log) ribs marinated in a BBQ sauce. Aubergine “meatballs”. String bean salad in season. The hummus is lusciously rich.
48 Eastcastle St, London W1W 8DX
Open daily.
Weekdays: Breakfast 8am – 11am
Lunch 12noon – 3pm
Afternoon Tea 3pm – 5pm
Dinner 5:30pm – 10pm
SATURDAY
Lunch 11:30am – 5pm
Afternoon Tea 3pm – 5pm
Dinner 5:30pm – 10pm
SUNDAY BRUNCH 11am – 5pm
+44 20 3581 1538
* Photos by Ethos. Mine were badly-lit.

CLOSED Redemption Bar: no booze for healthy socialites from East to West London

Redemption Bar offers an alcohol-free alternative to the intoxicated lifestyle of London. Even non-abstinents savour with poise the alcohol-free cocktails at this trendy bar in Shoreditch, Notting Hill and Covent Garden. The contemporary health obsession prescribes green juices and superfood tonics to charge you up, while acro yoga serves as the social binder.Before we stack upon each other like monkeys in the jungle, let’s eat.

ORGANIC, VEGAN, NO ALCOHOL

Redemption started west in the hip Notting Hill as a casual, sugar-, gluten- and wheat-free vegan bar and café with a no alcohol bar curated by a nutritionist. It is still not the chic spot you would suggest for a date though, for that head east to its Old Street brother.

Spawning from the more rustic set-up in the West End’s Notting Hill, Redemption promises to “spoil yourself without spoiling yourself” also in Covent Garden and Shoreditch. The booze-free environment is a unique set up for a bar. Other, highly creative drinks are served so the patrons do not feel deprived of alcohol, the cultural construct celebrated until recently that now comes with warning labels.

While Shoreditch generally indulges in raw, untidy appearing interiors, Redemption radiates an ultra clean feel. Plants enveloped in a mossy stuffing accompany the marble tables. The quick bite counter faces a lush courtyard. Oxygenated with leafy greens, Redemption is a healthy space for work as it is generally not noisy during lunch as other cafés. A friendly service compensates for the snail speed kitchen. Relax, read or talk with your drinking partner at this Old Street branch, but do not bring in your boyfriend’s parents as we witnessed in Notting Hill recently. It was comical. The elderly British couple struggled over their Buddha bowls as their son’s vegan yogi love lectured them on healthy benefits of plant-based cuisine. A more casual introduction than taking them to the plush Farmacy around the corner.

Food-wise, the mostly organic plates are satisfying. While served in large helpings, you can take the rest away. “Californication”, the warm old favourite nesting in an earthen dish of baked sweet potatoes with button mushrooms, is ideal on a cold day. The mushrooms were cooked but tasting more like pickled pink onion, blanched spinach and a vibrant handful of radish sprouts topped it green. The Japanese cold brown rice salad with radishes, cilantro, hijiki seaweed and raw cucumbers, dressed in white miso with avocado and sesame sprinkle is a better side dish. Too rich, so get a half portion. The Kale Caesar with gluten-free croutons and vegan “rawmesan” was moist and yummy. RAW foodies find all dishes prepared under 42 degrees clearly marked. The mostly raw desserts with superfoods like chocolate or açai berries look ravishing but order less before to keep some space. A ruby forest gateau of rich chocolate mousse on a nutty chocolate base with raspberries and crème Chantilly is waiting for me.

Going booze free here means savouring creative liquid flavours in house-made infusions, fragrant low-calorie sparkling rose water and other fruit and herb cordials. “Fruities” like lemongrass lemonade with chilli, maple and sparkling mineral water, pure salvation (orange , pineapple, lemon and raspberry puree), heart beets (beetroot, orange, lime, ginger, coconut water), apple “mockjito” (muddled apple presse, fresh mint and lime with sparkling mineral water). Fitbeer, an alcohol-free beer from Bavaria (only 66 calories!). Bees Knees, an alcohol-free rosé or white sparkling wine (only 33 calories per glass). Of course creative smoothies and dairy-free rainbow of lattes fill in the beverage menu in abundance. Still, I rather drink water than the not as wine tasting alcohol-free rosé.

The biking and tech-savvy eastern bite of London now beams with healthy, slow food options, but Redemption might be the best. Striking a central deal recently third branch opened in Neal’s Yard.

Mildred’s: plant-based cuisine pioneer in London

Mildred’s together with the Gate are time-tested icons of the vegetarian eating out in London. Both survived the murky decades prior to the plant-based cuisine becoming mainstream to mushroom their delectable spores in the fecund forest of the sustainably-minded diners of now. The founders Diane Thomas and Jane Muir opened Mildred’s on Greek Street in 1988. From the boho Soho, the no-bookings, cheap, animal flesh-free eatery evolved into a more sleek café over the years. Vegan-friendly, Mildred’s integrates global cuisines in its plant and grain-centric plates that have consistently pleased, so new branches have sprung up from its Soho base to Camden, Dalston and King’s Cross.

Feeding your soul at Mildred’s

The art-filled café does more than support for animal-life, as the positively charged interior beams with positive energy. You can casually walk in and pick a veggie box, soup or a quiche to go from the work week buffet offer right as you enter. For a wholesome joy from your meal, book a lunch table all the way at the back, as when the sun shines, your meal feels happier under the glass roof X-ray. Daily specials spark the menu with the glitter of variety.

Whether or not you are a celiac or gluten-sensitive person start with the warm chilli corn bread. The crumbly, yet moist godsend is not that spicy, the side of chilli lime butter makes it so. These yolk-hued squares of wholesomeness might well be the best naturally gluten-free bread you have ever tasted and surely one of the best breads in London. To share, the easy dab and crack of the organic triangles alas blue corn nachos with a house chilli guacamole (not locally sourced) that is luscious with a buttery plant fat. Another all-time favourite are the pan-fried gyozas stuffed with tofu, sweet chilli and a side soya dip. The warm grilled aubergine with luscious saffron tahini, pomegranate seeds and molasses is a great starter too. I am not a huge fan of mock meats and there are not too many on the menu at Mildred’s, but the black bean, halloumi (Cypriot, typically a mix of goat’s and sheep’s milk cheese) or mock chicken burgers can be plushed up to your liking with extra avocado, vegan cheese, fries et al. Still, I usually go for the naturally fish and meat-free dishes. Too good.

Healthy and naughty vegetarian and vegan choices

The small pizzetta can be shared or rather, not. Topped with trumpet or porcini mushrooms, mozzarella and decadent truffle paste, the doughy treat is better than at most London’s pizzerias. Popular sweet potato fries are served with smoky chipotle sauce or tomatillo coriander mayo. A great, tasty, plus gluten-free carb fix. The croquettes were too oily, skip them.
In fall, cauliflower enters the menu in renderings such as dried rose petals, pine nuts and pomegranate for an eastern Mediterranean taste.
I also relished in the green falafel, ruby red freekeh (cracked wheat), saffron tahini, chermoula, spicy spinach with grilled aubergine.
A cold day calls for the generous turmeric yellow Sri Lankan Curry. Sweet potatoes, long beans, green peas and cashew nuts with a side of sambal condiment are wholesomely enveloped in a creamy coconut blanket of abundance. As with most Southeast Asian recipes it contains a dash of sugar, so keep it in mind if that is what you try to avoid. Cocktails, organic wines and juices next to Belvoir fruit farms cordial, vegan beer, and mocktails add on sugar too, so keep an eye on the drinks if you try to be holistically healthy.

Co-authored by the half Aussie cum Chilean chef Daniel, Sarah Wasserman, and Jane Muir, still at its helm, the two Mildred’s cookbooks are compendiums of the best, most delicious international creations of the team. With its second, now purely vegan cookbook Mildred’s entered the popular millennial minds striving to live sustainably. Sarah Wasserman nailed it: “A huge range of people are vegetarian and vegan for all kinds of reasons. Our customers like all kinds of foods and I think we have pretty much something for everyone. Also, more and more people who are omnivores enjoy eating vegetarian food.”

MUST HAVES: Warm chilli corn bread. Guacamole & blue corn nachos. Pan-fried gyoza. Rose petal and pomegranate scented cauliflower. Yellow Curry with green peas, string beans and cashews. The ultra-thin crust Pizzetta with porcini mushrooms is delicious, but there is little cheese on it, beware. Grilled aubergine with pomegranate and turmeric sauce.

45 Lexington St, Soho, London W1F 9AN
Daily 12noon-11pm; Sundays closed.

Updated: best of healthy dining in London for slow food

Beyond the stomach-turning fish and chips, bloating Indian curries and animal flesh or cheese on every plate, Londoners now also have healthier options when dining out. Thriving ethnic diversity flew in new flavours and dietary habits to the metropolitan London. There is even a vegetable butcher in the Harrods Food Halls now! He is not a lone wolf in the room of hedonistic excess though. The liquid bar of NO1 waters charged with botanical extracts, in 10 flavours so far ranging from rosemary, through lemon verbena to olive leaf, hydrate with their inherent added benefits without preservatives, sugar and other rogue health spoilers. Produced locally, no plastic, bottled in glass.

The current healthy eating front streams insistently from multiple directions, yet particularly the global elite residing in the pricy city centre supports high-quality and healthy cooking in a nicely designed environment. The plant-based eating trends from California, New York and Japan landed timely. Although organic produce is still hard to come by in the UK’s capital, some cold-pressed juice bars, raw diet cafés, and most of the plant-based food eateries source organic, even biodynamic and locally.
As the majority of real nutritional experts and scientists would agree, healthy means no hormones, potentially harmful additives (carcinogenic, inflammatory) and eating balanced meals with vegetables, legumes and whole-grains as the foundation, excluding red meat, high-fat dairy, saturated (except for the ‘magic’ coconut oil) and trans-fats. Eating local often means that the nutrients and vitamins were not diminished by long-haul travel, but that further depends on transport, storage and the quality of the soil, hence biodynamic and organic foods tend to score better. I wrote about science-based healthy eating previously, so check for details or read Marion Nestlé’s book What to Eat. Teaching at NYU, she is one of the most respected nutritionists in the US.

Pseudo-healthy or bland: healthy dining in London that puts you down

Finding the best of healthy dining in London was not a smooth ride, and some “healthy”cafés or restaurants did not convince me taste-wise or for other reasons:
Grace Spa in Belgravia – while beautiful on the plate, the food was not sourced from the most vibrant-tasting ingredients. To cut it short, our lunch was very bland, old-school healthy in a hodgepodge brunch style.
Gauthier in Soho – by far the most delicious, refined gastronomic vegan offering in town, but as it is not purely plant-based, the oversupply of bread with butter and extra creamy snacks and desserts can spoil the healthy resolve. You get the calories printed on the menu, but who counts these extras? Desserts are decadent, sweet, obviously.
The vegetarian restaurant Vanilla Black falls into the same high-calories and sugar trap. The plates should include more vegetables than being so carb-centric. It’s a nice place for dinner though.
Vantra, the plant-eatery of back then was great in the early 2000s when there was not much vegetable-focused eating out in London, but it is as rustic as the Wild Food Café, while the food is ok. Vantra is the proof that the vegan eating out has got so much better!
Weighhouse Deli of the popular local plant-based recipe creator behind the food blog Deliciously Ella is more a fast good food. The limited seating discriminates slow eaters and socialising. I would rather turn to Ottolenghi for superb salads to go. True, his cookies are sweetened with sugar, while hers with low GI coconut sap or “natural” maple syrup, but the calories are often higher in the high-nut and chocolate vegan sweets, and if you are not a diabetic, no stress, since worrying is as unhealthy as sugar!

I investigated what are the best, consistent, healthy nutrition-focused eateries across London for over a decade. Some of my choices are basic cafés with fun, local community feel, but they also attract curious globetrotting foodies who blend in.
My east to west selections of the best of healthy dining in London that follow are fit for a mindful sit-down breakfast, energising lunch and most also for a dinner date. If the other half truly likes you, a healthy meal out should not be a turn off, but a green light for a long, healthy life together. Most also offer wine and cocktails next to tea, juices and other healthy drinks, signalling that a spritz of alcohol is not necessarily bad for you. Consuming anything in moderation is key to a good health. Cold-pressed juices that retain maximum of nutrients are squeezed at most of these healthy-minded dine-ins and -outs.
Numerous highly-viewed scientific studies have proven that a balanced, mostly plant-based organic diet with a mindful addition of minimally processed, hormone-free and grass-fed animal flesh and seafood is healthy for us. These cafés and restaurants support that:

Mildred’s

VEGETARIAN GLUTEN-FREE AMBIANCE
MUST HAVE: Warm chilli corn bread. Guacamole & blue corn nachos. Pan-fried gyoza. Rose petal and pomegranate cauliflower. Yellow Curry with green peas, string beans and cashews. A superb side of grilled aubergine with pomegranate and turmeric sauce. While the croquettes are too oily, the ultra-thin crust pizzetta with porcini mushrooms is delicious, but there is some cheese on it, beware.
45 Lexington St, Soho, London W1F 9AN

Yeotown Kitchen

MINDFUL MEDITATION BRUNCH FARM PRODUCE
MUST HAVE: Golden latte with raw sweetener on side and more black pepper to boost the anti-inflammatory effect on your table. Whatever your mood suggests named bowl. Mezze to share. Go down to zen out inside the meditation pod before or after your meal.
42 Chiltern St, Marylebone, London W1U 7QT

Tanya’s Raw

COCKTAILS ORGANIC RAW TRENDY VEGAN
MUST HAVE: ‘Grawnola’ with raw goji jam and fresh almond milk. Avo Un-Toast on sunflower seed onion ‘bread’. Thai Curry Noodles. Taco with oyster mushroom and walnut ‘meat’. Blueberry Tart. My Fresh Start and My Vision juice.
35 Ixworth Place, Chelsea, London SW3 3QX

Daylesford

ORGANIC BRUNCH FARM PRODUCE WILD SEAFOOD
MUST HAVE: Seasonality is taken seriously at Daylesford. Choose three or four seasonal salads for a bowl. For breakfast try the plain organic yoghurt, kefir, orchard fruits, the British honey.
208-212 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill London W11 2RH & many other locations.

Ethos

VEGETARIAN SELF-SERVICE CONTEMPORARY
MUST HAVE: Seitan (high-gluten, low-starch wheat log) BBQ sauce marinated ribs. String bean salad. The luscious hummus.
48 Eastcastle St, London W1W 8DX

Hemsley + Hemsley at Selfridges

GRAIN & REFINED SUGAR FREE SUSTAINABLE SEASONAL
MUST HAVE: Bone and miso broth. A trio of hand-picked salads. Bounty bar for dessert. Skip the dry crab cakes, plus their kimchi is not at par with the proper spicy and fermented cabbage available elsewhere.
3F The Selfridges, 400 Oxford St, Marylebone, London W1A 1AB

Farmacy

BAR COCKTAILS ORGANIC TRENDY VEGAN
MUST HAVE: Mezze for two to share (kale chips, chestnut humus, crispy flatbread and wow the cauliflower popcorn!). The falafel. Kimchi Bowl with soba. Farmacy salad laced with red beet dressing. Beet and cinnamon infusion to cleanse your body.
Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill

Wild Food Café

ORGANIC RAW RUSTIC VEGETARIAN
MUST HAVE: Fresh coconut water served in its shell (rare in London). Super salad. Grilled halloumi cheese (sheep’s milk is easier to digest, lower in lactose and has less fat than the hard and triple-cream cheese).
First Floor, 14 Neal’s Yard, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9DP

Redemption Bar

ORGANIC, VEGAN, NO ALCOHOL

MUST HAVE: Drinks. Going booze-free at Redemption is about savouring creative flavours in house-made infusions; fragrant, low-calorie sparkling rose water and other fruit and herb cordials. ‘Californication’. The raw desserts with superfoods like chocolate or açai.

320 Old St, London EC1V 9DR, UK

For more details on some of the venues above, check my reviews linked individually inside this article.

Daylesford Organic healthy dining in London

Daylesford: the model for local sourcing from own farm to table in London

ORGANIC BRUNCH FARM PRODUCE WILD SEAFOOD FORAGING

A string of farm shops with casual dining counters in Marylebone, Notting Hill, South Kensington and a tiny spot in Pimlico, Daylesford sources most of its ingredients from the organic British farm of its founder Carole Bamford.

The largest Notting Hill spot is the perfect for a family brunch meal on weekends. When I lived in London, I’d buy their cheese, wholegrain bread with their seasonal salads and warm meals. Today, as Daylesford’s presence in London grew, the cafes and farm shops do not just sell their own farm produce (their own bottled kombucha is not to my taste), but most of the cheese, meat, fruits, vegetables, plus the artisanal snacks were produced in the UK. A team of a French baker, award-winning cheese maker, and hard working farmers constantly consult everything with the in-house environmental scientist. The beef, lamb, chicken, grains for flour, cow’s milk, yogurts and much of the cheese comes from the farm. The seafood served at Daylesford is line-caught and wild, mushrooms foraged and the rest is selected from local, trustworthy purveyors of organic produce. Anything made from their cow’s milk is better than conventional, because their animals graze stress-free on the luscious farm grass in Cotswolds. Their dairy produce is excellent, but the granolas are just ok and some of the plates lack in creativity.

Some of their items to go are also available on Deliveroo app. Daylesford certainly delivers on sustainability in sourcing as locally as possible, organic farming, packaging some of the products in glass, and educating through the literature sold at the London shops and the farm. A spa, hotel and cooking school were set up on the farm in Cotswolds, so if you are lucky to find an availability try and see. Still, Daylesford can do more, such as totally replacing all packaging with bring your own container scheme and selling in bulk and/or offering glass bottle return rewards to their regular customers so their packaging can be reused.

MUST HAVE: Seasonality is taken seriously at Daylesford. Choose three or four seasonal salads for a bowl. For breakfast try the plain yoghurt, kefir, orchard fruits, honey.

208-212 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill London W11 2RH & other location across the capital.

Hemsley + Hemsley sisters support digestion through eating right

The British Tv showgirls and “feel-good food” cookbook authors Hemsley + Hemsley disrupted with their first cafe at Selfridges in London. Yet, as with many strained food serving business, they were forced to shut down this little corner of healthy hedonism.

Still, their abundant cookbooks keep inspiring healthy lifestyle. To give you a better idea what they offer, my review of their nutritional philosophy follows within the cafe’s past offerings. Many of the dishes were included in their cookbooks and all gluten-free recipes on their website.

Tucked behind sexy lingerie, bikinis and pyjamas, powerfully signals what one should eat to proudly slip into one of these revealing pieces. Here, in the Body department, ladies relish in their chocolate brownies and high-fat coconut bars convinced of their good, even transformative, refined-sugar and gluten-free magic whip to beauty. Such a dream, when indulgence equals health is now marketed to all fans of gluten-free, paleo, plant-based, vegan, and above all no calories counting happiness seekers. Hemsley + Hemsley at Selfridges do not subscribe to just one of these dietary lifestyles, but offer diversified, naturally delectable pleasures that pepper up any day.

GRAIN & REFINED SUGAR FREE SUSTAINABLE SEASONAL

No hydrogenated vegetable oils are used in the cooking, your digestion is being boosted, and our Planet is spared of an unnecessary waste at Hemsley + Hemsley. Probiotics like kimchi, prebiotics like fibre in whole vegetables, plus encouraging you to chew like cows mulching grass to stimulate saliva and digestive enzymes before the food gets into your gut, were all scientifically proven to aid digestion. In a win-win state of mutual merriment, nose-to-tail (think bone broth, dripping/animal fat) and root-to-frond recipes encourage consumption of the entire produce, as our ancestors did it. Ayurveda guides many dietary principles for the Hemsley sisters, and their trip to India sealed their interest in the millennia-old holistic health system.
To prevent any spikes and ravines in your blood sugar levels, and thus preventing fatigue, Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley minimise even the natural sugars in all the recipes. Yet their most famous desserts like the bounty bar taste very sweet. My palate as a judge ruled that there is no way that the total sugar content (natural of course) is not quite high. So is the fat, be it from plants. If the desserts is all you are after at Hemsley + Hemsley. In the paleo/vegan ethos the “transformed” sisters claim: “We don’t believe in using calories as a means of measuring optimal dietary needs”. Their belief, not the facts measured by scientists. If you do not move and eat high calorie diet, you will become obese and that is not healthy. After a run or workout, savour them without any guilt, the gluten-free carrot cake (carrots, nuts and raisins) topped with lush, full-fat Greek yogurt cream in particular is ravishing! Their famous bounty bar (generous oil-oozing coconut enrobed in dark chocolate) is worth the occasional sin even for the staunch dieters.

I see more problems with their health claims though. The amateur home cooks and self-taught nutrition geeks even legally protect themselves on their website, and their quest for better digestion will not fit all. For example their use of chickpeas and beans may irritate many people’s bellies. Activating, or soaking foods in water “mimics germination and reduces the phytates, making them easier to digest and increasing the nutrients available”, but can still wreak a havoc in your tummy. Thus, follow your own gut for health, the rest is impeccably sourced.

No refined sugar, using only organic dairy and eggs, pasture-raised, hormone and antibiotic free meat, wild-caught fish, and seasonal vegetables if not certified organic sourced from small scale farmers not using pesticides.

For lunch, a Puy lentil and beetroot salad with cranberries, walnuts and mustard maple vinaigrette and the popular squash and spiralized beetroot noodle salad topped with spiced cashews impressed me. House cultured ketchup and siracha hot sauce accompany anything you desire.

On a chilly day, the concentrated bone broth with miso will keep the cold away. Served in a mug it feels very hygge. Their kimchi is more the sour kraut European style than the hot Korean original, but equally joins the fight against the bad microbes in your gut.

On the trend Bulletproof coffee blend with coconut oil (a ghee option at Hemsley + Hemsley) will kick your pre-workout mind, but I prefer the locally-based Rare Tea Company drinkable produce. Turmeric, activated charcoal, beetroot “love“, matcha or a classic coffee in a latte can be sweetened with low GI coconut sugar and your choice of full-fat dairy or a plant milk. Ucha bottled kombucha boosts your microflora.

The Hemsley sisters rule the British young food media with their California-style, wholesome, grain-free recipe books. Their recipes and sustainable sourcing values were brought to life inside Selfridges in their well-integrated café. The Hemsley + Hemsley Cafè also offered a healthier version of afternoon tea (gluten-free quinoa scones).

MUST HAVE: Bone and miso broth, trio of salads, Bounty bar. Skip the dry crab cakes, plus the really not a kimchi (it’s not spicy enough and fermented for long).

Farmacy: Notting Hill got its plant remedy in a trendy organic bar and cafe

BAR COCKTAILS ORGANIC TRENDY VEGAN

Farmacy is the Café Gratitude of London. A bright room centred around a bar serving organic cocktails and superfood blends draws in health-conscious cross-generations residing in Notting Hill. Well to keep it green, you can cycle in and out as I did on the Santander bikes (parking east on Westbourne Grove only minutes away) all the way from Saint James.

Their biodynamic garden in Kent supplies much of the plants for the menu at Farmacy, but not the creamy great avocados and other sun and warmth loving produce as pleasing the demand is key to success in highly competitive metropolis like London.

Farmacy nests in a vibrant light filled space centered around the bar ideal for singles to nibble on a healthy meal. I went four times mainly for lunches and one late dinner on my own at the bar. I rarely dine out alone, but the casual and friendly embrace of the staff at Farmacy makes the meal quite social. The food came very fast when requested or when the restaurant was not packed to the roof, then you might wait a while. At lunch, D&G clad Russian divas hand-pick their includes, excludes teamed up with dietary restrictions next to outgoing families, while dinner soaks in the bon vivants liking their meals cruelty-free and a tad healthier.

The plant-based cafe and restaurant with wine service whips globally-inspired, creatively reinvented (XL mushroom tacos, GF mac ‘n’cheese’, nachos, mezze,…), and mainly locally sourced (just not that avocado) vegan bowls and plates. Some seasonal offerings are inspired by their biodynamic garden. Delivered by an electric van, the millennial eco-conscious and responsible diners nod to seasonal pizzetta, wholesome chef’s curry and seasonal soup, house sourdough and gluten-free options like rice pasta and soba noodles in the popular kimchi bowl. I relished in the breakfast Probiotic Pot of purple, whipped coconut yogurt parfait with berries, smooth, not heavy like most of these fat-laden vegan treats tend to be.

I love the cauliflower popcorn (crunch from its baked seeded crust) in the Mezze to share starter. It’s zillion times better than the hyped up cauliflower pizza crust, and more creative than most recipes featuring this cruciferous brassica. The Farmacy salad with beet dressing & flax crisp bread is perfect in half size if ordered with other dishes. Some bowls like the Kimchi with soba are refreshing while others like the seasonal Winter bowl (whipped squash, warm red cabbage with cardamom, buckwheat, celeriac and carrot remoulade, toasted brussels sprouts with a mildly spicy creamy sauce) are richly abundant. The Winter Bowl was a but too mushy though, with an aspiring hot red cabbage that turned my Central European nose up (granny does better). The bowls and the millet, bean and mushroom-based burger with fries make for a meal so skip the starters, although some are too good not to try – share. The burger is good, but not amazing, ironically it’s the dry bread bun that my inner critic turned down.

é
From the drinks I enjoy the herbals like the blood-cleaning beet and cinnamon infusion or the medicinal mushroom latte. Tea is sourced from Uk-based Jing. My husband likes the cold-pressed juices and iced-teas. I do not order any of these cold beverages because of the single use plastic straws bathing in them. Only filtered tap water served in reusable glass bottles speak the language of my consciousness. They can definitely move their sustainable credentials a step ahead by crossing off their plastic inventory.
Dining at Farmacy is suitable all year round since seasonal recipes surprise you and warm dishes feel great in winter. At raw eateries like nearby Nama Foods and Tanya’s Raw in Kensignton only drinks can heat your body up in their cosy embrace.

MUST HAVE: Mezze for two to share (kale chips, chestnut humus, crispy flatbread and wow the cauliflower popcorn). Kimchi Bowl with soba, Farmacy Salad laced with red beet dressing, Beet & cinnamon cleansing infusion.

Farmacy, 74-76 Westbourne Grove, London W2 5SH

+44 20 7221 0705
Daily 9am-5pm; Dinner 5-10pm

The Single Thread experience: seamless Japanese omotenashi hospitality in the agrarian California

There is nothing comparable to Single Thread in the complex genre of seasonal kaiseki in America. The Chef’s Table famed N/naka in LA, curated by Japan-born chef Niki Nakayama nods to this culinary art form, but bellow the level of the Single Thread experience. The restaurant and inn are like a twin dart striking the centre of your heart where excellent ingredients, Japanese food culture and innovative culinary techniques that elevate rather than ridicule the plate are one’s passions.

Decades of expertise, dedication, and an open mind with boundless curiosity, yielded bounty of unparalleled fecundity back home in the Sonoma County. Ever since the inspectors stepped into the few months-old restaurant, the veteran of French, Japanese and molecular culinary techniques and the chef cum owner Kyle Connaughton engraved his two stars on the California Michelin map. In 2018 a third star landed promptly.

Healdsburg is finally worthy of a special journey for fine dining voyagers. The farmers’ den of Sonoma County gathered pace, showing off what the region grows in the creative edibles served at Shed, the casual shop and event space cum café in town. Single Thread is more, a farm, luxury inn and a gastronomic eden in the agrarian California.

The husband chef and wife farmer on their home turf

Kyle and Katina Connaughton employed omotenashi, the Japanese concept of anticipating and fulfilling people’s needs in advance, so“every service is from the bottom of the heart – honest, no hiding, no pretending”, wrote Mandy Li for the Michelin guide. The Connaughtons had a taste of this cultural wholesomeness when work landed them in Japan. At Michel Bras’ Toya in Hokkaido, Kyle mastered kaiseki, izakaya, soba, and sushi. Later, as head chef of research and development at The Fat Duck Experimental Kitchen in England the chef penetrated the penchant of Heston Blumenthal for molecular cuisine. He also assisted with publication of culinary masterpiece The Big Fat Duck Cookbook. Katina developed her gardening and farming skills in Japan, learning ikebana and haiku poetry, that in her personal style – handwritten on a small card joins the menu with a seed bag to plant at your home. This gift along with the charming, mini floral arrangement inspires wonder and fascination with nature.

The Single Thread experience

From entering through the massive wooden doors you are visually welcomed by the kitchen hum. The smoothness of the cooks’ moves strikes you immediately. After the host strips away your coat, you are invited for the first bite and a sip by the kitchen counter. A gallery of Japanese artisan donabe pots displayed along the open kitchen’s walls evoke nature’s palette. Stone grey, clay gris, silvery steel counters, together with the chestnut, ginkgo and oak hues spanning earthenware, the later mostly unique pieces brought over from Japan personally by the team. Some cups and plates were designed by the acclaimed Shinichiro Ogata‘s Simplicity in Japan. A collector’s passion for donabes nudged Kyle Connaughton to co-author (with Naoko Takei Moore) a cookbook that most home cooks utilise more than his gastronomic complexities. Staying upstairs at the inn is a privilege, as a guest you can enjoy comforting in-room dining starring the hotpot of your choice (seafood, meat or tofu).

Weather allowing, an elevator lifts you up to the rooftop. Like in a cinema veritè, the low-built Healdsburg reveals one of the smallest towns in America. Surrounded by crawling vines and ripening tomatoes, seated by a cracking fire, an aperitif of your choice marks the special occasion about to pamper you.

A few moments later, descending to the design awards-winning dining room, you are seated in comforting, cushioned chairs and double-sofas at a silky smooth walnut table. Japan-inspired linen lanterns lit the living room that feels eons more private than the communal loudness popularised by the Nordic dining concepts recently. Now, the orchestra of cooks takes over. The curtains of culinary hedonism are lifted with an assortment of small, mostly one-bite appetisers. Arranged on and around a massive, real bark tray, some cushioned on a carpet of moss, others beautified with flowers, leaves or shoots or nesting in dried grass, the Autumnal Equinox (September), Early Autumn in Sonoma (October) and other cold and warm seasonal produce whets your appetite. Plants, local and Japanese seafood caught sustainably, and a triptych of Single Thread farm eggs: a custard topped with sustainable caviar, Hokkaido uni over an egg, and an ultra-smooth potato mash with seasonal fish.

Tomatoes from the farm, shiso tofu, serpentine cucumber

Next courses highlight local catch in its pristine rawness. Akebana kanpachi followed by shima aji sashimi course or Bodega bay wild king salmon followed by Monterey Bay abalone were flawless.
In a warm pot arrives silky Homemade tofu ladled over heirloom tomatoes, Jimi Nardello pepper, Saikyo miso and olive oil.
Squash or Tomatoes from the farm underline current harvest. The tomatoes with shiso tofu, serpentine cucumber, and charred negi (bunching white onion) were delicate and balanced.
A grilled fish course like superbly cooked Black cod, sweet corn, kohlrabi, and wild nori seaweed moves the kaiseki to larger plates. We ad cod also the previous year. Prepared as a homage to Fukkura-san with leeks, vegetables from the farm, broth of young lettuces and gyokuro green tea it was very different, but also exquisite.
Custom-handmade cutting knives by Bloodroot Blades (the waitlist is years-long) are paraded for your personal choice of tool to cut the protein about to be served. Perfectly hearth roasted lamb loin or Texan marbled wagyu in the meat course are accompanied by obscure, but delicious in exotic Japanese titles presented ingredients like Kanpyo (dried shavings of calabash gourd), Komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach), Chingensai (bok choy), Kamo Nasu (lilac, ball shaped eggplant) stirring the travel bug. You can supplement the meat for fish or vegetarian course. My Aka Amadai with spaceship spinach, Hakurei turnip, and soy cream was superb.
Sonoma Grains always come with a seasonally creative twist. The heirloom grains with lamb breast connected with he previous course, added black garlic, and Matsutake mushroom “tea” like a true gohan fill you up as the last savoury course. Better even than at the Kyoto’s three Michelin stared Kikunoi! LA’s n/naka can silently observe and note the perfection.

Golden Sesame Semifreddo with Fig and Pinot Noir Grapes

The 10-course kaiseki tails off with two cold desserts and an assortment of wagashi, the mildly sweet morsels to savour with a cup of tea. Blue hyssop, Medjool date and walnut, and spearmint to freshen your mouth during our first 2017 visit, yuzu and Thai basil after Roasted fig leaf and walnut treacle perfect with the smoky roasted houjicha I sipped recently. Brooklyn’s Kettl supplies the superb Japanese tea, while the herbals mostly come from the farm. Elderflower granitè with cucumber and peach pre-dessert was a lovable treat and so was the palate invigorating melon sorbet, melon liquorice, plum marshmallow, and sunflower seed the previous fall. The desserts were all centred around being frozen, like the pennyroyal “laychee” sherbet, whipped lemon posset, fig compote, and apple this October or the richer golden sesame semifreddo with fig and Pinot Noir grapes, pickled, jellied and jammed served last September. Staying at the inn? Peak into your freezer as more frozen delectables wait for your spoon.
The wine list is very good, but the pairing is focused on curiosities than local experiences. Nevertheless, our whims were catered to as the head sommelier curated purely US-sourced wine tasting each night. A white wine from Ridge Monte Bello and Rhone-blend by Tablas Creek next to Ceritas Pinot Noir and the rare white Sauvignon Blanc by Eiselle Vineyards took even the chef into the backstage.

Staying at the Single Thread inn turned us into fans. For three nights nesting in a luxe corner suite with a fireplace, enjoying the bounty of its farm through countless amenities, with a yoga and pilates studio across the street, cycling and running trails along the Russian River we felt like at home. Balanced, indulged and happy.

Bringing Single Thread to life, the husband and wife duo seem to have found their ikigai, the purpose driving their life forward. Any guest can feel the authentic, wholesome love and care invested into the project. The creation of perfection with strong emotional input. Every detail like the ikebana flowers from the farm, candles and toiletries in the bathrooms, lovable slippers, Japan meets local production curated minibar (think kombucha, yuzu soda, superfood snacks developed for Render where Kyle also lends his creative know-how with other award-winning chefs, daily ground coffee, even riesling in a can, …), daily fresh pastry from the two Michelin stared kitchen (reminds me of the best French chefs’ five star lodgings), and daily free of charge platter of local Shigoku oysters, charcuterie and cheese, seasonal fruits. Practical tolls like iconic knives by Laguiole help to cut and open anything. Only the caviar comes with an extra surcharge.

A bottle of local wine custom-made for Single Thread by Davis Family Vineyards (a smooth, mature Syrah for us) for your in-room cravings. Still and sparkling water is filtered by the Vera system for sustainable hydration. A gem hides in your freezer, the house-made seasonal sorbet, Thai basil and pear for us ticked all the boxes of hedonism. In the bathroom, Aesop pampers your skin, binchotan charcoal towels purify your face, bath salts and candles sooth your weary travel bug, and Botnia organic gift bag hydrates your face. We soaked in the XXL bath daily. Oh, and the breakfast, otherworldly. We tried almost the entire menu – an assortment of the multi-course Japanese (the homemade yuba and tofu were extraordinary and the seasonal rice donabe filled us up), Sonoma (top notch California cheese), à la carte warm fruit scones, superb Sonoma grains porridge (wholesome) and the best avocado toast we had in California. We could have it every day – served on a sourdough, the poached running egg with sesame, flowers and green perfection. We only skipped the bacon-laden English breakfast created as a tribute to Heston Blumenthal.

The five rooms were like the restaurant designed by AvroKO, and the entire building embodies the feeling of being “lived in, homey and residential” to Connaughton’s liking, but its far more. There is no interior like Single Thread of such artisan excellence in the Sonoma County, not even in the established riches of the Napa Valley opulence. The visuals mirror the experience.

Recently, Single Thread expanded their dining options to weekend lunches, so those who do not stay in town, can savour the omotenashi without a compromise.
SingleThread: 131 North Street, Healdsburg, CA 95448
+1 707 723 4646

« First ‹ Prev 17 18 192021 22 23 Next ›Last »