http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/restaurant/1a12l8s/leon <b>Leon</b><br />London, 35-36 Great Marlborough St, W1F 7JB, United Kingdom en http://trustedplaces.com/uploads/placepics/trustedplaces.comaPlacePic['name']}.140.jpg http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/restaurant/1a12l8s/leon http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/restaurant/1a12l8s/leon/1b98c7
Review by mazphd

Rating: 2.00
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The words that enticed me into Leon's was 'quality', 'fresh', and 'natural'. 'Fast' was just a bonus.

Well i'm going to disagree with the other reviewers. Leon's is 'fast', but there is something underhand in their marketing going on here. On a wet and rainy day at one end of Carnaby street I and my fellow lunching companion opted for the houmous, Leon's own take on the classic coleslaw salad, Falafal and sweet potatoe wrap and Lemon and mint Ginger zingers to wash it all down.

Service was rude and brash. And when asking about the 'superfood salad' of the day was informed that the dressing could not be replaced as it came pre-packaged! haha what a joke, how fresh is that?! This particular Leon's was messy with used open food carts left on tables and chairs and further rubbish on the floor.

For the food i was expected a superior fresh, fabulous and quality experience. Sad to say i was disappointed. The ingreditents of the Lemon, mint and ginger zingers at no point mention a sweetner. Well this must be an ommission as these things are Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet, and not in a hippy way. The amount of sugar coating the roof of my mouth transported me back to teenage angst spotty spec days. Far from the 'healthy' tag line.

The falafal wrap was falling apart, more unwrapped in this case. There was a slap/dash approach to the presentation that suggested more 'we're in a hurry', than 'we're really healthy'. My salad slaw was OK, but the honey vingeragerette left things overly sweet (again) and oversaturated the vegetables that were far from fresh.

It's difficult to go wrong with houmous, but Leon's managed to produce an overly bland and swimming in oil pot of chickpea related 'stuff'.

I won't be going back to Leon's until they clean up their 'healthy' act. Overall: Overpriced, overhyped and under-fresh :-P]]> Sun, 13 Apr 2008 07:53:05 +0000 /review/uk/london/restaurant/1a12l8s/leon/1b98c71765221308 mazphd 51.513107259786 -0.13948828625394 http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/restaurant/1a12l8s/leon/1e97m6
Review by gastro1

Rating: 4.00
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A great idea quality healthy fast food.

Superb superfood salad and chicken nuggets ( actually a knd of shish taouk)

Breakfast is great too superb organic porrige and sausage and bacon baps.

They need to improve their coffee the roast they use is on the bitter side and the baristas can't make a good espresso machiato.

Now in several locations the question is will it scale and maintain quality and standards ?]]> Mon, 03 Mar 2008 20:19:18 +0000 /review/uk/london/restaurant/1a12l8s/leon/1e97m61273407202 gastro1 51.513107259786 -0.13948828625394 http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/restaurant/1a12l8s/leon/1g65x7
Review by nikosk

Rating: 3.00
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I'm happy to pay a premium for freshly prepared food made using decent quality ingredients, but £6.30 to take-away three small pieces of "sweet potato falafel", one small tub of coleslaw and a tub of hummus is pusshing it... "Falafels" were nice but did not in any way resemble actual falafels; they were more like sweet potato cakes. Coleslaw was pretty good and a refreshing escape from the typical mayo drenched rubbish you get in most places (by the way, coleslaw does not necessarily have mayonaise). The hummus was somewhere between mediocre and rubbish. The texture was too coarse and it was not seasoned enough. It is true that ready-made food tends to contain too much salt and MSG and it's great to avoid these, but reaching the other extreme is equally bad (at least as far as taste goes). The "free" flatbread was a bit dry.

Been there a couple of other times (I work round the corner)and the patern tends to be similar - food is ok but quantity/price and quality/price ratios poor. I'm probably not gonna go for a while (until I foget what the food's like and get drawn by the, admittedly, inviting facade of the place).

On a positive note, the staff have always been very friendly.]]> Thu, 08 Nov 2007 15:07:55 +0000 /review/uk/london/restaurant/1a12l8s/leon/1g65x71822057534 nikosk 51.513107259786 -0.13948828625394 http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/restaurant/1a12l8s/leon/1a6567
Review by dloizou

Rating: 3.00
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I have heard colleges rave about Leon, so on a cold Autum day, unsure what to do with my lunch hour I wandered into the Regent St branch to find exactly what I was expecting, a good menu of hot and cold foods which all sounded wonderful.

I settled for the roasted sweet potato falafel wrap at around £3.50 and a large (fair trade) cappuccino.

The falafel was VERY TASTEY but quite lean - I think I would have needed at least two to be satisfed with value for money at that price. Sadly the coffee was just AWEFUL - it had bits in the bottom of it - bits of what I have no idea but it was just wrong (I was too cold to go back to ask for an explanation). I am sure this is not generally the case or perhaps the staff just didn't care that day but I felt let down.

I must be in the minority though as there were queue's out the door.

I don't think I'd go back to this Leon. If I did I would not order a coffee again.

In general my opinion is its a great concept with good wholesome food but the place does not rate highly on my value for money scale.


]]> Fri, 26 Oct 2007 15:38:23 +0000 /review/uk/london/restaurant/1a12l8s/leon/1a6567137544582 dloizou 51.513107259786 -0.13948828625394 http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/restaurant/1a12l8s/leon/1n84l8
Review by lenalouise

Rating: 3.00
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Me and a few friends were looking for somewhere to sit and catch up around carnaby street and wandered into Leon. None of us had been there before and was pleasantly surprised as it has healthier food which didn't consist of different varieties of sandwiches and a great selection of drinks :D I couldn't say if the food was any good, we didn't eat but I tried to peer into some food boxes of people around us but had no luck (without appearing like a crazy person!).

They have a surprisingly large back bit with more seats so if you don't mind sitting indoors, it's great. The air conditioning was a bit too cold though. I had the lemon and ginger drink when I went. It was REALLY good (I don't even like ginger by the way). The coffee's alright aswell.

]]> Mon, 24 Sep 2007 10:47:21 +0000 /review/uk/london/restaurant/1a12l8s/leon/1n84l81619376660 lenalouise 51.513107259786 -0.13948828625394 http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/restaurant/1a12l8s/leon/1m84u8
Review by caffeinehit

Rating: 4.00
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I love this place, the food is brilliant. It can get quite crowded so be suprised if you can't find anywhere to park yourself during lunch or in the evening.

To my knowledge there's no other organic, superfood restaurants like this in the middle of town. If you find yourself around Oxford / Carnaby Street and are a bit hungry you should pop in to Leon.]]> Fri, 21 Sep 2007 16:59:08 +0000 /review/uk/london/restaurant/1a12l8s/leon/1m84u81418103224 caffeinehit 51.513107259786 -0.13948828625394 http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/restaurant/1a12l8s/leon/1743y8
Review by girlswear

Rating: 3.00
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As I passed by Leon's Ludgate Circus location, I thought to myself, what a cute little restaurant! I later found out all the rave about Leon -- quick, reasonably priced, organic, healthy fast food. I was thrilled something like that would exist! Fabulous entrepreneurial concept!

I went to the little tucked away Carnaby location two days ago after catching a cheapie matinée at Prince Charles, just for a little snack and a tea. Décor was cute, warm, with lots of branded retro 1800s colourful French style posters. I looked up at the menu, I was a little confused as it was a Mediterranean menu instead of the expected French baguette with brie.

The pricing seems reasonable, sides from £2, quicky lunch is about £3.50-11. From Grilled chicken nuggets with aioli, Moroccan meatballs, coucous to humous. Whether you want a little snack or a full meal, there's quite a selection there. Not to mention their range of juices and tea. I couldn't resist but to order the fresh steeped mint tea!

I only ordered the small tub pilaff: basmati brown rice, sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, raisins and dill. Sounded wonderful! We were served very quickly though it wasn't during busy hours. The food was served in the most adorable little paper tubs! My tea was too hot to drink and my rice was also hot. My friend had the Moroccan meatballs and flatbread. The rice wasn't as good as I expected, not enough raisins and the rice was a little dry.

I will go back again and try more of their different items on the menu. It was good but not sure if it lives up to all the fuss.]]> Sat, 23 Jun 2007 10:04:37 +0000 /review/uk/london/restaurant/1a12l8s/leon/1743y8372582247 girlswear 51.513107259786 -0.13948828625394 http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/restaurant/1a12l8s/leon/1y52f8
Review by Niamheen

Rating: 2.00
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Leon should be a good place to eat. When it first opened it won the Observer Food Monthly Newcomer of the Year Award. Lots of people were talking about it. Fresh healthy food that isn't overpriced and is very quick. Sounds like my cup of tea! We had to try it. We first went about a year ago and it was a bitterly disappointing experience - the food was just warm, the bowls it was served in were chipped, the service was haphazard and it wasn't all that cheap in reality. We thought we'd try it again, perhaps it was an off day? They were expanding and maybe they'd sent some experienced staff to start up a new branch? Plus, everyone else seems to like Leon. So, we went yesterday evening to the the Carnaby St branch for a bite.

I like the decor, it's warm, retro and quite casual. It's cosy but not overly so. A little kitsch. It's very well branded. We got a table after about 5 minutes and ordered pretty quickly from their springtime menu. It looked promising. The table was unfortunately dirty even though we had waited and watched them clean it. We went for the chorizo, aloo gobi, meatballs, healthy chicken nuggets and pilaff with a small carafe of house red & a beer. The food was served promptly but to our disappointment it was cold! Again. And the presentation was sloppy. There was food down the outside of two of the bowls. We called the waitress and explained that the food wasn't that hot and she brought someone over who just didn't believe us. The bowls were hot yes, but the food inside was just warm not hot. They took two bowls back to the kitchen to heat them up and in a display of how hot they now were dropped them on the table like hot coals. They came back and asked us how they were now and we explained that yes, those two were now hot but the other two were warm not hot. She shrugged her shoulders and walked away. Sigh. On the taste front, the chorizo and meatballs were tasty, particularly the chorizo and accompanying olives but the gobi was overly sweet and underspiced and the chicken was cold and gristly, the yoghurt served with it was a good accompaniment though.

We didn't fancy following up with coffees and a dessert, we just wanted the bill so we could leave. Despite our complaints a hefty 12.5% was added to the bill (optional wasn't indicated anywhere). I was tempted to ask them to remove it but I couldn't be bothered. Given our experience it promised to be alot of hassle.

We did grab a brownie on the way out, and this, was actually very good. So, I won't be going back, except maybe for a take-away brownie. I have been told that their salads are better but I think I'd prefer to go to Mildreds around the corner in future. Leon seems to be more about the business than the food. ]]> Thu, 07 Jun 2007 13:15:48 +0000 /review/uk/london/restaurant/1a12l8s/leon/1y52f81825560250 Niamheen 51.513107259786 -0.13948828625394 http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/restaurant/1a12l8s/leon/1r72e7
Review by Sami

Rating: 5.00
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I went here for lunch today while wandering around Carnaby Street. I had read about it and had been meaning to try it, so off I went to check out this little fast food joint, one in a small chain of about 5 scattered around central London.

Cutting through the patio and upon entering the storefront, I was faced with a bank of cash registers and a big board overhead, outlining the menu. One journalist/reviewer likened it to a McDonald's cash desk, but the similarity ends there.

Feeling a bit veggie, I went for their super salad: petits pois flavoured with mint, broccoli, cucumber, alfalfa sprouts, avocado, quinoa, and some beautifully salted and creamy feta cheese. The dressing was light, served on the side, and the salad itself came in a cute brown cardboard box, a bit like the stereotypical Chinese takeout boxes. However, if you're hungrier than I was, they have a variety of wraps and meat-based salads.

They also serve breakfast which ranges from your full English breakfast to organic porridge and honey to yogurt and croissants, and a range of smoothies, but I was really pleased that there was one price whether you chose to sit in the restaurant or take your meal away with you; it's maddening and insulting when small eateries charge an eat-in price and something I have yet to become accustomed to, as a North American.

I checked out their website and they offer an evening menu based on hot and cold mezze, and for all the hard City worker bees out there, most of their locations are open until 11 pm during week-days. And for those of you that are in charge of taking care of the catering for your company meetings, they offer that too!

Although cafés, or cafs as the locals lovingly call them, are an institution in their own right, I don't share the national affection for "greasy spoon" cuisine no matter how broke or hungry I might be, and this little spot fits the bill just perfectly - my salad rang in at a very wallet-friendly 3.95.

I'm impressed, truly: a great selection of healthy, nutritious food with worldwide influences, a cute, clean spot with nice staff, and fantastic opening hours. I am quite pleased with my little find as I continue my culinary adventure of London.

If you've been, I'd love to hear your thoughts!]]> Fri, 25 May 2007 00:06:47 +0000 /review/uk/london/restaurant/1a12l8s/leon/1r72e71780304122 Sami 51.513107259786 -0.13948828625394