The healthiest restaurants in the world

The healthiest restaurants in the world. Where can you go to get a ‘good’ meal? And when we say good we mean a sustainably sourced, nutrient-dense, predominantly vegetarian or vegan, plant-based, all dietary requirements considered, conscious meal.

Going out to eat is always an indulgence and quite often the result is that we splash out and select foods which we would not normally eat. Sometimes we don’t end up going for the healthiest option, and often we aren’t being served the best ingredients.

The following list of restaurants are a refreshingly innovative range of exclusively healthy eateries from cities around the world which lean towards the modern movement of nutrient-dense mindful dietary requirements of today’s diners.

UNITED KINGDOM

Not renowned for their indigenous cuisine being the healthiest of options, the UK are nevertheless top of their game when it comes to fine dining and keeping in tune with culinary innovation. This place had to make it on the ‘best of’ list when it came to selecting the top healthy restaurants worldwide.

FARMACY, LONDON

Serving three meals a day this Notting Hill restaurant specialises in healthy and comforting vegan and vegetarian food, priding themselves on preparing dishes free from dairy, refined sugar, additives and chemicals. This is clean indulgence at its best with globally-inspired organic dishes and earth conscious ingredients that deliver a meal with mindfulness and healing at its core. Ms Camilla al-Fayed’s restaurant supports eating as nature intended as they come from the position that “from the soil to the sun, everything above, below and between us is connected” as their website claims, and that as humans we have lost our understanding of food as medicine needing to reconnect with food in its natural form. Their ethos is “to raise our collective consciousness, creating dishes that have the power to restore, rebalance, and heal.”  Their ‘Earth Bowls’ are some of the many popular dishes on the menu featuring fermented foods alongside the healthiest vegan versions of rice and a plethora of fresh vegetables. And then there’s the signature ‘Farmacy Burger’ consisting of millet, black bean & mushroom, aquafaba aioli, goji ketchup, carrot & celeriac remoulade, house-made pickles & tomato in a sourdough bun, served with your choice of potato chips or sweet potato fries. Sounds complicated but check out the balance of nutrients and fibre, whole grains and greens. Or the ‘Kimchi Bowl’ with soba noodles, spicy kimchi, sautéed chard stems, raw kolhrabi, raw brine carrots, marinated mushrooms, radish sprouts & tamarind vinaigrette. Farmacy, we salute you!

SPAIN

Mediterranean cuisine is one of the healthiest diets in the world as it stands, and so it isn’t a huge surprise that a Spanish restaurant would make it onto this list. However, the level of plant-based earth conscious restaurants in the country are few and far between and so this one stands out from the crowd. 

FLAX & KALE, BARCELONA 

A rarity in Spain this restaurant boasts being a flexitarian establishment; basically this is a predominantly vegetarian diet, and therefore menu, but on occasion welcomes the odd sustainably sourced fish dish. The menu is exactly that with some fascinating vegan recipes to boot; raw lasagne anyone? The restaurant was introduced by the same group who brought us Teresa Carles, another of the city’s successful vegetarian establishments. However, Flax & Kale has taken mindful eating to new levels with young, forward-thinking and health-minded clientele.  80% of their dishes are plant-based and only 20% of recipes containing sustainably sourced fish. The owners are aware that there is little doubt in this day and age of the correlation between healthy food and a healthy life and so aim to provide a range of dishes to support optimum vitality; such as gluten-free pizza, Asian fusion and a Kombucha lab amongst other offerings. One highly recommended meal is the salmon mini burgers served on wholegrain spelt bread with roasted sweet potatoes and cold-pressed beetroot juice. Earthy and heavenly all at once.

teresacarles.com

FRANCE

Renowned for their passion for food, the French do maintain a relatively healthy stance when it comes to diet, Paris being one of the top cities for fine foods, and so this establishment was a no-brainer when it came to listing it as one of the top healthy restaurants in the world.

CAFÉ PINSON, PARIS

This high-end healthy restaurant is fast becoming an explosive scene in the city of Paris, veering away from the traditional cheeses, breads, meats and buttery love the French have always embraced with a passion. To be seen dining out in the city at a health-conscious restaurant is all the rage, especially at brunch-time. American chef Camril Kaundart specialises in converting vegetables and whole grains into elegant, incredibly tasty dishes. His abilities are world-renowned and having opened a second restaurant within a year of opening, founder Agathe (author of SuperJus and blog laminutepapillon) is proud of their dairy-free, vegetarian and vegan-friendly, raw food option filled, 100% organic, wheat-free, high-quality ingredient based menus. Menus change frequently as they follow seasonal produce. The first restaurant in true café style is open for breakfast, lunch and snacks, the second (Pinson Marais) has expanded to offer dinner.

AUSTRALIA

Australians do food really well. They’re not only famous for throwing absolutely everything on the BBQ whilst chugging a few beers; their high level of cuisine in the major cities is outstanding and definitely comes top of many culinary lists, so it was no surprise to find this sparkling gem.

TRANSFORMER, MELBOURNE

The Aussies come from all walks of life but when it comes to food they can reach high-end cuisine and beyond without a hitch. Transformer, a Melbourne-based half vegan half vegetarian restaurant, is an exquisite example of this with chef Luke Florence and Bryce Edwards taking the reigns in the kitchen producing some epic veggie delights. Their stance is “innovative, plant-focussed dining” as they proudly state; think burrata with nectarine, ginger and lemon chutney, rocket, mint and lemon myrtle. The restaurant has nailed the concept entirely with this transformed warehouse-style setting with dish origins ranging from the Mediterranean, Middle East and Asia. This is a sophisticated dining experience which puts personal health as a priority alongside flavour and innovation proving that food needn’t compromise our wellbeing. On the contrary, eating out ought to be a promotion of discovering alternative ways to keep well, as Transformer achieves in an authentic and well thought out manner – how about some ricotta and rye gnocchi with pumpkin mousse and blueberry compote, for example? 

USA

The States have a pretty bad global reputation as far as their diet is concerned. Obesity is a major problem and processed fast foods being top of many a person’s food choices. However this is a huge generalisation as there are some fabulous restaurants and exceptional chefs all over America, especially in New York and Los Angeles, as well as the movement towards healthier and sustainable eating being a priority in many areas.

PLANT FOOD & WINE, L.A

This place is heaving; people are flocking here constantly to try out the vegan delights created by one Matthew Kenney. This is conscious food at its best; “our food is created by three actions – sourcing impeccable ingredients, applying innovative tools and techniques, and dreaming”, claims the California-based company behind the establishment. There are small plates, big dishes and sharing platters, plus an extensive organic and biodynamic wine list. Stylishly located in Venice Beach the foundation of the restaurant is “based on proprietary techniques and creative thinking applied to prepare minimally processed, plant-based cuisine that is both refined and healthful,” they say of the unique dining experience. Their drive is to create a combination of culinary art alongside ultimate nutrition. And that they do with their delicious, vibrant and nutritious menu. Think cacao e pepe, made with kelp noodles, peppery ginger, sunflower sprouts with a horse radish foam.

matthewkenneycuisine.com/plant-food-wine-venice

CAFÉ CLOVER, NEW YORK

The menu at Café Clover, by chef Mr David Standridge, focusses on light, vegetable orientated dishes. It is not a strictly vegetarian restaurant with lobster accented with coconut oil and kohlrabi being a favourite on the men. The charming West Village location is a meeting point which transforms the simplest of market-fresh ingredients into imaginative exquisite taste sensations with a huge onus on health. The dishes which do feature other ingredients than plants are all sustainably and ethically sourced and all dietary requirements are catered for. Open for brunches, lunches and dinner this is a stunning example of conscious dining with bells on! I would try the grilled avocado with hearts of palm, heirloom tomatoes, coconut water vinaigrette, red shiso to start, followed by the lobster coconut curry: half a Maine lobster, matcha crepe, sweet potato, and pineapple sambal.

As the world rapidly embraces the need for a healthier diet and an increase in plant-based food consumption, this is the of future dining out and the way food is crafted, hopefully inspiring a more nutritious exploration of cuisine in the home at the same time.