Superfoods, St Stephen’s St: Review

There’s nowhere else in Bristol that’s quite like Superfoods on St Stephen’s Street. Billing itself as “the home of clean eating”, it’s a fast food restaurant with a difference.

If you’re after bread, bacon, cheese or caffeine, you won’t find it here: Superfoods is all about organic (mostly), local and nutritious “fast food”, serving no white carbs, caffeine, processed meats or low nutrient food stuffs. Ultimately, it’s the perfect place to grab breakfast, lunch or dinner (they’re open from 8am to 11pm Monday to Saturday) for those looking to lose weight, bulk up or maintain a healthy lifestyle.

The premises is a huge space, featuring a large seating area, a drinks fridge, a long, low chiller counter full of a variety of salads and treats – and, randomly, the first Bitcoin ATM in the UK to appear outside of London. There are pots of fresh wheatgrass on top of the counter, ready to be blitzed into wheatgrass shots, and an extensive menu on one wall that offers a vast amount of choice of main meals, drinks, snacks and healthy treats.

I often shy away from places like this, as I’ve had experience in the past of poor customer service at similar establishments with staff who treat you as if you shouldn’t be there if you’re not super fit and toned. It was refreshing to see that this wasn’t the case at Superfoods: both members of staff were smiley, friendly and polite, giving me no feelings of discomfort whatsoever.

The menu is designed to allow you to create your own meals based on your own dietary requirements and exercise goals. With this in mind, it was a shame to see that there was no nutritional information given for any of the menu items, but this is apparently coming with the next menu redesign. It was also great to see menu labelling that listed whether items were vegan, gluten-free or vegan AND gluten-free.

The range of drinks offered includes bottled “SuperDrinks”, juices, smoothies and shakes, with the option of adding extras such as spirulina, acai berry, protein powder and more to “SuperCharge” your drink. Snacks include porridge, fruit salad and more, while there are also various “SuperTreats” available, including chickpea and peanut butter cookies, protein ice cream and other nutritious treats.

I was there for lunch. Main meal choices include a SuperWrap for £4.95, which allows you to choose one protein, two sides and one glaze/dressing/dip from a comprehensive list – or a SuperBox with “Refuel”, “Reduce” or “Replenish” options, depending on your health goals.

I went for a “Reduce” box, which allowed me to choose one protein, four sides and one glaze, dressing or dip for £5.95. The choices were difficult to make, but I eventually went for a beautifully cooked lemon chicken; sides of spinach, crunchy beetroot, a vibrant Caribbean coleslaw complete with pineapple and a flavoursome fennel salad – plus a side of guacamole.

As you can see from the photos, the box was generously packed and provided a more than generous lunchtime serving to keep me going until dinner. I would suggest that they could maybe offer boxes in different sizes, as I struggled to finish this!

At £5.95, it was great value for money and a nutritious and tasty alternative to a sandwich – and offering far more choice than my fridge normally would for a homemade salad box! Superfoods also offer a free delivery service (if your order is over £15) to your home, office or gym between 11am and 11pm Monday-Saturday, along with a range of plans. Check out their Facebook page for details of their offers, such as the delivery of 2 meals and 2 drinks every day of the working week for £69, along with 5 day SuperDetox cleanses for £99. It may seem a little niche compared with many of Bristol’s food and drink venues, but Superfoods is definitely worth checking out if you’re looking for a healthy, nutritious and tasty alternative to your existing diet.