I’ll openly confess that my body needs a break from all those animal and dairy fats now and then. If you’ve lived a life like mine, rich in brazen filth and shameless excess – there are only a handful of opportunities where I can be sanctimonious, and eating the “flexitarian” way is one of them. That’s 80% plant-based, 20% fish-based. That’s Chef Teresa Carles’s philosophy, in case you’re wondering. She’s an advocate of nut smoothies, gluten-free pizza, dumplings, kombucha, kale, quinoa bowls, omega-3 shots, and plenty more besides. There are breakfasts, brunches, lunches, and dinners – all made from stuff that’s good for you and the planet. The glass-panelled restaurant is tucked away on the characterful Carrer Tallers, near Plaça Universitat, and comes with booths and banquettes clad in vintage fabrics. This flagship location first opened its doors in 2014, inside a beautifully restored two-story building, as part of the brand’s original expansion following their launch in Plaça Castella that same year.
“My sweet horny” isn’t a pet name for your lover but you might want to drink it before meeting them as it contains herbaceous maca root – that’s Peruvian ginseng which is a libido apparently. What we got was cold pressed juice of pineapple, coconut water, melon and aloe vera to go with our natural viagra.
Fancying something sweet I opened for the vegan cookie €2.50 “casolana amb xips de xocolata raw”. Was it tasty? Yeah it was, and if you’re waiting for a “but”, there is one as it didn’t quite hit those dairy fat, thigh cladding highs you get from a conventional chocolate but that besides the point right? It’s a “healthy indulgence”.
Fancying something sweet, I went for the vegan cookie €2.50, casolana amb xips de xocolata raw. Was it tasty? Yeah, it was. And if you’re waiting for a “but” – there is one. It didn’t quite hit those dairy-fat, thigh-cladding highs you get from a conventional chocolate chip cookie. But that’s beside the point, right? It’s a healthy indulgence.
Scandal Scramble is an assemblage of free-range eggs, a mélange of mushrooms, spinach, tomato, green garlic, feta cheese, carrots, and six-grain whole wheat bread. And no, you don’t get ketchup, instead, there’s a little tub of crushed tomatoes. The extra-ordered slithers of basketball-orange salmón marinado €2.45 look and taste wild-caught.
Crunchy Fish Taco de Teresa’s Stairway €4.95 comes with a nixtamalized corn flour tortilla. (To save you from Googling: nixtamalization is the process of soaking corn, then cooking it in an alkaline solution — usually limewater – followed by washing and hulling. The goal? To strip 97–100% of aflatoxins from mycotoxin-contaminated corn). Inside, you get cubed yellowfin tuna, white cabbage, coriander, spring onion, an anointment of house-made chipotle-pink sauce, slinky slices of avocado, and sesame seeds. How did it taste? Very finish-able.
Verdict
When did I go? March 2019
The damage: Expect to pay €15/25 per head with juice
The good: Come here for a soul cleansing afternoon, gorge and feel good about yourself. You’ll probably save money on that enema bill too, if that’s not sanctimonious then I don’t know what is!
The bad: If you’re after shameless filth, then look away.
Rating: 3/5
Would I go again? You don’t need to ask me twice!
Address: Carrer dels Tallers, 74b, 08001 Barcelona, Spain
Web: https://flaxandkale.com/flax-and-kale-tallers
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