There’s nothing like new year to make you consider trying to be a little healthier. Luckily for us here in Leicester we’ve got the brilliant KAI on St Martin’s Square who are making it all a little bit easier for us.
If you’re not yet familiar with KAI, they’re located next door to Gelato Village in St Martin’s Square and they’re serving up a delicious selection of salads, healthy hot food options, all day brunch, evening Buddha Bowls plus organic tea and coffee. Vegan or taking the Veganuary challenge? There’ll be plenty to keep you happy here! The decor of the place is minimalist and really in keeping with the vibe of what they’re trying to achieve.
KAI is open all day until 6pm, but on Friday and Saturday evenings they stay open until 10pm to serve up their Buddha Bowls; hearty, healthy dishes made with raw or roasted vegetables and quinoa or brown rice, plus a twist of seeds, dressings and choice of protein to add. There are 4 Buddha Bowls to choose from, with the classic Buddha Bowl containing organic quinoa with a chimichurri dressing, smashed avocado, beetroot pate, kale, carrot, sriracha roasted butternut squash, pickled red cabbage and super seed mix. Priced at £9.95 you can then choose to add your choice of protein at an extra cost, with chicken, steak, pork, salmon or tofu to choose from.
Throughout the daytime KAI serve their all day menu, which will leave you spoilt for choice. Don’t worry if you’re not feeling in your healthiest mood, you can still treat yourself with their brunch options like pancakes with bacon and maple syrup but with plenty of other breakfast choice too with eggs benedict/royale/florentine served on sourdough bread, smashed avocado on sourdough or organic granola.
The lunch options include salads, fresh sandwiches and big and small hot KAI bites. The salads come with a choice of 3 healthy bases available at the counter and we opted for the spiralised carrot, beetroot pate, broccoli and hummus salad with added chicken (you can add you choice of protein). The portion sizes are perfect for lunch and the chicken was cooked with a brilliant smokey flavour to add to the salad. Plus let’s be honest, it was nice to have so much colour on our plate following the sea of beige at Christmas.
From the hot bites there’s everything from Shepherd’s Pie with braised lamb mince, chicken curry (below), chickpea and vegetable curry with brown rice or a plate of halloumi, chargrilled courgette and avocado with dressing. The chicken curry came with tender thigh chicken with the mild red curry having a nice sharp citrus kick. For a substantial lunch or a small bite to eat with a coffee, there’ll be something to suit.
We couldn’t see a dessert or cake menu, but that’s probably for the best given that we’d gone here to try and kick start a healthy new year! Plus there’s plenty of choice of organic coffees to finish off with.
KAI is a fantastic new addition to the city centre lunchtime food scene and we can’t wait to go back and try out the evening Buddha Bowls.
To check out the full menu please visit the KAI website. You can also follow KAI on Twitter and Facebook.
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