Food Secret

I must have walked past here quite a few times but never noticed this eatery as it looks like an office building or perhaps, it’s taking the title of food secret a little too literally!
However, today, there was a server outside offering free samples of their pumpkin soup and flyers offering a free coffee with purchases.
I understand what they’re trying to do here by offering healthy, customisable meals — the shelves hold a selection of ready made salads, sandwiches and soups to which you have to add boiling water. If you just look at the selection on the shelves, the shop does look like a wannabe Pret A Manger but with less choice
However, the killer food option at this place is to be found at the salad bar where they will make you your salad of choice from a top range of ingredients.
I wish them luck and my advice is not to keep it a secret!

If you love fresh organic food, big salads, and vegetables in every colour of the rainbow, you will love this place. I’ve been looking for a place like foodsecret in London and so glad I finally stumbled upon just what I was looking for! This takes the café concept to a whole new level. And the staff is so nice too, especially the chef who comes out to greet customers and gather feedback on the ready made food. Love you foodsecret!

Food Secret popped up at the end of the road I work on quite a long time ago, but I’ve never been tempted to go in. Today I bit the bullet and paid quite a hefty sum (£4.68) for one of their buckets of soup, italian minestrone flavour.
At that price I expected it to be wholesome and flavourful but what I actually got was an orangey liquid with a little veg and rice in it that tasted of water. It didn’t taste of anything at all. Not of stock cubes or herbs or anything. What a complete rip off.
And as I had taken it away I couldn’t complain to the shop itself.
I will not be returning.

Great find. I’m new to the area and here only temporarily, so I’m on the lookout for easy-​to-​grab lunch spots to eat at my desk. My co-​worker took me here today and I made my own sandwich. It was so tasty! I had a chicken/​pesto sandwich on focaccia bread with tomato and caramelized onion — it was good and filling and still felt healthy.
There is a good variety of pre-​made meals (salads, soups, sandwiches) as well as a solid make-​your-​own sandwich and salad bar. I’m definitely a fan!

This is pretty much a food heaven of healthy choices. Everything here is super healthy, and each item has a label that clearly outlines the calorie count, carbs, fat etc. Everything is super fresh too. Indulge and don’t feel like you have to go to the gym afterwards!

My girlfriend has written a review on this place for a magazine and has since been bugging me to go check it out. I kept telling her that I would but never really wanted to go because it sounded all healthy and stuff, which isn’t my thing. Not because I’m a fat bastard, because I’m not, it was because I always think that healthy food is boring and served in tiny portions.
Well Food Secrets, despite my prejudices against healthy food, definitely exceeded my expectations.
You walk into what looks and feels like a clean cut hotel or modern health spa and can select your meal from a range of pre-​made sandwiches and salads. Alternatively you can have a sandwich or salad freshly made for you using whatever fillings that take your fancy.
I opted for a Chicken, Avocado and Lime sandwich which was truly amazing! I absolutely loved it although it was, as my prejudice against healthy food predicted, a tiny portion. It would have been perfect had it been a little bigger.
I also got some old fashioned Curiosity Cola and a slice of okay tasting banana cake. Pricing wasn’t bad either. My freshly made sandwich was about 3 quid, although I spent about £7 in total trying to fill myself up.

Please don’t tell my husband, but I’m IN LOVE!!! I’ve walked past Food Secret a million times but never gone in. I popped my head through the door on a whim today and I suddenly found myself in the land of sexy granite tabletops, biodegradable take-​away cutlery, grab-​and-​go gourmet lunch items, and the most amazing make-​your-​own salad bar I’ve ever laid my eyes on. The service was friendly, my salad was delicious, and the price was right. As I said, I’m in love.
The first completely remarkable and brilliant thing I noticed about the Food Secret fare was that every single item is labeled with nutrition facts. Easily readable labels, all pointing forward, tell the reader the ingredients of their selected item as well as the daily percentage of protein, carbs, fibre, saturated fat, and unsaturated fat contained in the item, demonstrated in a simple bar graph for men and for women. I grabbed an extra sandwich to take home with me for dinner tonight, a delectable-​sounding combination of parma ham, baby spinach, and grilled onions because it sounded so amazing. There are also pre-​made salads and containers of soup-​ingredients – raw veggies and spices: just add hot water and stir and you’ve got freshly made soup! Yummers!
Beyond the grab-​and-​go fridges is the make-​your-​own counter. There are what seem like MILLIONS of little containers of ingredients to choose from. I selected baby spinach, pearl barley, red onions, peas & broad beans mix, «Food Secret sprouting mix» of legumes and lentils, marinated tofu, chicken, feta, and balsamic vinaigrette. (Other ingredients include seared tuna, rare steak strips, and some killer looking grilled salmon.) As the guy is making the salad, each item pops up in sequence on the little computer monitor things on the counter so the customer can see their salad’s inventory and cumulative price. What I received was a bowl that weighed at least a pound and will take me at least three meals to eat. And, OMG, it is DELICIOUS.
When your salad is done, a unique little itemized receipt gets printed out for you, listing the ingredients and the nutrition facts for your salad. I learned that my salad contained 242% of my daily value for protein (!!!), and if I ever crave that salad again in the future, I can store this receipt away in my wallet and just hand it to the chef guy next time I come in.
This is pretty much the lunch spot I’ve been dreaming of. The salad I got cost less than my typical lunch at Leon, so I’ve finally found somewhere that will help me break out of my boring ol’ lunchtime routine. I love, love, love this place, and boy are they going to get sick of seeing my face everyday!

I dropped in this afternoon for a coffee as I was passing by and fancied something hot to warm me up. Their indoor seating looked appealing.
Ordered a cup of «Americano White» which was advertised at £1.85 on a price list which was encased in a perspex block. However! The person who served me asked me for £2.13??? Apparently, the adverstised price did not include VAT. I pointed out that it is a legal requirement to state whether prices are eat in or out and whether VAT is applicable. The reply I received was «we are working on it»!!! Surely, one does not «work on» matters of legal compliance?
Baffled. I looked at my receipt and tried to look for a number to call to talk to someone at Food Secret about this (NB the staff appeared insufficiently proficient in English). I used the mobile internet function on my BB to look up a number and upon calling, «Steve» answered. When I explained the issue and asked why prices are stated ex-​VAT and this fact not highlighted, he replied, in difficult to understand English, to the effect that the number I dialled is not for customer service and that feedback should be relayed via a board or something to that effect. Nevertheless, he apologised perfunctorily and basically fobbed me off. I tried to reiterate that there is a crucial legal compliance issue here which needs to be addressed. Unfortunately, this elicited a no different response with another insincere apology and an offer of a free coffee next time I visit the shop, which I will not be taking advantage of.
As to their USP, sorry I couldn’t figure out what they are actually trying to do during the 15 minutes or so I stayed in the shop. Their messaging is too long-​winded and lacks focus. I suggest they should come up with a ‘tag line’ of no more than 5 words to help potential customers figure out what they do.
Shop-​fitting is of a high standard, though. Must have costed them the best part of £500K or more!

I just read the previous reviews and pretty much agree. I was there for the press launch (
) and despite having a nice meal in a pleasant space, I had trouble seeing the point of Food Secret. The food’s good (but no better than a handful other nearby options). Maybe Food Secret’s just not for me.

Oh God, save us from places like this. The concept here is so. .. well, conceptual, as to baffle common sense. The food isn’t that great either and is way too pricey for what it is.
Food Secret describes itself as a healthy fast-​casual concept that provides a flavourful and customisable menu comprised of. .. . finest quality ingredients in. .. approachable and innovative presentation. It goes on. .. By remaining abreast of the latest nutritional information. .. . educating the community about a healthful lifestyle and. .. . to further pioneer the industry, this brand serves food founded on culinary expertise and authentic flavours.
OK. I opted for the full flavour soup. .. . a large pot with a lid on and a list of ingredients on the front suggesting a vaguely Catalan provenance. Spinach leaves, chorizo, beans and red onion seemed about it — the pot was VERY light. I apoproached the intimidatingly high and distant counter and somehow waded through the barrage of TV screens detailing prices and transactions for things that had nothing to do with me. .. . someone grabbed the pot and added hot water to it — hey presto, soup! If I wanted a Pot Noodle style soup I’d have bought one (not that I ever eat that sort of muck) — and not for £5 either. A chocolate pudding was a further £3.
Service was perfunctory, not excellent. I’d almost go so far as to describe the service here as snotty. The ‘concept’ was everywhere but any sense of warmth or welcome was notable by its absence. This is empty and expensive pretension. Give me Fernandez & Wells round the corner, Franks or even Carlton’s any day — they’re honest.
UPDATE 22÷07÷09
In the spirit of fairness, I tried Food Secret again and was satisfied. It’s easy to criticise, harder to praise. Praise is due.
Many of the teething problems I referred to above have been overcome. The pricing is reasonable and the quality good. I’d go again and, if you haven’t been, would recommend you try it.
Food Secret is located at the Carnaby Street end of Broadwick Street.

New place on Broadwick Street (corner of Marshall St) doing the usual Soup/​Salad/​Sandwich deal. Opening offer of 4 pounds for any salad with as many ingredients as you like. Good dessert (3 pounds). Yet another restaurant that doesn’t explain the concept or even how to order…