Leon

I was really pleasantly surprised by Leon! A friend who lives really far away got called in to london for a meeting at short notice, the only time we could meet was in my 30min lunch break so we needed somewhere close, quick but where we could sit down and have a catch up. Quick isn’t always good and is rarely healthy and I had been seeing Leon’s pop up everywhere so had probably mentally written it off as just another bland chain — never assume! So when my friend suggested here I rolled my eyes but agreed as I couldn’t think of a better alternative. Well this met all of our requirements and more– the food was really good, and healthy! I had a chargrilled chicken aioli hotbox which was so delicious– and ready very quickly– what I particularly liked was the amount of variety within the dish– they don’t cut any corners here. The chicken was really tasty with a good herb seasoning and cooked just right– the slaw was fresh and a great compliment, actually tasty rice and the aioli was spot on. The staff were great, helpful and friendly. And they manage crowds well with the queue organised and so moving super fast. We had no problem finding a clean available table and despite the number of people and quick turnover it wasn’t noisy and we didn’t feel rushed. I love their vision for tasty healthy fast food and will be back.

Food: Firstly — how have I only just spotted Leon — It was a massive selection of wheat free options! When I asked what was garlic/​onion free they supported me. I’m still not 100% sure on the salads — they have so much variety that if you’re FODMAP free entirely, I couldn’t tell you if there was nuts/​grains beans in the salads I wasn’t supposed to have, but the stff assured me at least it was onion/​garlic wheat free.
1. Chicken Kale Cesar — yummy — without the sauce which had garlic in it — it was lovely — hopefully fodmap free.
2. Almond milk free shake — banana — Also — amazing lactose free shake!
3. Tea — never happy — still not made with a kettle — so you know — coffee machine tea
4. Better chocolate brownie — Pretty good gluten free brownie.
Location: It was ok — bit loud because of the train station location, basic leon
Staff; Really friendly and helpful! They helped me through my options with garlic/​onion — which makes for me the whole experience. I went there later in the afternoon for tea because of the gluten free snacks and the good staff.
1. Star missed off purely because they had no clarity on ingredients. — Just the legally required allergies book.

I really like the Leon chain, but what irritates me is that every time I go there, the menu has changed completely and often also looks differently. One time I went with a friend to a branch at Strand, because we found the new menu too confusing, we left for a place that was easier to grasp.
The Leon at King’s Cross is located in the Western Concourse if you have not already been there, the Western Concourse alone is worth a visit, not so much for the shops, but for the architecture.
Once you have mastered the menu, you can find decent food at Leon for a chain, I think their offering and quality is really good. This time, I ordered the Leon Meatball Burger and the Leon Baked Fries. It was a shame that my baked fries were a bit cold, but they still tasted nice. The meatball burger really is more a slider than a burger, but I enjoyed this little thing and am looking forward to my next visit at a Leon branch. Let’s see what surprises the menu will have for me then