Leon

Only here for a quick breakfast. Very good coffee. Decent quality food. Friendly. Plenty of space. Would come back. Much better than Starbucks or Nero for breakfast.

Seldom do I equate delicious food to heathy eating, and Leon has done little to sway me.
Service is fast, I have to admit, ideal for grab and go.
The space is vast with plenty of seating, great for when you just want to be left alone with what looks like an in-​flight meatball lunch and an Economist mag.

This is a lovely looking branch of Leon with a wall covered with fairy lights. I’m such a sucker for fairy lights. It’s a great place to stop off for a tasty falafel wrap before attending a fun Unilocal event nearby. Help yourself to water.
I just wish Leon was a little bit cheaper. I would be here much more often.

Order at the counter fast food style that seemed to be mostly locals (it’s not far from the touristy St Paul’s area of London, but I doubt many of the tourists notice it).
Food is fresh/​healthy style and tasty. Tip for other tourists: there is free water at the end of the counter (near the tables). If you order a water at the register you will get a bottled water that costs £1.50 (oops).
Leon’s is a chain restaurant.

Quick glance:
+ service and food offers have improved
+ smaller portion at reasonable price
+ friendly staff to help at the queue
+ love the fresh juices
Full review:
I’ve worked in this area for over two years and I have been avoiding Leon for the most part except on the odd occasions when my colleague wanted to go there. But my two most recent visits (in the last 3 – 4 months) have changed my perception of Leon. Whereas two years ago I found the menu expensive, portion size small, and food a bit bland, I now find their new (and seemingly ever changing in the positive direction) menu enticing and appropriately priced.
There is also staff who walks around the venue to help tidy up the tables, as well as give helpful suggestions on what to order if you look remotely lost. The ordering process is swift, and so is the delivery of the food.
I am pleased with this branch of Leon’s progress in continually improving its food and service.

I’m a big fan of Leon — 90% of lunch spots in London serve pretty much the same food. I mean, I love posh cheddar and pickle, but I can only deal with so much pret and eat in a week. Leon has a completely different menu that is vaguely Mediterranean, but realistically just eclectic/​modern. My favorite is the sweet potato felafel.
They’re open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Big eating area at this location, great for groups. Solid menu with cheap prices. The BBQ chicken wrap with a Sagres beer (Portuguese) was great.

Mmm… so convenient… so tasty. Perfect healthy and hearty food that can satisfy vegetarians and carnivores alike.

Leon looks the way I want my living room to look. Fairy lights, floating star lanterns, metal shelves full up of books and random junk… I loved it! I wasn’t too keen on the elementary school lunch style method of ordering at the counter and carrying away your little tray, but the awesome menu full of organic and vegetarian yumminess more than made up for it. (Please note that Leon is not strictly vegetarian, they just have many options for us veggies). The Leon Gobi was wonderfully filling and delish and the Strawberry Power Smoothie is to die for.
Just one small thing… can I get plate next time? Eating out of a box kinda makes me feel like a slob.

This review is written by an outsider, a tourist, a yank! But hey, everyone’s got an opinion so here’s my biased, touristy, loud-​mouthed one.
Yes, this restaurant was in my Lonely Planet guidebook. However, I’m extremely glad I came here because this was probably the best meal for the best price I had in London. Who are we kidding? London is an expensive place. So I basically looking for the cheapest places. Who would have thought one of my cheaper meals would be one of my more memorable one?
I ordered the grilled chicken with cous-​cous. Chicken is tender. Check. Cous-​cous is soft with a bit of a snap. Check. Everything is warm. Check and check. The décor is fantastic. It’s like a diner, pub, classy restaurant rolled up into one. There were a lot of folks out drinking that night and I definitely got out my sketchbook to draw the place.
I will say one bad thing about LEON is that it’s extremely dark. So dark that I could barely make out the faces of other people. My desk only had a little candle and the ambient lighting to illuminate my food. My eyes took a bit to adjust.

… Not the French assassin!
If you are expecting to hire an assassin here you will be disappointed, but if you could murder tasty, healthy food served in a relaxed atmosphere then this is the place. I am always impressed with the quality of the food here and it is very tasty indeed.
It is sort of a cross between a fast food joint and a kids home-​made lemonade stall on their front lawn — go and see you’ll know what I mean when you are there. They have a breakfast (yet to try /​get up early enough to try), lunch and evening menu with the latter two being very similar if not the same, just slightly different prices. Portion sizes are small compared to some other eateries in the area but to be honest are ample and filling. There is nothing on the menu that I would not recommend. I also found the staff to be very friendly and helpful but not be imposing allowing you to enjoy your meal.

This is my local Leon and I love it. No, really, I love it. The workers are amazingly friendly and when I have foreign food-​objects in hand while ordering takeout they don’t give me the side-​eye, they ask me if the smoothies from wherever I went are good or shit. I feel like they «get» me, and for the fact that it’s a chain place, I can’t get enough. Over the summer, I tore my stomach lining (unrelated to Leon) and my bf told me to eat brown rice as a cleansing remedy, I could have bought a bag and made it at home, but I rather preferred going to Leon for sides of rice because even something simple like that is just worth walking an extra couple blocks for. Judge me if you will, but I like Leon, and this one is extra big and cozy with fairy lights. ‘Nuff said!

This Ludgate Circus haven is one of their older branches (Leon is now a mini-​chain!) This branch is open throughout the week and used to close over the weekends (located in the City) but during the last summer seemed to be open most Saturdays as well. Check before you make the trip is my advice.
The Leon chain serves up healthy fast food (some organic too) in homely and eclectic surroundings with a lot of retro details (check out their stickers, posters and the family pics)
The staff at this as well as the other branches are handpicked and well trained. They come from all over the world but I have yet to find a surly one.
Hot Chocolate here is made using Valrhona chocolate and warmed milk so is truly yummy and if you’re wanting just drinks or cocktails there is a bar as well.
Attracts a mixed and interesting crowd and can get quite busy at lunch time. Take-​outs are popular too.
There’s a small courtyard area out front that is set up in summer but I’m addicted to inside. Here I squish myself deep into a leather chair, choose from one of the interesting books they have and enjoy the food. coffees and hot chocs. The hours simply whiz by.
Long live Leon — esp this branch!

This particular branch of Leon is extremely central. Seriously. Look at a map of London, point to where you think the middle is, and you have your finger on this Leon. I swear. It’s a scientific fact.
What makes this one better than the rest? It’s massive, it’s underground, and they also serve dinner. And they have huge armchairs that you can seriously lounge in. And they bring the food to you if it will take longer than two minutes to prepare (aka when I order a wrap without the sauce).
Lemon ginger & mint juice FTW.

This was the 2^nd branch of Leon to open. It is my favourite, but not for this reason, its typical ‘healthy’ fast food you would find on a Leon menu, but because it as number of pluses. It is located on a major junction (Ludgate Circus, by City Thameslink) and from the front you would not know how quirky it is inside. It is really funky, and the sets this branch apart from other Leon’s and the local area. There is lots of tables for sit down dining, oil drums to sit upon, they serve booze and are open late too.
The Greenwich meantime products (beers and wine) they sell are excellent and fantastic with a meal. At lunchtime they are the only place around that will tae credit cards. In he evening, they bring out the plates and don;t serve your dinner in little cardboard boxes. A Leon is a Leon, isn’t that the point of chain fast food restuarants?