It gets a bit tricky finding lunch in Leeds City Centre, when you fancy something healthy that’s not a salad but don’t have enough time to sit in a restaurant on your lunch break. So when I was invited to come and review Hive, a new healthy cafe two minutes from the train station (just behind Premier Inn on Whitehall Road) I was more than happy to oblige!
I decided to bring my Mum with me as she’s definitely someone who prefers a filling but healthy lunch, and we headed over on a sunny Friday to eat. Sadly despite the sun, it was too windy to sit outside (and it’s beautiful, overlooking the canal-so boo to the wind) so we chose a table near the window so we could still admire the view.
The staff couldn’t have been more helpful-from offering to talk us through all of the menu items to suggesting we had a taste of a dish if we weren’t sure what to try, they were more than happy to give us all the assistance we needed to choose. And it was a difficult choice as everything looked so yummy!
I had the Vietnamese Chicken Salad which had lots of tasty chicken, and veg such as green beans, rocket and mange tout. Mum fancied something warmer and had the Cajun Spiced Beef which, impressively, was 3.5 of her 5 a day AND only 227 calories in the large pot. So healthy, yet so filling. (She did add some sour cream to it which will have added a fair few calories but I’m pretty sure we can deal with that)
We then decided lunch had been way too healthy and so we fancied a treat for pudding. We shared a piece of Banana and Blueberry Loaf, and the last piece of Raspberry and Vanilla cake. Both were gorgeous, and much healthier than general shop bought cake. It’s Friday, cake is allowed-right?
The food is very reasonably priced-main courses are under £5 mostly, which I can’t complain about-and there’s lots of different, healthy options. Salads, soups, wraps, and pots (which are more casserole/stew kind of dishes) if you’re fancying something more filling.
Inside of Hive is really nicely decorated, quite industrial style (which I LOVE) there’s a cosy sofa area, lots of tables and even a breakfast bar style area in the corner with plug sockets so you can sit and do some work/charge your phone whilst you eat. They’ve brought the outside in with some gorgeous hanging plants in the middle and lets be honest, I was taking photos for AGES.
Hive is open all day, from 7:30am to 8:00pm Monday to Wednesday, and 7:30 ’til late Thursday and Friday. Sadly they’re closed at weekends. I will DEFINITELY be heading back to try some more of their dishes next time I’m having lunch in Leeds.
Thanks very much, Hive, for letting us come and review. I’m sure you’ll do really well with a menu that gorgeous.
*Our lunch at Hive was given to me in exchange for an honest review. As with all posts on Inside Laura’s Head, all words, thoughts and opinions are mine.
