It used to be hard to find healthy options in Utrecht, but lately salad bars have been popping up everywhere! A recent addition is SLA, flown over from Amsterdam, nestled in the heart of the Voorstraat.
SLA: green inside and out!
When passing the building, you’d think a greenhouse had opened up in the middle of the city. SLA distinguishes itself with an interior including lots of glass, straight lines and most of all: lots of plants. SLA seems to be green inside and out: the interior and the food! They have one simple mission: offering food that is so good you almost forget that it’s also horribly healthy!
As soon as you enter SLA, the first thing you notice is the huge bar with all the options for mixing a salad. Meat, eggs, vegetarian options, lettuces, vegetables, exotic grains, nuts and seeds. You name it, they have it, neatly stalled out behind the glass. If all this choice is a little overwhelming, SLA also offers a selection of set combinations to make it a little easier for you. These combinations change very season, to accommodate to the vegetables that are at hand in that specific season. They try to buy their ingredients locally as much as possible and on top of that all their ingredients are at least 90% organic (we’re still trying to figure what that means exactly).
It’s understandable that, with this cold weather, a salad is not the first thing on your mind. Don’t worry! Other than what you might assume with such a name (sla means lettuce in Dutch), they also offer warm and fresh soups and sweet treats. There’s something for everyone!
While visiting SLA, I did decide to go for a salad, that I put together myself. My eyes were definitely bigger than my stomach in the process. I would’ve had one of everything on my salad if I could’ve! I ended up with a combination of chicken, avocado, egg and a whole lot of vegetables, topped with some nuts, seeds and a delicious dressing of ras el hanout and coriander. Interestingly, they add dressing in at different steps of making the salad, which makes sure the dressing is dispersed throughout the salad instead of just slathered on top. Sadly, I wasn’t able to finish all of this masterpiece, but the staff was friendly enough to wrap up the rest for me to take home. If you don’t have time to sit down at SLA, it’s also possible to take away! Very convenient for those of us that live or work in the city center of Utrecht.
For me personally SLA is a great addition to the ever growing offer of healthy options in the city center of Utrecht. Mission accomplished!
Address: Voorstraat 52
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Update:
Sla has opened up its second establishment in Utrecht on the Nachtegaalstraat 58, specially for salad lovers in Wittevrouwen!
Pictures by Michaela of the new life beginning
