Leon

Review from 2014/2018 and 2021 2014 In 2014 Leon was only in London, now it's in most cities. As we walked in and looked at the menu I was actually awestruck for a moment at the board, nearly everything was listed as being GF and in many cases DF too, so looking straight at the board and seeing so many options that were gluten and dairy free was amazing to me. Don't get me wrong this isn't a fast food outlet like you would expect, it's not a McDonalds, Burger King, Chinese or Indian sort of thing, this healthy chain sells fast food in the forms of Meatballs, Thai Chicken Curry, Chilli, Falafel, Kale and Peanut Salad and Bunless Burgers to name a few, and those are only a handful of the gluten free too. It does what it says on the tin, it's healthy. I finally decided on the Thai Chicken Curry and a side of fries (which aren't really fries more of a waffle kind of thing) along with a banana dairy free shake. Oh and since 99% of the cakes were gluten free I couldn't say no to a slice of Pecan Pie for dessert! The server said the fries came with a dip, so I asked if the chilli sauce was gluten free, he wasn't sure but didn't hesitate in finding out for me, the chef told me that yes it was and all the other sauces were too. We only waited about 10 minutes for the food, and I must say the Chicken Curry was amazing. The curry was mixed vegetables with chicken in a sauce and came on a bed of rice with a bit of rocket and lemon on the side, the sort of thing you would expect in a restaurant not in a box to eat in or take away. It wasn't until I'd eaten part of my chicken curry I realised we hadn't been given the fries, so I went back to the counter, the server was apologetic and gave me the fries, was no problem or anything, everyone forgets things now and then, but as we were finishing the meal he came over with a free chocolate brownie for us, nice gesture on their part, and the brownie was gluten free so I wasn't complaining! The dairy free milkshake was not what I was expecting, it was better, in a normal fast food outlet the milkshakes are full of milk, ice cream and falsely flavoured sauce, this one was almond milk fresh banana and naturally sweetened with dates, I've always liked fresh banana milkshakes so when I tried this it was a pleasant surprise, I would presume that that vanilla maybe has vanilla seeds in and the chocolate from what I saw was proper chocolate flakes (dairy free chocolate flakes). Dessert was just as gorgeous as the rest, the pastry was nice and flaky and it was a perfect pecan pie, I could easily go back to Leon just for that, my boyfriend had a gluten free chocolate chip cookie and that was just a yummy. We didn't try the brownie until a bit later on sat in Green Park, but even that was absolutely delicious with a hint of orange in it and almonds. If there was a Leon closer to home I wouldn't hesitate to say I would be in there every week, it's nice to go to a fast food place which isn't only healthy by also offers such a vast variety of gluten free and since its only the burgers and wraps that are gluten containing you don't need to worry much about cross contamination either, though it looked to me that they prep wraps in a different area anyway. 2018 I love Leon. I still remember the first time I visited Leon on a trip to London and hoping, eventually, they would expand outside of London as they already had 20+ outlets around the London area. A year or so after that they opened an outlet in Birmingham, slowly moving further up the country and closer to me, while Birmingham isn't exactly the furthest from me I was still hoping for a Manchester branch - which they now have. Despite being fairly local I haven't had chance to visit until last week, though I have been a few other branches in London since visiting the Strand branch back in 2014, and they have all been amazing, Kensington, Brent's Cross and Leicester Square all included...I just hoped the Manchester one lived up to the London branches. Last week I went for a trip to Manchester and decided to eat at Leon and took my Mum for the first time who is also on a gluten free diet. Nothing has really changed since 2014 in terms of prep and how it works, menus are labelled and most is gluten free. This time round I have satay chicken (one of my faves) and mum had chorizo salad Despite being very busy, we got our food hot and within minutes, pity they same can't be said at other fast food places! Both our dishes were delicious, my Chicken Satay had a bed of brown rice and a cabbage and pea salad type thing with it, topped with the most delicious chicken with a satay sauce, all in a cardboard box so you can eat on the go too, delicious filling food you can eat on the move, absolutely fantastic and it tastes amazing too. It's not easy to get good food to eat on the go that is gluten free! I mentioned my Mum went for the first time too, well she had the Chicken and Chorizo Salad which was a bed of quinoa, peas, broccoli and avocado with chicken and chorizo and a chilli sauce, she said straight after finishing it "I could eat that again" and she doesn't say that very often so it must have been good! Leon also do a selection of cakes and biscuits, now most of them are gluten free but there are one or two which aren't and they are in the same cabinet as the others. I've chatted to them a couple of times about this and always told the same thing, they use separate tongues and utensils for each different cake and biscuit and the none gluten free ones are always kept on the back so they aren't lifted over the gluten free one and they are always kept well apart so they don't touch. I've had a few different cakes and biscuits from there before but didn't have one this time. They also have a few wrapped options including popcorn and some bars which were gluten free. I do love Leon, it is so fast and convenient, amazing wholesome food and the staff are always fab, not been a bad one yet and I've visited my fair share. Now there is one much closer than London I hope to visit more frequently and I hope they grow even more, there is certainly a space in the market for a healthy fast food outlet, I know if there was one in my town, I'd be there everyday! 2021 Compared to what I am used to they seem to have gone down a bit, still lots of gluten free options but the food just doesn't seem as good. On a visit to Kings Cross I had my favourite satay chicken which I have had countless times before but this time it wasn't as good. On the same weekend we also went to a different branch near covent garden for breakfast, and honestly, one of the worst breakfasts I've had (rock hard halloumi, vile baked beans and tasteless sausage), I'm not quite sure what has happened as they always used to be amazing for the cost, I am hoping it will improve again as it is such a shame. It could just have been the branches I went too. I won't let it put me off in future as I know just how good their food can be.

I was glutened by the fries at this Leon! It was the only thing I’d eaten in the time frame and fit in exactly with my usual gluten reaction so no doubt it was the fries which are labelled ‘gluten free’. I used to love Leon so I’m really gutted I don’t feel I can trust them anymore.

Lots of delicious free options to choose from. Our boys both loved their meals and were so happy to have a number of meals to choose from. The food was fresh and delicious.