Healthy fast food joint Leon tries to prove you don’t have to sacrifice quality for speed.

The Venue
Located at the back to the imposing Blue Fin Building (which is on Southwark Street), Leon faces competition from the many cafes and chain sandwich outfits surrounding it. However, Leon offers something most of its competitors don’t: a decent-sized seating area inside.

Inside, Leon’s trying to affect a sort of retro, rustic look with lighting made out of old oil tin cans, dated children’s toys on shelves and carefully selected mismatched furniture. There are a few alcove, booth-style seats, but most of the space in taken up by long, wooden canteen style tables (but mercifully with individual chairs, not awkward benches). This often means you have to share and could even up the unwitting participant in a business meeting, of which several seem to be going on at any one time. The free WiFi on offer has facilitated this boardroom-cum-restaurant scenario.

At the back of the venue is a serving area where you order your food, with menus displayed over the heads of the waitresses. This means as you queue (and you will have to queue) you have time to fully consider the menu. Off the side of this serving area (which is not unlike an upmarket McDonalds or Burger King), there is a bar stocked with spirits – however, this is barely ever used during the day.

For those who want to sit outside, should the sun be making an appearance, you can. There is quite a bit of outdoor space, again consisting of standard chairs and tables. However, come early during nice weather as these seats are prime territory for those in the know.

The Atmosphere
Leon is bustling and busy and often full to capacity. Those who favour this place are the aforementioned businessmen who are deeply engrossed in their working lunches and media types from the surrounding publishing and marketing companies. Everyone politely waits in the queue to give their orders, but it feels as if someone didn’t adhere to the (somewhat confusing) queuing system then the polite facade might disappear.

The staff are extremely busy, but polite and friendly – they never seem to stop smiling. However, this is sometimes means their concentration suffers and you end up with the wrong meal – very annoying as you won’t know until you’ve opened your box at your table (or office if you’re getting take out). Leon definitely feels like a busy and tense place during the lunchtime rush – people are looking at their watches and sighing subtly as they itch to get back to work. However, if you find a quiet alcove then you can let all this pass you by.

The Food
Leon’s ethos is based on healthy, hearty eating with food that tastes like it’s homemade. The cuisine is a fusion of many different influences – there are Moroccan meatballs and sweet potato falafels on the menu next to Thai vegetable curries and chunky coleslaw. There are also flatbread wraps and superfood salads which comprise broccoli, feta and quinoa. There is also the option of adding ‘freedom food chicken’. Main dishes will come served in a brown folded box – even if you’re eating in. It’s somewhat disheartening to have to eat out of a box whilst sitting in a restaurant, but it works well enough for the take out service.

The menu changes with the seasons, which once again shows Leon’s ethical mandate, and is well thought out. In winter there are hearty, warming dishes like Gobi (sweet potato and cauliflower curry), winter chicken curry and wild salmon fish cakes. These are served with a side of organic rice and coleslaw and make up a decent, fairly filling meal. However, the flavours of a lot of the meals are somewhat dull – the sweet potato falafels are fine enough for a lunch on the run, but at around £6, you’d hope for a little more than insipid. The same goes for the Thai green curry – it’s not the best curry you’ll ever sample, with uninspiring spices. Perhaps for the price one expects a little much, but for all the trumpet and fanfare Leon makes about it’s delicious, healthy menus, it’s a little bit of an anti-climax.

This lacklustre feeling extends also to the presentation of the meals – they’ve often been chucked around and left on the back heating plates for a while and therefore everything inside the box is jumbled and seems to be a little messy. Perhaps a little more emphasis on the food and less on the fast would help Leon along.

Having said that, the little bites you can get at Leon are decent – there are delicious puddings and sweet sevilla torta biscuits. Once you try one of those they become a must for every visit. Puddings come in at the £2 mark, which is in line with other places in the area.

The Drink
Leon serves a range of zingy, fresh juices. The fresh Leon-made lemonade is incredible – you’ll taste it right to the roots of your hair. There are also seasonal options reflecting what’s available at that time of year, and also milkshakes in chocolate, vanilla or blackberry. However, at over £4 it’s far too expensive for a milkshake. The juices are more acceptable at the £1 to £2 mark.

The Last Word
Leon feels like a corporation masquerading as a small outfit who really care about their product. It’s a studied wholesome ethos, but scratch the surface and what you’ll find is a slightly quirky chain cafe. As a quick bite to eat it’s a fine option, but if you’re looking to change the world with your lunchtime snacks you might be better going elsewhere.

venue information venue map view london review user reviews (1)