Pat’s Brainfood

The portions are a little too small to actually fill me up - so I always order two different dishes.. (which makes it quite expensive). The energy balls are great - they help you get through the day!

Get the energy balls if you have a medium-sized appetite and you are on a budget; they're a great value at €3.60.

I found it too pricy and Pat herself was not the nicest of hosts for the quick lunch I had. The cramped feeling does lead to spillage - I concur with that.

The owners of Pat's Brainfood seems to traveled to New York City, LA or San Francisco, because Pat's has a great metro feeling to.

A small deli, with barely room for 4 to stand and eat, serving delicious, fresh cooked healthy meals which appeal to carnivores, vegetarians and vegans alike.

I had the vegetarian chili, without cheese, which was a hearty cup of vegetable chili with tofi and thick potatoes. Filling and quite affordable. The service was pleasant and nice, but I can see it getting a bit stressful at times, seeing as how I bumped into 3 or 4 different people trying to eat while I waited in line.

It's that good. During the noontime hour when I am able to leave my office and make haste towards a restaurant of our choice, I always find it empty until I am comfortably settled with soup and salad, at which point people start piling in, the better for the watching.

The menu changes weekly and has a bit of a spin behind it, as the strange name of the joint might suggest. As far as I can tell, the idea behind PB is to invigorate, relax, energize or pacify you, help you let go or concentrate, all depending on what you need for the day. As a result the food is a careful balance of some of the staples of harmonically nourishing cooking, such as coriander, lentils, cumin, beets, leek, apple, celery, safran, and select peasant meats such as lamb and chicken as alternative guests to the love-in. My goat cheese salad had a spicy twang to it, well suited to stirring in with its accompanying greens (spinach), yellows (chickpeas), and oranges (carrots). The soups are hearty and filling, the bread fresh and reasonably surcharged.

The shelves are stocked with earthy/crunchy goods such as organic oils, salves, and other foodstuffs, the general atmosphere is bright and cheery with good music, friendly staff, and decent room for standing when eating, with a view of passers-by and the handsome window display.

The one downside to PB is their use of disposable receptacles and cutlery. Where, I ask, does this fit in with their healthy, upbeat outlook on life and the generous bounty of our planet? Time will tell which will win out but in the meantime Pat's food is worth BYOBowling for.