Previous Next

Wannabe healthy lunch spot that doesn't quite match the hype

Vital Way

tel  Tel: +41 22 348 0000
Address Address: rue de Chantepoulet 12, 1201 Geneve
Rating:  Wok Rating

 

A girlfriend and lunch partner-in-crime suggested we try out Vital Way for lunch one day, and when she told me it was gluten-free, I felt all the more pleased with myself for going for a healthy option for lunch. We turned up at the tiny restaurant and found her reservation was not in their system at all, and ended up practically twisting her arm to share someone else's table - one of those typical Geneva situations where you think you are more entrepreneurial than the restaurateurs themselves, coming up with ideas of how to maximise the number of eaters that can fit in the space! I ordered the Vital Burger - a veggie menu although you can get the burgers with beef, chicken and salmon too. The veggie option was a patty made out of bean, although a tempeh one was on offer too (but not available when we asked that day). My friend ordered a plat du jour that was some sort of veggie tart with gratin daupinhois and some carrots. We also ordered - for extra-healthiness - their lemon "shot" of wheatgrass, apple and lemon - literally a glass not much bigger than a shotglass for CHF 7 each. The food took quite a while to come. And when it did come, I can't say that my enthusiasm levels shot through the roof. Although filling - because the "buns" of my burger were instead sushi rice patties (think almost like onigiri), I found the dish as a whole to be a bit on the bland side. Granted - it was imaginative - I had never seen a burger where your bread is replaced by a rice patty - but I expected the presentation, concepts and taste to be better - especially for a self-proclaimed healthy place! Think more quinoa, salads with sweet potato, chick peas, that kind of thing... What was funny was that my friend added a fair bit of salt to her dish after tasting it - and I rarely see her do that, so that was another sign that it didn't quite hit the mark. Once you add in the booster shots (wheatgrass juice), the bill came to CHF 46 for both of us - what I consider to be pretty pricey for what it was. Good, central location but in my opinion not the most satisfying place. Credit to the place for bringing a different concept to Geneva though!

 

Previous Next