This is a beautiful joint atop Brent Cross – it promises nutritious organic food with its motto of “naturally fast food”. Have eaten here multiple times – more out of a regard for what I am putting into my body than for some obvious appeal to my taste buds – yes sometimes such inclination does indeed strike me!!!

Since I hit the joint mostly just before or after a round of shopping at Brent Cross, it has been closer to the lunch hour that I have knocked on its door. Consequently, what I have usually ended up eating here is something from either their selection of HOT BOXES and/or SALADS.

The Hot Boxes are basically Leon’s version of Rice Boxes as all the items are served with Italian Brown Rice & Slaw – they have five variants to offer in that. While I have eaten all, I prefer CHICKEN & CHORIZO CLUB (£6.95) and MOROCCAN MEATBALLS (6.50). The spicy hit from the sausage and the sweetness from the red peppers makes the first one quite nice while the second has the tomato sauce to lend a much needed gravy-like element to the dish. The other options frankly become too dry to eat with that brown rice, which is not an easy thing to get down the throat all the time.

From their SALAD range, I prefer ORIGINAL SUPERFOOD (£5.75) and MAGIC MACKEREL (£7.45). The first is basically a green delight with broccoli, peas, avocado, herbs, cucumber and quinoa drenched with a vinaigrette dressing – the feta cheese adds the white salty hit. The second combines smoked mackerel with beets & broccoli in a horseradish dressing – very pleasantly unusual that combination is for my palate at least.

Inside a KHOBEZ FLATBREAD which is wholemeal Mediterrenean round pita or chapatti-like bread, I have also opted for their CHARGRILLED AIOLI CHICKEN WRAP. The wrap contains gherkins, cherry tomatoes, lettuce lined with the grilled chicken and garlic aioli!

Their outlet is a really pretty one with an inviting book shelf on one wall and it is huge factor why I a) chose Leon and b) choose to eat in and not order takeaway – this means I usually pay more as well but it is nice to be in that space so have never minded it too much.

Healthy fast food chain with an array of vegetarian options. There is plenty of seating and sleek, responsive touch screens to order your food. We chose the hummus with bread, love burger, fries, vegan mac and cheese bites and the mock chicken harissa wrap. The love burger tasted great especially with the thousand island like dressing whilst the fries were crisp and fresh. In contact, the mock chicken wrap lacked sauce and was a tad dry. The hummus was a good accompaniment however the bread was similarly dry and unappealing. The mac and cheese bites were surprisingly tasty but I feel that Leon should offer complementary sauces with sides and not charge. I did in fact purchase a garlic sauce but it was bitter and tainted. In terms of service, we opted for the dine in option however the food was given in a takeaway bag with unnecessary utensils. From a price perspective Leon is cheaper than its trendy neighbour Shake Shack and I prefer it. Dress code: casual Cost: £ Food: Tasty Service: Self service Ambience: Relaxing