Pret A Manger caused a stir this week by unveiling a £13 supersized salmon salad targeted at hybrid workers who ‘want to treat themselves the days they are in the office’.
Social media fury quickly erupted over the price, which will be higher depending on location, with airport and train station branches charging more and 20 per cent VAT slapped on if customers want to eat it in-store.
But a salad that costs more than your hourly wage is not a new concept, with other high street lunch spots selling hearty bowls of leaves and protein and meal deals for as much as £25.
Retailers inist that these are not rabbit food, but proper meals. For instance, the co-founder of the Salad Project, James Dare, says that their meals will keep people ‘full’.
But the same cannot be said for one’s bank account, as a meal deal from the business cost one woman £25.30, more than twice the National Living Wage for those aged 21.
Hybrid workers who might wish to indulge in a fancy lunch during their days in the office might pop to Whole Foods, where salad is measured by weight.
But at around £2.40 per 100g, their nourishing green goddess bowls can easily cost upwards of £12 if it has heavy ingredients in it, such as boiled eggs and chicken.
It’s just one of the many luxurious salad options available for hungry employees to grab on their lunch breaks… but you might need a hefty salary to be able to afford them.
Pret – one of the biggest café chains in the country – is now selling a salmon salad that starts from £12.95 (pictured)
The Salad Project, £25.30
The Salad Project currently have seven stores and has expanded across London since opening its doors for the first time in 2021.
Founders Florian and James believe eating salads should be a ‘lifestyle’ because it ‘brings you joy in its simplest and most enjoyable forms’.
‘It’s your new bad habit, except it’s really good,’ they state on the website.
The brand attracts half-an-hour long queues on a regular basis and their success is reflected in the 4,000 salads they sell each day in London alone.
‘These are indulgent salads,’ James Dare, The Salad Project’s co-founder, claimed in conversation with The Times. He added: ‘Yes, they are more expensive than a salad you might buy from Pret. But they’ll keep you full. You won’t need to have a sandwich immediately after.’
However, if you become accustomed to picking up The Salad Project daily, you may be left with little left in your bank account afterwards, with some variations costing more than £20.
Restaurant deal app NeoTaste tried one of the most expensive salads in London from the self-service The Salad Project branch in Bank.
One woman was shocked when she realised her salmon and prawn personalised salad meal deal cost £25.30 (pictured)
One of the NeoTaste employees ordered a custom bowl made with prawns, salmon, and ‘all the greens’, however, she got a fright when the bill came to £25.30.
This included a super ginger drink and a mini Tony’s Chocoloney bar, and she described the salad as ‘so big, the lid didn’t even close’.
The Salad Project also have The GOAT salad, which will set you back £12.95, along with The Big Deal and the Miso Salmon options.
This means that if a Londoner bought the most expensive meals from The Salad Project all week, they would be spending almost £65 on lunch alone.
The GOAT contains rocket, roasted sweet potatoes, cherry tomatoes, pickled onions, honey mustard chicken, goat’s cheese, maple walnuts and green goddess dressing.
Bibi’s, £14.75
Bibi’s offer some of the most expensive salad boxes in London, with their Signature Roasted Salmon costing an eye-watering £14.75 (pictured)
Bibi’s – located in Soho, Mayfair, Bankside and Fenchurch – is billed as a health food restaurant inspired by Turkish cuisine.
They offer some of the most expensive salad boxes in London, with their Signature Roasted Salmon costing an eye-watering £14.75.
The fish is infused with honey and garlic flavours and customers can choose two sides to have with the protein.
This includes rice, cabbage salad, roasted vegetables, hummus, mixed leaves, a carrot salad or a beetroot salad, along with choosing their own sauces.
The signature salad box – which contains no meat or fish for vegans and vegetarians – costs £10.20 and offers the same sides.
Bibi’s was founded by Turkish-born chef and food creative Billur Yapici, known as Bibi, and her partner Tansel, who wanted to bring flavours from around the world to London commuters.
Olive + Squash, £14.30
The Saucy Salmon Avocado bowl will set you back £14.30, without the cost of delivery and service fees if you’re ordering directly to your office (pictured)
Located in Holborn near the famous landmark St. Paul’s Cathedral, Olive + Squash says it offers ‘fresh, sustainable and seasonal food’ which is made ‘from scratch every day’.
However, the convenience of having a nutritious lunch whenever you want it comes at a hefty price tag, with some of their salad bowls going for almost £15 online via Deliveroo.
The Saucy Salmon Avocado bowl will set you back £14.30, without the cost of delivery and service fees if you’re ordering directly to your office.
The ‘healthy treat’ contains smoked salmon, half an avocado, giant cous cous, little gem lettuce, local radish, spring onions, coriander, sesame seeds and crispy chilli dressing.
And for the vegetarians, Olive + Squash offers a premium Burrata al Pesto salad.
Despite it containing no form of protein other than cheese, it is priced just 15p less than the salmon dish.
It contains burrata from Puglia, homemade pesto, rocket, fusilli pasta, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, Kalamata olives, house croutons, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Atis, £14
One of the most costly items on Atis’ menu is the Miso Salmon Slaw power bowl, priced at £14 (pictured)
Another pricey chain, Atis, has taken over London, offering corporate workers expensive salads in several locations across the city.
They have both ‘power plates’ and ‘salad bowls’ on offer, with customers having the choice of picking between a chef-curated meal or layering up their own dish.
One of the most costly items on the menu is the Miso Salmon Slaw power bowl, priced at £14.
It contains miso orange salmon, miso slaw, cucumber, wholegrain rice, baby spinach, crispy shallots and a lime wedge.
Atis says it was ‘developed to meet the demands of an evolving relationship with food’, adding that it wanted to provide a space that was ‘reflective of the modern approach to eating’.
Other pricey items on the menu include The Big Greek, Chicken Peso Parm and The Steak Out power plates.
The Salad Kitchen, £13.75
The large Gluten Go Home box from the The Salad Kitchen will set you back £13.75 (pictured)
The business has proclaimed itself as ‘London’s favourite salad shop’ and was set up in 2014 by Sam Cole and Ross Cannon.
The Salad Kitchen now has six restaurants and offers different salads based on goals, whether that is to lose weight, eat more protein or cut out gluten – but it all comes at a price.
The large Gluten Go Home box will set you back £13.75 and contains a gluten free Crunchbox with pulled chicken, grilled halloumi, avocado, smoked chilli mayo, lemon pesto and toasted seeds.
A crunchbox is described as a ‘medley’ of salads with a choice of pulled chicken, avocado, vegan kimchi, goat’s cheese and/or grilled halloumi.
The Salad Project’s regular Protein Paradise salad also costs £12.20 and contains a crunchbox with extra an pulse, two and a half portions of pulled chicken, smoked chilli mayo, honey mustard and toasted seeds, which all contain a whopping 64g of protein.
Those watching the pounds may opt for the pricey regular £11.25 So Cali low-calorie bowl, which contains a crunchbox with kimchi, roast tempeh, sriracha mayo and sourdough croutons.
Tossed, £13.99
One of the most expensive salads on Tossed’s Deliveroo website is the Avocado Caesar Salad, which will set you back £13.99 (pictured)
At Tossed, it appears that vegetarian salads can actually cost more than those that contain expensive ingredients, such as meat and fish.
The Harissa Cauliflower salad contains harissa roasted cauliflower with houmous, pickled vegetables, roasted peppers, cucumber, mint and pomegranate relish, baby plum tomatoes, fresh coriander and tahini dressing.
It costs £9.99, a heftier price tag than the £8.49 Tuna Niçoise salad, which is made with tuna, egg, olives, baby plum tomatoes, pickled red onion and French dressing.
But one of the most expensive salads on their Deliveroo website is the Avocado Caesar Salad, which will set you back £13.99, without the cost of delivery and fees.
Customers can choose between chicken or salmon with avocado, parmesan crisps, baby plum tomatoes, egg, croutons, Caesar dressing and lemon juice.
Palm Greens, £13.50
Palm Greens currently has three salads on the menu: Mexican Tostada, Kale Caesar (pictured) and Miso Mushroom, all of which cost a hefty £13.50 each
Palm Greens’ base is pinpointed in the heart of trendy east London, Shoreditch, an area with a thriving arts and culture scene and home to many other independent shops and restaurants.
It therefore may come as no surprise that its mantra is ‘lunch, just not as you know it’, again, promising bold flavours with ‘seasonal goodness’.
Palm Greens currently has three salads on the menu: Mexican Tostada, Kale Caesar and Miso Mushroom, all of which cost a hefty £13.50 each.
This means a post-gym wellness drink and salad would easily rack up to more than £20 per person, as the smoothies themselves are £8.50 alone.
Urban Greens, £13.50
The Salmon Avocado Signature Salad bowls from Urban Greens cost £13.50 – 55p more than Pret’s salad
With five locations across London, in Kensington to London Wall, Urban Greens are beginning to establish themselves as one of the industry giants within the city’s health food industry.
The store aims to ‘deliver nutritious, powerful, delicious food’ for busy commuters in a rush who perhaps don’t have time to prepare food at home.
Customers can build their own salads, but those in a hurry may choose their pre-made dishes off the menu, however, they don’t come cheap.
The Salmon Avocado Signature Salad bowls cost £13.50 – 55p more than Pret’s salad – and it contains hot smoked salmon, quinoa, shredded kale, pickled cabbage, avocado, fresh parsley, sesame seeds and a basil pesto dressing.
The business has also recently teamed up with Paradise, a restaurant owned by British-Sri Lankan chef Dom Fernando in Soho, to create the Paradise salad.
It costs a whopping £12 and contains tamarind and jaggery glazed chicken, red rice, broccoli, pickled red cabbage, pickled chillies, coconut and cherry tomato pol sambol, coriander, cashews, crispy onions and a curry leaf pesto dressing.
Pick Your Own, £12.45
The regular Salmon Crunch Salad from Pick Your Own costs £12.45 and upgrading to a large costs £13.95, almost putting the company on par with Bibi’s
Pick Your Own champions ‘field to fork’ has opened its first location on Fenchurch Street, a busy hub full of hundreds of offices, financial, insurance, and legal sectors.
The regular Salmon Crunch Salad costs £12.45 and upgrading to a large costs £13.95, almost putting the company on par with Bibi’s.
It contains ezme fava beans, seasonal shredded vegetables, nut crumble, shredded carrots, green harissa tahini dressing and chilli-encrusted sockeye salmon.
Pick Your Own also has a Calabrian Chilli Chicken bowl costing £11.95 for a regular and £13.45 for a large.
For that cost, customers receive lemon and herb chicken, baby spinach, shredded vegetables, Calabrian chilli crunch, red pepper and lemon and orange asparagus and courgette.
Pick Your Own says its aim is to ‘champion a holistic approach to sustainability in the quick-service restaurant industry’.
