AIMING perhaps to catch the tail-end of the post-festive guilt-trip detox market? Welcome to itsu, importing its ‘eat beautiful’ menu to Hardman Boulevard, Spinningfields from Wednesday, January 27.
This Asian-inspired chain, successful in London and on recent roll-outs in Reading and Cambridge, ticks all kinds of healthy boxes – “64 dishes of protein packed, low carb and flavoursome dishes”. So ‘dirty food’ this definitely isn’t, but it does follow the trend for all-day dining. itsu means “when” in Japanese; the answer to which is “any time you want to eat with us’ (7am-6.30pm Mon-Fri).
Breakfast offers porridge to poached eggs plus a variety of breakfast ‘beautysmoothies’ and juices, all blended at the counter. You’re also given a free banana with every coffee or tea.
Also on the menu are salads, crunchy veg, hot chicken noodle soups, brown rice pots, freshly made sushi and sashimi, so hardly any calories or saturated fat. Expect miso many ways, too, and snacks such as chocolate covered rice cakes, wasabi peas and five flavours of popcorn.
itsu is the braninchild of Julian Metcalfe, who created the canniest of high street sarnie sellers, Pret a Manger. The mantra of the 60 plus outlets is ‘eat beautiful’; you can do it at home, too via their grocery arm.
itsu,1 Hardman Boulevard, Spinningfields, Manchester M3 3AQ.