Food as medicine might not be the easiest pill to swallow marketing-wise. But the team behind bakery-cafe chain Le Pain Quotidien has found a good way to make it more than palatable. Belgium-based founder Alain Coumont introduced the fast-casual plant-based restaurant concept Le Botaniste in Ghent, Belgium, last September. A New York City branch followed in February. The mission: to serve organic, sustainable, healthy food without being preachy—wine bar included. “We are focusing on a back-to-basics approach to food that is about the purity of the products,” managing director Laurent Francois says.
Garden Growth
Location: The New York City location is a former Le Pain Quotidien unit, set on a primarily residential swath of Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
Footprint: 1,000 square feet; 59 seats
Sample prices: Cold bowls $6.95 or $8.95; hot bowls $14
One takeaway
Staff, known as “vegetable warriors,” wear lab coats to reinforce the apothecary theme.
The 100 percent plant-based, 99 percent organic, sustainable and “gluten-friendly” menu will change seasonally, though a few items will be available year-round. Labeled as “botanical” instead of “vegan,” the cuisine is raw, very lightly cooked or steamed, with minimal olive oil used in preparation. Le Botaniste stands apart from other healthy fast-casual dining options, Francois says, “by really fighting for purity.”
Though currently divided into “Starters” and “Bowls,” Le Botaniste is changing up the menu and dividing offerings into “Cold Bowls” and “Hot Bowls” to be more user-friendly. Cold Bowls are basically dips, such as green pea hummus, while Hot Bowls are comprised of a base like rice, potatoes or pasta, a sauce and a topping. Tibetan Mama, so far the most popular Hot Bowl, combines brown rice with peanut curry sauce and steamed greens.
In terms of educating diners about eating mindfully, Le Botaniste lets the design do the talking instead of “shouting it from the rooftops,” as Francois says. Three areas—the ordering counter, the food bar and a back seating section—flow into each other with the balanced feel of a quaint apothecary, cozy home kitchen and modern wine bar, respectively.