High-end coffee shop and deli, Wylde, located on Forster St awakens the senses with delicious, fresh and sustainably obtained ingredients to give you a healthy and scrumptious lunch option.
Vibrantly decorated, Wylde is connected to it’s sister business, the Hyde Hotel but offers a different vibe to the lush, luxurious offerings in the hotel, instead being a busy trendy hub for nearby workers, guests to the hotel and visitors all popping in to try the delicious, locally sourced food and produce.
With a coffee and açai counter to one side, coaxing you with delicious fresh pastries while you wait for your order, and a warm deli with sandwiches, focaccia and salads on the other, there are a plethora of choices, though the menu shares a common thread throughout - it’s all absolutely delectable.
Under the watchful eye of cafe manager Silvia and the creative mind of executive head chef, Andy, the fare at Wylde utilises locally sourced ingredients to create a varied menu, one which suits every diner while making sure that food waste is kept at a minimal level. Sacrificing taste or a the balance of a nutritious meal is often the trap that health focused delis and restaurants often fall into, meaning that the food may be healthy but you don’t want to eat it, thus creating an endless cycle. This is a trap Wylde runs in the opposite direction from, each dish is delectable, well balanced with proteins and carbohydrates to help keep you fuller for longer without negating any of the goodness of the salad.
Hot Deli
To ensure a full balance of the menu, I ordered two salads, one of the signature sandwiches as well as a focaccia based pizza and if I could have borrowed someone else’s stomach to finish it all, I would have. From the creative mind of executive chef for both Hyde and Wylde, each dish on offer is a perfect lesson in balance and satisfaction without sacrificing the taste of any of the ingredients.
The ‘Wlyde about salmon’ salad bowl includes; soy and ginger brown rice, marinated Asian leaf, baby spinach, pickled beansprouts, carrot and sunflower seeds, teriyaki glazed salmon, ginger and wasabi mayo with a furikake seasoning. The blend of ingredients was absolutely delicious and felt very light and refreshing. The salmon in the salad bowl was so fresh it was like it swam onto the bowl, and was one of the best salmon salads I have ever had the pleasure of eating.
The vegan salad option, ‘Miso Vegan’, incorporates miso glazed Portobello mushrooms, teriyaki brown rice, spicy tofu, roasted peppers, shredded kale, carrot and sunflower seeds, pickled beansprouts, fresh chilli, roasted spiced cashew nut and ginger and sesame dressing. Occasionally, the vegan option on menus can be boring, an after thought to appease and cover all bases, but no real energy is given to the actual dish bar the criteria it fits, the ‘Miso Vegan’ was the absolute antithesis of such a dish. Well balanced with flavourful tofu and warm rice, each bite was well integrated and thought out, and stands up very well against the non-vegan dishes for both taste and creativity.
Although extremely difficult to chose a favourite, the ‘Nuts about chicken salad’ dish which mixes marinated chicken in satay sauce with brown rice, salad greens, pickled veggies, roasted peanuts and ginger and sesame dressing, was mine. Light and delectable, the nutty taste of the satay was flavourful and moreish while still remaining light.
While Wylde is succeeding with making salads sexy again, the sandwiches shouldn’t be ignored. The humorously named ‘Chicken & Notions’ comprises Moroccan spiced chicken, roasted peppers, salad greens, maple and chilli mayo and Dhukka seasoning in a warm, fresh sourdough baguette and is as described, a chicken roll with notions, but it has a reason to be. The chewy, crisp sourdough with the sweet and savoury balance of the Moroccan chicken, peppers and maple and chilli mayo is absolutely gorgeous, to the degree that I was disappointed when I finished it.
The newly introduced focaccia pizzas are a fantastic option for those who don’t want to have a sandwich but want something more than a salad. The focaccia base has is lighter than it has any right to be, meaning that even though it looks and tastes like a pizza, it doesn’t have the same stodgy base as a pizza, therefore removing the ‘I’m so full I need to sleep’ hangover that can come with pizza. Coming in slices with a variety of toppings, it’s definitely worth tasting yourself.
Coffee and acai bar
While the hot deli at Wylde is worth rapturous praise, the coffee is delicious and freshly ground and the queue for it moves quickly, even at peak lunchtime hours. Offering one of the few authentic açai bowls in Galway city, Wylde’s version of the vitamin heavy dish which originates in South America comes with a variety of toppings and serves as a nutritiously dense cold smoothie type bowl. The lighter options are Super Berry, the Signature Bowl and Tropical Taste, with Peanut Butter Berry and Peanut Butter Banana both sneaking in some cocoa nibs for a delicious chocolatey tang.
There are also a variety of locally grown produce available at the cafe shop, with specific emphasis being on locally sourced produce, with most items - where possible - are from Galway or the west of Ireland. These include kombucha from Claregalway based brewery, All About Kombucha, Sheridan’s brown bread crackers and Wylde’s own chocolate bar.
With so much on offer, why not pop in when you’re next in the area, or make it the venue for the next catch up with a friend, with so much to choose from and a trendy vibe, bring your tastebuds and your eyes on safari with Wylde.
Wylde is open seven days a week, from 09:30 to 5:30 Monday to Friday, 08:30 to 5pm on Saturday and 9am to 5pm on Sunday. To learn more, visit the Wylde page on the Hyde website, www.hydehotel.ie or their instagram page @wyldegalway.
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