Mixt Greens is a very ambitious food outlet but one which I think may make its mark over time. I say ambitious because when anyone in Ireland starts something new it can take a while before the public gets the full picture. The owner advertises it as an eco restaurant, and while almost everyone praises all things eco we can be quite slow to change our non-eco eating habits. We also know that a healthy diet is beneficial to our overall health, however when it comes to lunch time old habits die hard, ie, lashing into something less healthy with loads of chips, etc.
Mixt Greens is located across the road from University Hospital Galway in a new building and it is a really pleasant environment. It has free WiFi, daily papers on the counter, and it is open seven days a week from 8am to 9pm. It is not a vegetarian restaurant, however it does lean in that direction. The Mixt Greens in the name refers to its speciality of preparing tossed salads to order. You choose what lettuces you want, and then add hot or cold items. The hot items that were available when I was there were tandoori strips of chicken and strips of marinated beef, both cooked to order. You then choose one of about 10 different homemade dressings. Everything is tossed in a bowl and served immediately. If you are a salad junkie this really is the place to get your fix. The portions are enormous and you will probably have enough left over to bring home or back to the office for a snack later. The cost of all salads is €7.95. I sampled a roast salmon tossed salad and can vouch for the freshness of all the ingredients, and I finished it that evening when I got home.
There were a number of hot dishes on offer including one that just begged to be sampled, a pork hotpot with a scoop of fresh spring onion mash at a cost of only €5.50. One of the reasons I reckoned this would be good is that they have a Malaysian chef and he prepared it in a Malaysian style. It was one of the best dishes I have had in a long time and just perfect with the topping of fresh mash, and at only €5.50 it is the best value lunch item in the city. It would also be perfect to bring home a portion for your evening meal.
Aside from the food there are some pretty unusual features that make it interesting. All the dishes, plates, cups, containers, and cutlery are made of fully biodegradable material. In fact everything can go in the food waste bin and will decompose alongside the waste food. The cup for your water looks like plastic but it is made from corn (that’s a new one on me ). The water is called ONE and it is made by a company that uses all of its profits to buy water pumps in Africa. The coffee is of course Fair Trade — it is called Puro and it is gaining a good name locally .
The food containers also look very cool, a bit like you will see New Yorkers eating their Chinese takeaway food from in the movies.
The company intends to increase its dessert range, however I sampled the tiramisu and the carrot cake and both were top notch, and when you see the price of €2.95 then that is a real bargain. There is also an outside catering option where they intend to deliver hot or cold dishes to offices and homes. Typical costs are €5.50 to €8 per person. This should do well as there will be a choice of the regular dishes we all know and love (or hate ) such as chicken curry and stroganoff, as well as southeast Asian dishes from Vietnam, Malaysia, and India. The contact numbers are 091 580333 and 086 2410011.
