The Naked Deli, Chillingham Road

For a while now I've been wanting to visit the Naked Deli.  My friends have been keeping my Instagram feed full with beautiful looking food and colourful juices from the Deli in Chillingham Road and each time I've been more than a little envious.

There's just been one thing holding me back.  The Naked Deli use unprocessed food to create clean dishes and, as we all know, Simon and I are big fans of huge stodgy burgers and massive slabs of cake. We weren’t really sure that the Naked Deli was very "us"

With the rumour that Naked Deli could be opening a new restaurant in Gosforth and the news that their healthy takeaway food is now available in the new look Fenwick's Food Hall, we decided enough is enough.  It was time to be brave and go clean!

Everything at the Naked Deli is prepared fresh on site using whole and natural state foods.  Not a single thing on the menu is processed meaning there are no hidden nasties lurking in the food – you won't find any unwanted sugars or chemicals round here.

The Naked Deli's motto is "to look good naked, eat naked" – who doesn't want to look good naked? 

Simon and I are pretty much last to the Naked Deli party, we realised this when we showed up for lunch and just about managed to grab the last table.  The space is gorgeous and light, with exposed lights, white tiles and light wood furnishings but with only a handful of seats you have to be quick on your feet. 

With its location on Chillingham Road the Deli is hugely popular with students and attracts a lot of people who have just left the gym.  At one point, we were the only people there not in lycra and we did feel a little like we'd turned up to a fancy dress party but not received the memo.  Not too awkward, but it did make us feel guilty for having skipped so many gym sessions that week.

We'd just missed breakfast so turned our attention to the lunch menu which is served from 11:30am.

Simon is obsessed with juices (part of his one man mission to convince me to let him buy a Nutribullet) and so ordered the Naked Cleanse – Kale, Spinach, Lime, Ginger, Apple and Coconut.  All of the juices at Naked Deli are cold pressed on site and served in bottles so you can either drink them in the Deli or take them away.  The Naked Deli also have their own Naked Juice Cleanse programme which looks fantastic. 

I decided on a hot drink and ordered the Maca Almond Latte.  Wow!   It was one of the best Lattes I have ever had.  It tasted so creamy that it felt really indulgent – amazing to think that it was far better for me than my usual order at Starbucks!

The food menu is packed with so many delicious dishes I struggled to make a choice and ended up having to pick between four!

Simon went for the Crispy Quinoa Coated Chicken Fillets served with Baked Sweet Potato Chips and Dip. 

The chicken was delicious and it was lovely to be able to taste it properly without it being fried in nasty fats.  We quite often order sweet potato chips when we're out and about but these were different to any we'd ever had.  They weren't fried so were beautifully soft and served with a delicious dip that was homemade by the Deli.

I opted for Kale, Feta and Spinach Patties topped with two Organic Poached Eggs.  I'm a big fan of poached eggs but am used to having them served on a muffin so was curious to see how I'd feel about my eggs sitting on a bed of healthy greens.  My lunch was gorgeous and I didn't miss having muffins at all!

If, like us, you love your sweet treats you don't miss out at the Naked Deli.  They've built quite a reputation in the area for creating delicious clean cakes and biscuits using ingredients such as raw cacao and avocado.  The cakes are proudly displayed on the counter and they look just as good as any cakes I've ever seen in a bakery. 

Unfortunately for me and my annoying allergy they all contain nuts which is a bit of a disappointment but an understandable necessity to get a good taste and texture to the cakes.  So if someone could pop in and try out one of the Raw Cheesecakes or the Avacado Chocolate Torte and report back I'd appreciate it!

The big question on my mind as we had sat down at our table and glanced over the lunch menu was, "would eating clean mean compromising on taste"?   Now I realise what an absolutely ridiculous way of thinking.  It's quite worrying that we associate great tasting food with piles of grease and heaps of sugar.  Strip away all of the added extras that often appears in our food and you are left with food the way it is supposed to be enjoyed – fresh, filling and full of flavour. 

I for one am a convert and the visit to Naked Deli has made me realise that eating out doesn't have to mean consuming a ridiculous amount of sugar, salt, fat and calories in one sitting.  I will be back, and if you have always been curious about your local healthy eating restaurant I urge you to give it a go!  You may be surprised!