Halfway through my recent book club meeting, I felt compelled to interrupt the robust literary conversation with an important statement and follow-up question.

“These salads are amazing!” I exclaimed to Cingashe, the host. “Where are they from?” The other women around the table nodded vigorously.

The salads, Cingashe said, came from Lexi’s Healthy Eatery.

Lexi’s Healthy Eatery.

The salads had names like “Glow Bowl” and “Omega Punch” and “Italian Stack”. I can’t tell you now what they looked or tasted like — unfortunately I don’t have photos — but I know they were the best salads I’ve ever eaten. And trust me, I am not normally a proponent of salads as book club fare. When I host I normally serve cheese and brownies.

In fact “salads” is a very poor descriptor for the platters of deliciousness we ate that night. I just don’t know what else to call them.

Lexi’s is a brand-new, mostly vegetarian restaurant in Sandton. I almost never blog about Sandton these days — traffic there is a nightmare and I don’t get up that way very often anymore. But those salads convinced me to make a pilgrimage to Lexi’s.

Brunch at Lexi’s

I arrived at Lexi’s at a time that was not quite breakfast and not quite lunch. The decor was the first thing I noticed — it was pretty and cheerful and bright even though it was a cold, cloudy morning outside.

Sandton can be a stuffy, corporate place but the atmosphere and clientele in Lexi’s does not fit this Sandton stereotype.

People eating at Lexi’s.

Lexi’s menu is enchanting. With one or two exceptions, everything is vegetarian and lots of items are vegan. The non-vegetarian items are marked with a little cow or fish symbol. The descriptions make everything sound delicious yet healthy, which I’m pretty sure everything is.

I ordered a red velvet latte made with beetroot and almond milk, and a salted caramel smoothie bowl with frozen bananas and berries, Himalayan salt, nut butter, toasted buckwheat and a bunch of other things.

I picked these two items quickly, without really reviewing the entire menu. But I could not have chosen a more tasty, visually pleasing meal.

My red velvet latte, which had a cinnamon-y flavor.

Salted caramel bowl. I nearly squealed with delight at its beauty. It was so filling I couldn’t finish it.

The two together.

Lexi’s is delightful. It’s ethical and sustainable, and for the vegetarian-haters among you there is even some meat.

Go.

Lexi’s Healthy Eatery is at 24 Central Centre, 6 Gwen Lane, Sandton. Call +27-83-300-1210.

Read the rest of my 2018 Restaurant of the Month series.