Planet Organic

I’m only giving it four stars because of the high prices. The place is absolutely wonderful, the buffet is one of my favorite places to get a quick and super healthy lunch or dinner. You pick a bowl size and pick as many items from the buffet to fill it up. Its a good value. I’d recommend the Raw Pad Thai. The grocery selection is great, I just wish I could afford any of it.

Five stars if I was the kind of person who had all the money in the world to spend on trendy health groceries. Oh, and I could afford to live nearby and actually frequent this shop as need to supply my addiction to coconut milk yoghurt and chia seed pudding.
I am neither of those things. I am a simple, Croydon-​dwelling, 90% gluten-​free and dairy-​free eating, occasional vegan, Meat-​Free Monday celebrating, very experimental cook. So as a nice treat I really liked Planet Organic. I could never afford to shop there frequently.
I mean — finally! Large pots of coconut milk yoghurt (not even Waitrose carries this reliably). And oh. that’s where I can get bee pollen. And man, I totally want some matcha green tea to sprinkle over my homemade Nice Cream. And yep — there’s the buckwheat flour for when I want to make gluten free, savoury crepes.
I was like a kid in a candy store. Except instead of candy it was extra large bags of flaxseed and Amy’ Organic microwave burritos.
I mean, they have a *water bar*. As in, a place to get still or sparkling, triple amazing filtered, low carbon footprint delicious tasting water out of a cool looking draught tap. This is amazing to me. As someone who grew up in Arizona, where water out of the tap tastes like you took the water out of your dog’s bowl and then microwaved it, this was my favorite part.
OK, now the rest. It’s expensive. Don’t come here to get stuff you can get at Sainsbury’s (i.e., almond milk and flaxseed). They also only carried the nice granola bars in singles, where as bigger grocers do carry them and you can buy the box to save overall. I found their labelling (especially in the seeds section) to be in total disarray. That’s how I ended up doing that embarrassing thing at the register («That was how much?! No, I don’t want it…).
Did I mention they have a deli and coffee counter? And fresh baked treats (nearly half of them wheat or gluten free!) to grab and go. The take aways were awesome! (Raw pad thai!) For someone who has (by choice or not) special food needs, quick food is just not possible. To be able to waltz in and grab a lunch to go feels … revolutionary.
So yeah. If I was rich and lived in Central London proper, I’d be in Planet Organic every morning, grabbing my Bulletproof Coffee and my Nakd bars before heading off to my bikram yoga class. Instead, I sort of stumbled out in a daze, having spent £40 and going ‘Wait, what just happened?’

This market is basically vegeterian but he hot food bar is quite good and homey. And there are tables in the market where you could put down your groceries and stop and eat. Even though the prices are very high, it’s not a bad place to shop if you’re looking for vegan or healthy groceries.

Location is great, but the seating area is not very pleasant. It’s also more expensive than Whole Foods.

Their buffet may not look like much, but it tastes great and that’s what counts! The price too, as you get a good deal of food for below your central London average. Best of all, student discount! Planet Organic is super convenient for students at the Bloomsbury universities and has many hard to find treasures. While the grocery prices may be out of most students’ budgets, it’s great for picking up the odd miso paste or seitan steak.

I adore their hot foods section, which has organic vegetarian soups, pastas, and salads for a very reasonable price. Go for the lasagna if they have it. Seating inside is limited and there are no outlets anywhere, so this is really a grab and go place. Closeness to UCL makes it a good spot for lunch.

Here’s Planet Organic’s claim to fame for me:
it was the first place I had a green smoothie, over 10 years ago.
So, y’know, BIG DEAL.
Despite that, I haven’t been back recently. Why? Well, I’m not schoolin’ around there anymore, so it’s not as regularly in my flight path. Also, the organic /​«specialty grocer» scene has improved significantly in London since 2002 so Planet Organic is less of a required «destination shop» than before.
That said — blame nostalgia — I still like sticking my head in here ever so often. They have a lot of quick-​grab lunch options including a line of totally raw sandwiches. I’m also a big fan of their range of kombucha (from France, I think?); kombucha doesn’t seem to have the fans here that it does on the other side of the Atlantic, so I find it not only hard to track down, but even harder to find several brands. FYI: I like pomegranate best.
It’s a GONG SHOW here at lunch on a weekday; there’s a hot «cafeteria-​style» line, and I basically shuffle my feet around the shop torn between launching head-​first into a kale stir fry and leaving immediately with my hummus and Bounce bar. It’s just a little hectic. I usually bypass the hot line and instead get my «something warm» in the form of soup (other wall of the store and much less DEATH MATCH-​feeling to just get something and go).
Unilocal note: I don’t know if it’s good for me, but I am a big fan of their baked goods. Haven’t had a thing I didn’t enjoy (cookies, bread rolls for soup)

Fresh produce is very expensive, but for takeaway, bakery and packaged items, the prices are (mostly) surprisingly affordable and can even be comparable to Tesco etc. Excellent variety and selection, especially snacks and chocolate. Staff are always friendly.

Insanely overpriced I would say!
Organic ok but £4 for 125 g of raspberrys? Wow!
Where is the local stuff I also wonder is there nothing around here that does not have to be transported?
They have free water in plastic (biodegradable) cups for customers that eat there wouldn’t it be good just to have cups you can wash, biodegradable cups have normally be burned at really hot temperatures that could be easily avoided. Also the refill of water bottles costs money I think that’s sad a store like this should encourage the carrying of water bottles you can reuse!
When I was visiting there was one person at the registers, actually running two of them, because it was so busy at lunchtime!
The garbage was overflowing and in front of it trash on the floor, plain nasty!
I know Wholefoods is a chain and I try to go to different places but that wouldn’t happen there.

The 10% student discount is great, the veggie take-​away hot food is awesome, and the selection is pretty good, but some of the stuff is insanely overpriced and a lot of the stuff isn’t actually organic. There was a sale of Clif Bars when I was there, which has an endless list of ingredients and similar bars that seemed much more legit (e.g. less than 5 ingredients and no syrups like ‘brown rice syrup’, which apparently is the most nutritionally deficient sugar available) cost £3 per granola bar. I was looking for stuff to test out during an upcoming training run, but there is no way I’m going to buy multiple granola bars at £3 a pop! It’s good for take-​away food or little bits and bobs, but don’t expect to do your weekly shop here unless you’ve got serious amounts of disposable cash.

It may be the fact that Planet Organic was an oasis for me when I first arrived in London, the first sighting of kombucha and flaxseeds in a grocery landscape seemingly full of heat-​and-​eat curries, prawn-​mayo sandwiches — actually make that anything-​mayo sandwiches — and pasta salads, but I felt like I had discovered something rare and amazing and continue to see the place in the glow of that halo. Nevermind the fact that there are plenty of other healthy and delicious lunch spots to discover near UCL, the hot buffet here is still my go to. Vegetarian but hearty, well-​seasoned, and a pretty good price (£4ish for a small box, like a modest sized lunch, and just under £6 for a medium size box which is like a lunch feast).
Remember to tell the cashier if you’re a student… 10% off everything including any of the groceries you buy. Makes a big difference when you’re shopping here as the organic status may be delightful but also comes at a price.

Planet Organic makes me so happy. Being gluten-​free in London isn’t at all easy, but Planet Organic does everything in its power to help you be a health-​conscious consumer. I’m so thankful that they label each product with allergy information, too. Great for groceries or a hot meal — and their selections of herbal teas and dark chocolates are to die for. Can’t speak highly enough of this place

Lots of delicious foods available here and they have a hot counter too with freshly prepared food. There is a small seating area within the shop but you are probably best taking it away with you.
Popped in today after finding out about the free Green and Blacks chocolate samples of their new flavours orange and lemon. I ended up walking out with 4 bars as there was a promo on 3 bars at half price and get a free lemon or orange bar. I also picked up a delicous 7 seeded roll to have for lunch.
As you would expect the prices aren’t the cheapest but then the food is organic so it’s never going to be super cheap. Also remember just because it’s organic doesn’t necessarily mean it’s healthy. They do have lots of healthy choices in here including fruit and veg, however they also have cakes, chocolate and other less healthy options.

Planet Organic
had a lot of different fresh food you can purchase here too. Everything considered amazing, I hope I could eat all of these the food
area was good-​looking and there are some familiar foods but really unique. They
also have a desserts area with plenty of choices of desserts you can possibly
choose. A. Totally
extensive variety of fresh, organic, and good-​quality foods.

This is my lunch destination near work. They have a great selection of lunch take away food bar. I usually try to fit 4 or 5 kinds of salad, pasta etc in a medium size container. My favorite pastries are date pudding and granola bar. The drink selection is also amazing, almond cacao and sweet green juice are what I always have. The only down side is that it’s extremely crowded during lunch time!

Delicious collection of organic eat in and take away foods. I tried the raw pumpkin pie and it was super delicious. There are so many raw food desserts to choose from. They cater for all diet types from vegan to ceoliac.
The supermarket section has a wide range of products ranging from organic flours, to different types of organic nut butters.
I will definitely be going back to sample something from the hot food section.

A student spending a term studying in London, I hunted around a bit for a suitable organic grocery store, and Planet Organic was the best I encountered.
It’s a decently sized organics store, with sections of hot & cold food, a food counter, juice bar, produce, dry goods, cosmetics, supplements, etc., etc all the unusual. Unlike some health food stores there’s a mixture of products offered and not just medicinal material and ultra-​exfoliating shampoos. (Although they have those too).
There’s a wonderful array of specialty products for those with dietary concerns, plenty of obscure but quality brand names — many local– and quite a few interesting foodstuffs that would be fun to experiment with.
If you’re looking for a health lunch –hot or otherwise — there’s a decent selection of nutritious meals available. The hot lunches are served in biodegradable containers that are priced by the size, not the weight, which is a rare thing. And yes, they fill them to the brim. Expect servings of wonderfully prepared things like brown rice, tofu, quinoa, lentils, and other members of the health-​conscious food families along salads and side-​dishes. There’s plenty of seating area both inside and outside, but beware of the London lunchtime stampede at the usual hours.
I’m willing to spend money on organic, local, healthy food, so the prices aren’t objectionable too me especially since I mostly buy ingredients, not snacks. In general organic food costs more, and Whole Foods has similar if not identical pricing so I wouldn’t fuss. On the up side, there are discounts and meal deals if you hunt for them, and students get 10% off — but you have to ask.
The downside would be the often unfriendly staff which is a bit of a puzzler to me as the healthy, earthy vibe of the place makes me happy as soon as I walk in. Also, the produce section is limited compared to other supermarkets, and sometimes the vegetables aren’t in peak condition. And if you’re look for non-​specialty food, well, sometimes that can be tricky. In other words, you can find every kind of bread except whole wheat flour on a bad day.
But still, thumbs up.

Love the healthy air about it. I love selection of affordable ‘free-​from’ cosmetics and toiletries.
The hot food counter is hard to compete with if you are a health-​conscious person. They fill up a small takeaway box to the brim which keeps me satisfied.
Coconut dream smoothie is just so simple and great that despite the price I treat myself with it whenever I feel like it.
I probably wouldn’t buy the produce — fruits & vegs as it seems to be overpriced — I prefer local greengrocers. But other than that: lovely branch, big and airy and has everything I need.

For all the complaints about prices– go and get the buffet take out. The lunch time servers here are most generous when it comes to portion size. You will leave with a small (bio-​degradable) container stuffed to the brim, overflowing in fact, with baked quinoa, lentil mash, veg-​lasagne, brown rice, stirfry tofu and brocoli salad. They will keep packing until you have a bit of everything you want.
So take away for eat outside, at the coffee bar out back next to the green grocer, or up front for Torrington street watching. They also do a student discount, don’t forget to ask.

I mistakenly thought this place will sell food similar to those at Whole Food Market and Natural Food Kitchen– this assumption was verified as I stood in the long queue waiting to be served and the only bit I can see was the selection of salads!
after few minutes wait it was my turn to order, so I asked for grilled chicken
’we don’t have chicken
right. anything with chicken in it?
we don’t serve meat in here !‘
so I asked for two salads (Greek salad and coscus with vegetables).
when I saw the Greek salad almost finished in the bowl, I asked if there is a new salad that she can serve me from, as there is no any cheese in the Greek salad in the bowl
the girl rolled her eyes and with an authoritative tone, speaking slowly like I am some retard who don’t understand English told me that this is Greek salad !!
of course I had to shut up
this is the Greek Salad a la Planet Organic version!
I won’t be complaining about the high price I paid– but the box food was in could hardly be sealed– I kept adjusting the lid and it was impossible to keep it in place– ended up reaching the office with all the salad bits in the plastic bag instead of the box!
trying to emulate the concept of Whole Food Market, unfortunately a very bad copy

Sehr gut sortierte Filiale einer britischen Bioladen-​Kette, die — wie in UK mittlerweile üblich — vor allem dadurch punktet, dass mit Hilfe von Symbolen klar und einfach gekennzeichnet wird, welche Produkte vegetarisch, vegan, glutenfrei, weizen– oder laktosefrei sind. So etwas wünscht man sich in Deutschland auch. Daneben bietet Planet Organic aber auch noch ein kalt-​warmes Essensbüffet mit zahlreichen leckeren Salaten und Eintöpfen, Nudel– und Reisgerichten und Gemüsespezialiäten an. Leider gibt es dieses tolle und gesunde Essen nur zum take away. Wer vor Ort essen möchte, erhält leider keine richtigen Teller, was freilich zusätzlich Müll verursacht (auch wenn das Besteck und die Schale aus Holz bzw. Pappe sind und der Kunststoff recycelt wurde). Sitzen kann man drinnen (relativ ungemütlich) und draußen (nur was bei schönem Wetter) und neben dem Essen auch Kaffee– und Teespezialitäten in Bio-​Qualität verköstigen.