Inverness city centre gets new plant-based cafe — but it has a twist

A new cafe has opened in Inverness city centre - but it has a twist.

Plant Bar is based on Union Street - within the Soul Seeker Yoga premises - and provides customers with plant-based and low-carb food. In addition to this, they are providing completely grain-free meals - something the owners believe is a first for Inverness.

Run by Janine and Matt Cade, the cafe has been a long time in the making and they are now looking forward to welcoming in customers.

Janine said: “We wanted to make use of this space when we first opened the yoga studio and at the beginning of the year that opportunity came up.

“We had been thinking about the concept for a while and the timing just seemed to fit so we decided to just go for it!”

Matt added: “I’m a trained chef but left catering when I was in my early 20s and started landscaping and found a love for outdoor work.

“But I’ve always had a passion for growing my own vegetables at home and doing cooking.

“I did enjoy doing catering for events and retreats for the yoga studio, so I just made the choice to look after myself in a different way as landscaping was quite punishing.”

Being able to provide plant-based, grain free and low-carb food is important to Matt and Janine, as they are on a mission to help people understand how their bodies work and how to optimise their wellbeing.

Janine said: “We’re really lucky to have lots of vegan cafe options in Inverness, but what we’re offering is pretty unique. There’s not anywhere in Inverness doing it and we’re not even sure if there’s anywhere else in the country!

“We’re really focusing on super-healthy food that’s delicious but is guilt-free, nutritious and delightful! We don’t want to serve just plain salads or tofu! People think healthy food is boring and we are trying to show that it really doesn’t have to be!

“We have lots of interesting food on the menu, some things that will be familiar and then also we’re offering out delicious treats like millionaire’s shortbread, yogurt cake with lemon and blueberry cheesecake! There is no flour in them, no wheat, oats or rye! All the food is based around vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds!

“There’s lots of evidence that although lots of people can tolerate grain, we have to do a lot of processing to digest them, and most people have some kind of reaction to gluten.”

Matt and Janine have used their own experience of changing their eating habits to shape the Plant Bar.

Janine continued: “We’ve been on a journey trying to look after our bodies better and we’ve consistently been eating this way.

“It isn’t about being good every second of the day, it’s about making a decision that enables you to then make smart choices. If I had lots of bad stuff at home then I would definitely eat it. I just make the hard decision once a week when I go shopping then I don’t think about.

“You will select from what you’ve got in front of you. It is almost inevitable to eat unhealthy options when the food industry and hospitality is putting it in front of you.

“You can’t go into a place and see high calorie, high sugar food and choose the healthy thing. But, if you come here you can eat anything on the menu, and it’s a big menu for a cafe. You’ve already made that sensible choice by coming and then you can choose anything you like off the menu.

“It’s not that everything is low calorie, it’s not diet food. It’s nutritious food and full of healthy fats and nutrients.”

Matt added: “Everyone is welcome, so please come in and try it!”

Plant Bar will be open from Tuesday to Saturday 10.30am to 3.30pm initially but they hope this will extend over time.

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