UPDATE: Since my original post, THR1VE has, well, thrived. With stores now in Sydney and Canberra plus 3-4 more due to open across the country in 2014, my prediction of world domination seems to be eerily correct. [Sidenote: I really should go into fortune telling]. The team is currently hard at work recipe testing (what a tough job) with a new menu launching early in the new year. If you haven’t been in to check them out yet, I suggesting getting on it, stat. Well, read my blog post first, then…. stat.
When you lead a busy lifestyle, good nutrition is often the first thing to suffer. The irony of this, of course, is that good nutrition is what sustains you when you feel like you’re being pulled in all directions. Now, I don’t profess to eating well all of the time (My name is Jess and I’m a sugar-addict) but I am making a concerted effort to eat better, more often. Enter THR1VE in Sydney CBD’s MLC Centre.
THR1VE first appeared on my radar while I was taking a shortcut back to work during lunchtime a week or so ago. My first thought was ‘Finally! Somewhere truly healthy to eat in the CBD’ and my second thought was ‘Damn, I’ve had lunch already’. A couple of days later I returned to taste their wares, and sit down with Josh Sparks, founder and CEO of THR1VE.
The first thing you notice on meeting Josh is his energy and enthusiasm. He is clearly passionate about bringing his product to the public – as well he should be. THR1VE offers food like nothing else available in the CBD. Nutritious food designed to enhance your health, wellness, performance and vitality, made fresh every day. The menu has a distinctive Paleo leaning, which makes sense given that Josh himself has followed a Paleo-based diet since before the term was even circulating.
THR1VE Sydney is open from 7.30am to 3pm Monday to Friday, so you can head in for breakfast, lunch or a post-workout snack. The breakfast menu features fresh juices, smoothies and the popular breakfast bowl, which includes three free-range eggs scrambled (or three egg whites with one yolk) and your choice of either brown rice, wilted spinach or roast tomato. You can add further protein or vegies for an extra energy boost. Another breakfast favourite is their signature mountain coffee, which is a long black with MCTs (medium-chain trigycerides) and grass fed butter. It might sound odd, but it’s actually quite tasty and the MCTs are a great pre-workout fuel.
Head in for lunch and you’ll find a range of salads, wraps and hearty soups calling your name. Or you can go for the lunch bowl (like I did) and choose your protein (chicken, steak, salmon or eggs) served on a base of either brown rice or salad greens. On Josh’s advice, I went with the grilled salmon and teriyaki sauce on crisp salad greens, with a side of spicy tomato salsa and avo. It was ready faster than it took me to snap a couple of photos (THR1VE aims to have your food prepared within three minutes, so there’s no more excuses for choosing ‘fast food’). I really cannot emphasise enough how delicious it was – satisfying, light and best of all, none of that bloated, uncomfortable feeling so often associated with purchased lunches. It kept me going for most of the afternoon too!
Crisp salad greens, grilled salmon, smashed avo and tomato salsa. Yum!
I try to take my lunch to work each day (leaves more time to get my workout done) but for those days I’m not prepared, THR1VE is definitely my new go-to place. Check it out for yourself and let me know what you think!
Josh’s picks from the menu:
Breakfast – Brekky bowl with eggs whites and one yolk, salmon and salsa
Lunch – Grilled chicken or beef on a base of crisp green salad and a side of broccoli with chilli and sea salt
Smoothie – Raw almond milk (made in-house), shredded coconut, mixed berries, almond butter and PerformaProtein (THR1VE’s own blend)
p.s If you like your lunch with a side serving of charity, this is the place for you! THR1VE donates any food leftover at the end of each day to OzHarvest, who distribute it to Australian families and individuals in need.
THR1VE – Sydney
Shop 28, MLC Centre
19-29 Martin Place
Sydney
THR1VE – Canberra (open 7 days, catering available)
Canberra Centre
(opposite Supabarn)
Bunda Street
Canberra
Yaye, Allpress Coffee too! Nice post for us regular Sydney visitors ?
These guys really haven’t put a foot wrong – definitely worth checking out. Great pic of CH jetty on coolangles by the way, I know it well and you’ve captured it beautifully!
I’ve walked past this place before and wondered what it was like! Thanks for the recommendation. The salmon salad looks to die for. Defo gonna check it out.
Excellent! Let me know what you think!
I am going to make a trip into the city one lunch just to try this! Ruski xxx
Great! We’ll have a lunch date there – you will LOVE the salmon bowl I had.
Isabel says
Great review! I am a MASSIVE fan of these guys! Good real food and the awesome service.
Thank you – and totally agree!
Any news on the second CBD location? Such a shame its only open during office hours. There’s not enough nutricious options for weekend diners!
No I haven’t heard – they’ve just opened in the Canberra Centre in the past week, so hopefully another Sydney CBD location is next on the cards. I’ll follow up with Josh in the next couple of weeks and keep you posted via fb though.
And re: opening hours – I totally agree! So many times I’ve been heading for the bus of an evening and wished I could pop in to pick something up. Same goes when I’m shopping in the city of a weekend…