Foods (and drinks!) worthy of the name provide a good source of what our bodies need to function at their best - vitamins like A, C, E, and D and minerals such as magnesium, calcium and zinc, fibres, proteins - while also containing natural plant molecules (phytochemicals) with antioxidant properties.

We use nutritional science. The ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) measures the antioxidant activity of various food products. The higher the ORAC value, the greater the antioxidant activity, with a recommended daily intake of 3, 000 units. Our menu makes the best of fruit, vegetables and other foods that have high ORAC ratings to help you get the most out of every meal.

At Hippo we believe good nutrition and proper hydration are vital if we are to achieve optimum health. We’re taking care of the first part, but to achieve the best results all of our water is filtered by Water for Health, removing impurities and contaminants from the water (nasties like chemical or pharmaceutical residues) before restructuring it - and the result is tastier water that does what it’s supposed to do. We charge £1 a bottle for customers to cover the filtering charge.

At Hippo, all our dishes and drinks are only sweetened by natural sweeteners, apart from a few exceptions such as our homemade cordials.   

Instead of the more common refined sugars and unhealthy sweeteners, we use fruits, honey, agave, molasses, maple, rapadura, and a little xylitol.   

Hippo adds to our organic foods the local produce from small producers - who qualify as ‘nature friendly’ but who are often too small for organic certification. They are such a valuable part of our offer.