Meal Ticket: Eathos, Baggot St, Dublin 4

Eathos is probably what the cafés in the gyms in heaven look like. The interior is not to my personal taste; I like rustic dark woods mixed with muted greys and pinks. Here, everything is clean and white, apart from the bright red font of their branding and the shiny yellows and greens of their plates. There is a pretty conservatory at the back of the café filled with a round table that catches the sun.

But the main point of focus at Eathos, owned and run by sibling team Lisa and Peter Murrin, is the Ottolenghi- inspired food counter. And Eathos is very inspired by the London-based plant champion behind Nopi and Ottolenghi, right down to the red font of their café branding. Stacked in tantalising tiers in the window, pecan blondies (€3.95), poached plum financiers (€5.50) and chocolate fig tarts (€5.50) are just a handful of the sweet bait pulling in customers off of the street.

Their bread is delivered daily from the exemplary Firehouse Bread Bakery in Delgany, Co Wicklow, including a thick slab of focaccia with a subtle crust (€2 per slice). But everything else – all of their brownies and tarts and cheesecakes and meringues – is baked in-house at Eathos by their pastry chef Michael.

Huge serving bowls are piled high with extraordinary salads, lined up on the savoury counter that also plays host to the protein section. Camargue red rice and quinoa with orange and pistachios are heaped on a round platter, next to another salad of roasted sweet and rooster potatoes with maple syrup and pecans.

Proteins include enticingly seared slices of tuna and crispy harissa chicken thighs. I choose the turkey courgette kofta, which is served with a delicately sweetened radish pickle on top. It’s like a small, juicy burger that has lost its bun. For my accompanying salads, I choose the golden and red beets with crispy kale and almonds. I also go for the chargrilled halloumi with caramelised figs, samphire, asparagus and sun-dried tomatoes. These are not your ordinary salad bar sides.

The lunch I’ve enjoyed fits under the one protein and two salads deal for €14.50 on the Eathos menu. This description of my turkey courgette kofta as protein is clearly targeted at mindful healthy eaters. I love eating healthily but I dislike breaking down food into their scientific molecules and nutritional compounds as I feel it can promote a clinical, obsessive relationship with food. So, it’s a trigger word for me but it is a calling card for so many others. Eathos are advocating a sincerely healthy and balanced approach to food, with choice and indulgence encouraged. The use of the word protein in Eathos’ menu is purely an easy way for customers to navigate their food counter. The food is super, and the staff are really friendly and very helpful.

Coffee is supplied by Dublin roasters 3FE. Eathos’s other suppliers are proudly displayed too, and include Glenisk for dairy and Keeling’s for fruit. Lunch, which included a slice of focaccia and a peanut butter smore, came to €19.45.