Namastay Kitchen at Y2 Yoga is a hidden gem for health food (and wine)

The expansion project included a third practice studio, spa and cafe.

The addition of an on-site quick-service health food cafe promised new member amenities and a major differentiator among other studios.

But a recently refined menu and full-scale rebrand of the food space sets Y2’s cafe apart as a standalone restaurant worthy of a visit whether you practice yoga at the studio or not.

Namastay Kitchen & Hangout is a health food cafe and wine bar serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.

They’re open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

General Manager Erin Meehan, formerly of Luna’s Living Kitchen, brings more than 15 years of restaurant experience and health food expertise to the Y2 team.

Namastay’s menu features smoothies, salads, flatbreads, sandwiches and hand-rolled sushi subcontracted by Sushi Guru.

The food is completely insane, and they’ve got gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian options to accommodate different diets. On the drink front, they’ve got locally roasted coffee from Magnolia Coffee, a full bar and loads of wine.

Definitely start with the avocado fries ($8).

Hefty segments of avocado are panko breaded, fried and served with wasabi aoli dipping sauce.

We also tried the sweet and spicy avocado eggrolls ($8) and sweet potato chickpea cakes ($9).

The eggrolls are like crispy mini burritos (my fiance went nuts over them) and the sweet potato cakes come with housemade tzatziki or this completely insane vegan coconut milk ranch that I would drink if no one was looking. I don’t even like ranch.

The flatbreads are light and crispy and would make a perfect happy hour snack over wine.

Check out Jen’s Fig & Prosciutto flatbread ($11) with fig spread, prosciutto, goat cheese, mozzarella and balsamic reduction topped with fresh arugula.

One of my favorite things was the kale cobb ($12) topped with their “world’s best” beet burger.

It’s a generous bowl of kale, tomatoes, avocado, bleu cheese, turkey bacon, hard-boiled egg and red onion dressed in that perfect vegan coconut ranch. The burger is a hearty blend of beets and grains that even my fiance (who’s never had a beet) enjoyed.

Sushi options are on par with the quality you’ve come to expect if you’re already familiar with Sushi Guru.

I had the Y2 Cherry Blossom Roll ($15), a light, refreshing mix of cucumber, carrot, avocado and radish sprouts wrapped in soy paper and served with kale pesto. My fiance had the Tanner Roll ($15), lump crab, tuna, salmon, yellowtail and avocado topped with escolar, wasabi yuzu dressing and tobiko.

Just because Namastay is all about health food doesn’t mean they skimp on dessert.

We wrapped up our meal with a huge bowl of chocolate avocado mousse. Where most restaurants are tight-fisted with the precious green gold that is avocado, Namastay is surprisingly generous, piling the healthy fat up on almost every dish. Don’t knock it as a dessert until you’ve tried it.

To compete with Panera next door (and to keep sweaty yogis out of the restaurant space immediately after class), Namastay Kitchen installed a kiosk in the lobby.

This way clients can order a smoothie before class and pick it up on the way out afterwards.

Pro tip: Smoothies are only $5 on Mondays.

Namastay Kitchen is located at 274 S. Sharon Amity Road. It’s tucked away behind Salsarita’s with zero visibility from the Cotswold Shopping Center parking lot, which means most people have no idea it’s back there. But now you know.

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