Mint
Windsor Street, Sliema
Tel: 2133 7177

Food: 7/10
Service: 9/10
Ambience: 6/10
Value: 7/10

Wow. What’s with all the sexy people? Glowing, vital and making me look bad. I’m sitting wide-eyed at Mint in Sliema, dazzled by the bright human flowers, blossoming on the Mint bush, winning at life and waiting to be picked.

Mint describes itself as a ‘waterfront cafe’ and promises ‘new exciting dishes’ on a daily basis. The display counter is brimming with colour and I’m wilting with hunger. This hip little eaterie attracts an ageless, seamless mix of globe-trotting foodies, switched-on locals and healthy eaters from Sliema’s pan-cultural urban village. The weekday crowd includes tourists, locals and ‘ladies that lunch’, and it’s by the beach, so anything goes.

While the interior is rather too dark for my liking, the shade at least guarantees against screen-glare from the sun and you can comfortably use your device, or blend into the background if that’s your thing. That being said, don’t attempt this at the weekend, as it brings a bustling rabble of families, seniors, couples and kids, or when it rains and diners are forced inside like they were today. The place felt a bit loud and cramped, but maybe I’m just getting old. I like Mint best outside: warm, dry and people-watching from behind my sunglasses...

Mint. What a clever name. I mean, you can’t get fresher or cooler than mint, those are its defining features. Even the word itself is satisfying to say, it rides along the tongue right to the tip. Mint. Ahhh! Clipped and delicious. And you have to hand it to these guys, the house design language is consistent, conveying the concept with panache. The crisp green decor, the slick, lower-case logo; they’ve got the aesthetics licked.

When it comes to a good first impression, good design gets bums on seats. Unless it comes recommended, the cover is what sells the book. Also, call me old-fashioned, but I like a good street-sign and this one is class. But would today’s lunch do for my taste buds what the design style does for my soul? And more importantly, would it make me one of the shiny people?

You’d be forgiven for thinking that Mint is for purist, ‘body is a temple’ types. Yes, the emphasis is on health, but without restrictions. It sells meat, fish and dairy, but caters for vegetarians, vegans, coeliacs and the lactose-intolerant. The concept is ‘fresh, seasonal and homemade’. Its eclectic international menu offers ‘new flavour combinations’ and ‘old favourites’. Mint boasts a certificate of excellence from Trip Advisor, over 1,000 reviews and a very respectable rating of 4.5. Not bad for a little sea-side cafe.

I ordered the somewhat comically entitled Diabetic, a freshly-squeezed juice made from apple, pear and cinnamon. Curious, I enquired after the name and was informed by the sweet-faced young server that apple helps diabetics regulate blood sugar levels. “Oh really?” I replied with a smirk, making a mental note to research this preposterous claim later online.

But Google quickly wiped the smile off my face. According to www.healthline.com the carbohydrates in apples contain a high proportion of fibre, which protects against type two diabetes by slowing digestion and the absorption of carbs which cause blood sugar to spike. This fluffy little lifesaver came with a cinnamon straw and a head of cream-brown froth. As I suspected, it was pleasant enough, but way too sweet to accompany the food when it came. Oopsie. Still, at least I’d live to fight another day.

Wow. What’s with all the sexy people? Glowing, vital and making me look bad

My companion and I shared a very flavourful three-cheese quiche. It was a little light and lacking in firmness, but it had a nice thick pastry crust. It came with its own side salad, but was much better complemented by the crunchy wild (vegan) rice we ordered separately, served cold with sundried tomatoes, peppers, pine nuts, coriander and dill. I’m a tad squeamish when it comes to mixing sweet and savoury, so I wasn’t overjoyed to discover (a lot of) dried fruit in my rice, but actually I found myself enjoying the combination.

The Thai fish cakes with sweet chilli sauce were a treat. A herby lemon/lime tang infused the succulent fish pattie which tightly bound lovely big green chunks of what looked and tasted like green peppers. The traditional recipe of Tod Mun Pla calls for lemongrass and spring onion however, so this is presumably what these were. The zesty citrus flavours were deliciously offset by the sweet chilli sauce. These juicy little hotties straddled the sweet/sour divide to perfection, and as the Terminator would say “I’ll be back.”

Now, a word about the salads which accompanied our quiche and fish cakes... Mint’s main salad menu is inventive and surprising, incorporating legumes, pulses and grains for an ‘endless variety of salad combinations’. So while these little side-salads were perfectly decent, I’m not sure they met Mint’s own adventurous standards. But hey, don’t listen to me, I ate the lot. (And sorry Mint, I still love you). 

So the food was yummy, but does fresh food really make you look better, and when would I notice the difference? Here comes the science.

First off, aside from eggs, which are said to condition hair and enhance its growth, I’m pretty sure we can write off the quiche as an elixir of youth. I shan’t waste time presenting the health benefits of cheese and pastry so let’s skip-a-doodle to the veggies and fish.

It turns out the fresher your food, the more nutrients it contains, and they’re not called ‘essential’ for nothing. Smokin’ hot bodies need good quality fuel in the tank to maintain a tip-top condition. Clearly Mint is not alone in serving fresh, healthy food, but indulge me for a moment while I give you a food review ‘plus.’

Unless you know a good plastic surgeon, you can’t change your bone structure. Build a bridge right now and get over it. If you won the genetic lottery then good for you, but most of us gotta ‘bump and grind it’ as Madonna once said (and she would know).

Luckily there are some key indicators of physical attractiveness we can do something about, such as body mass index and youthfulness. Alongside exercise, food is the biggest factor when it comes to body shape and condition of skin, eyes and hair, making us more attractive all round.

So, as I write, the omega-3 fatty acids in my fish-cakes are moisturising my skin, reducing redness and preventing acne. Yay! The vitamin E is combating inflammation and the zinc is generating new skin cells. The carotenoids and lycopene in my tomatoes are protecting it against sun damage and the vitamin C is building collagen to keep those pesky wrinkles at bay. Thanks Mint.

But that’s not all. Shiny hair is a key indicator (particularly in women) of health and therefore fertility. Why do you think that gorgeous creature is playing with her hair while she’s talking to you? Well congratulations hot stuff, you’ve pulled. She’s drawing attention to her glistening locks to highlight her physical health and by extension her capacity to make babies, in the hope you’ll take her up on it. (Disclaimer: I mean eventually of course, pace yourself). It’s the same reason a favourable hip-to-waist ratio attracts a heterosexual man; subconsciously he gets that those are child-bearing hips. Right now the healthy fats in the nuts I just ate are coating my hair follicles, the fish are stopping it from falling out and the eggs are making it shine. The vitamins B6, B12, niacin and folic acid in the wholegrains are stimulating my follicles and increasing circulation for growth. I’m feeling better already.

And finally, the rainbow of colour is making my eyes all sparkly and bright. Eggs, fish, citrus, seeds and especially dark leafy greens are nutrient-dense, with antioxidants known to fight eye damage and disease. Anyway, I digress, but I think I’m getting a bit of a glow.

I am and always will be a regular at Mint. The food is pretty good value and the welcome is warm. I could nitpick about putting cushions on chairs or spacing out the tables, but honestly, it’s a decent enough place already and it’s clearly doing something right.

While you could get your beauty food elsewhere, for breakfast and lunch, Mint is a straight-up no-brainer. A super cool space for vital, healthy eating and for feeling beautiful inside and out. Tasty food to keep you gorgeous.