The Healthiest Store in Sydney

By Joel Bevilacqua on December 21, 2020 in Food

Everything has been taken care of. Photo: Guillermo Pena

Harry Tsoukalas was a chippy with a dodgy back, heart issues and bad circulation, but a change in diet drastically changed his life. His switch to a clean, plant-based diet not only fixed most of Harry’s chronic health issues, it was so life changing that it inspired him to open Hippocrates Healthy Eatery in Randwick, perhaps the healthiest store in Sydney.
The Greek style restaurant follows in the footsteps of famous Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, Pythagoras and more who adhered to an organic, plant-based diet, but the efforts Harry has applied to look after his customers’ health does not end there. Lime paints were used to prevent mould and bacteria growth, all wrapping is plant-based, air purifiers are used in the kitchen and lounge to clear the air from bacteria and mould spores, there are dehumidifiers to keep the humidity below 55 per cent and ozone generators are in place to destroy any harmful organisms.
It may seem excessive, but Harry is extremely passionate about the health of his customers and spreading a message about the importance of clean, sustainable living. In the east, that message isn’t exactly new. We are, after all, the healthy living mecca of the world. The thing is though, most of us normally only stick to our resolutions for a day or two, or empathise with cows for half an hour after watching some animal cruelty doco, before mauling down a large Big Mac meal and sucking Fanta through a plastic straw, because we’re also the most hedonistic pricks on the planet. What we put into our bodies (via our mouths) comes down to two things: taste and convenience.
How does Hippocrates fare on these two fronts? To be honest, I had a couple of beers the night before I went into Hippocrates (they do breakfast, lunch and dinner) and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t upset that I wasn’t going to be able to eat something that used to run around in a paddock, but the food was really bloody good!
The mains are all plant-based versions of Greek classics, named after Greek gods. Some options include a vegan grilled kebab called the Athena, a plant-based minced meat dish with eggplant, sweet potato and béchamel called the Demeter, and the Apollo, red lentils and jack fruit marinated in satay sauce and quinoa. I’ve had a few meat alternatives in my charmed life and the jack fruit tastes closer to the real thing than anything I have sampled to date.
For dessert, there’s the Hercules tiramisu, a sugar and gluten free alternative to the old favourite, and the Odysseus raw carrot cake, which is just as good as any sugary original I’ve had. The breakfast menu is a bit of a mixed bag that includes avo’ on toast, bruschetta, crepes and a quesadilla. There’s a range of juices aimed to boost your dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin or whatever other chemical you have totally depleted from your brain.
As for convenience, it’s nice to go somewhere where you know everything has been taken care of for you. Nobody wants to breathe in mould or absorb toxins from chemical-based paint, but buying a humidifier means a trip to Westfield on a Saturday, and getting rid of toxic paint means painting – no thanks.
If only we had more people like Harry to do the heavy lifting for lazy bastards like myself.

Hippocrates Healthy Eatery
hippocrateshealthyeatery.com
Address 129 Avoca Street, Randwick
Phone 0449 264 474
Open Wed-Sun 7.30am-9pm
Prices Bowls $16 Wraps $12, Hercules $9, Quesadilla $12
Cards Master, Visa, Amex
Licensed Yes