This Restaurant Built Its Entire Menu Around America’s Protein Obsession
In the current era of “protein over everything,” one New York restaurant is taking that mantra to heart—and even putting it in its name.
The Protein Shop, located in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, opened with the belief that “healthy food should never require compromise.”
Owner and founder Arnold Kukuliev opened the restaurant last year after spotting what he saw as a void in the fast-casual world. While plenty of concepts market themselves as healthy, Kukuliev and his team believed few put the same emphasis on ingredients, protein-rich nutrition, and transparency.
That thinking became The Protein Shop, where every item on the menu is seed-oil-free, protein-forward, and macro-conscious. The entire menu also avoids refined sugars, and most items are naturally gluten-free, with substitutions available for those that aren’t.
The restaurant builds its menu around whole foods designed to fuel performance, support recovery, and keep customers feeling good throughout the day.
