You want a superior salad? Head to Mystic Salad Co.

The first I heard about Mystic Salad Co. was on a friend’s Facebook page when he posted a photo of his salad bowl lunch on the front passenger seat of his vehicle secured with a seatbelt.

The message warned that the salad was so super-sized and good, it required VIP attention.

A couple weeks later, I ventured over to Cottrell Street in downtown Mystic to see for myself what Andrew Madsen, the owner of the very popular Mystic Soup Co. located behind Sea Swirl, had gotten himself into.

Turns out Madsen was there the day I first visited and explained that salad is a bit more technical than soup.

“When the soup is done, it’s done,” he said, as he individually made the three different salads we ordered that day.

Open since late June, the salad shop offers customers a huge array of options to fill their bowls with.

There’s chopped romaine, iceberg and baby spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms, crispy peas, sliced carrots, edamame, onions, quinoa, artichokes, black beans, corn, asparagus, mini bowtie pasta, strawberries, mango, red cabbage, hard boiled eggs, olives, wasabi peas, chopped walnuts, sunflower seeds, croutons, and more.

Then there is the protein. Pick what you like, and they’ll top or dice it into your salad.

We got a Chopped Pasta, a Cobb, and Make Your Own the first day we went, and every one was good in its own unique way. They all come packed in a big sturdy cardboard bowl and topped with a plastic see-through lid. You need two hands to carry one of those big boys out. In fact, there’s enough salad in one bowl to feed two people, or at least to get a second meal out of.

We opted for almost all the greens and veggies in the Make Your Own — you don’t literally make it; just tell the salad maker behind the counter what you want — and topped it with a heap of delicious, house-made tuna fish salad.

The Cobb included Romaine, blue cheese, bacon, carrots, avocado, tomatoes, and black beans, and we topped it with grilled chicken.

There was chopped salad and heirloom tomatoes and broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, cucumbers, basil, gorgonzola, and little bowtie pastas in the Chopped Salad, topped with chicken and dressed with a house-made balsamic vinaigrette.

The first time we visited there was the most beautiful looking tuna behind the counter being prepped for poke bowls later in the day.

You watch as an employee prepares your order and select from a well-stocked and attractive selection of options protected behind clean glass panels. There are salads like Soba Noodle with Spicy Thai Peanut Dressing, Taco, and the Ari Krishna — the latter a combination of seared salmon, roasted asparagus, sweet potatoes, and avocado over arugula with honey-chive Dijon vinaigrette.

One daily special combined chopped broccoli, kale, barbecue chicken, blueberries, mango, corn and asiago cheese. Yummy!

This is not your cafeteria salad. It is creative, with fresh ingredients, and a variety of dressings – like chipotle ranch, Greek, mango poppyseed, wasabi cucumber, and honey mustard.

Another recent special was the Summer Lobster and Charred Corn Salad with Spinach and Quinoa, tossed in an avocado, lime and buttermilk dressing. Don’t deny it — your mouth is watering.

It appears that the Mystic Soup owner has recreated his magic with an all-salad shop, less than a mile away from his other location. While he makes some salads at the soup business, it’s all salad here — with the exception of a daily gazpacho.

It’s take-out, but with the location at 12 Cottrell St. on the bank of the Mystic River and adjacent to the Mystic River Park, there’s ample outdoor seating. Mystic Salad still hadn’t gotten its signage up as of early this week, but you can educate yourself on the restaurant’s offerings by visiting their Facebook and Instagram pages.

There have always been plenty of eateries in downtown Mystic but, to my knowledge, never an exclusive salad shop. The idea of an all-salad restaurant is not novel, but for the busy Mystic shopping district, it’s a terrific new addition.