Saf Raw-Food Restaurant, London

Hello Raw Moms!

It’s Joanne here, back from England and back to cuddles from her very-much-missed little girls.

Last-minute planning and packing for the trip resulted in NO BLOG POSTING from me prior to departure – apologies!

However, a couple of days before I left Australia’s shores, we released our gorgeous new recipe book – Monkey Mike’s Raw Food Kitchen: An Un-cookbook for Kids!. Your response has been wonderful – we were right in thinking that many of you really wanted a book like this for your children. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can check it out here.

While in England for my sister’s wedding (I was matron of honor – what an honor!), I visited Saf raw-food restaurant in Shoreditch, London. Heading there, with a review for you in mind, took me back to the days when I reviewed restaurants in Melbourne. However, I already knew that I was going to love this place – who couldn’t love a restaurant that offers (mostly) raw-food fine dining, has taken a huge risk in a competitive restaurant market, and is attempting to make the world a better place?

Detox Salad

I sat in the restaurant’s courtyard, soaking up the sunlight that tried to creep through the persistent gray cloud (although we quite like cloud coverage for taking photos), and enjoying the relaxed, friendly service. I loved that the courtyard contained a cute little greenhouse (see picture above), filled with the restaurant’s herbs.

While sipping a luscious Green Clean juice, I munched into my starter – a Detox Salad with spinach, rocket, radish, seaweed, cucumber, mung-bean sprouts, lentil sprouts and omega oil dressing. I felt it could have done with juuuust a smidge more dressing to coat the leaves, but otherwise, it was perfect.

Pad Thai

For the main meal, I indulged in Pad Thai, made with courgette (zucchini), carrot, green capsicum (bell pepper) and snow pea noodles, enoki mushrooms, mung-bean sprouts, and chilli and chipotle almond sauce. This dish was so good – I loved the crunch, the zingy flavors, and the “kick” from the chilli.

And then, oh my goodness – dessert. I am a dessert girl, no question about it. And I was not disappointed when the waiter presented this gorgeous dish to me, with a proud flourish. The Raw Apple Cake was rich, moist, scrumptious. In fact, it was so good that I asked the chef to share the recipe with me, so that I could share it with you! She generously agreed, and so here it is (I haven’t yet tried this at home, but will be doing so very soon…):

Saf Restaurant Raw Apple Cake

Makes 15-20 portions, depending on size of mold

Cakes

2kg apple, coarsely grated (note from Jo: I’d use a food processor to grate this many apples!)

200g raisins

5g ground nutmeg

100g coconut flakes

750g cashews, processed in a food processor

500g dates, processed in a food processor

Mix everything in a bowl.

Make into shapes whatever you like, then set in the fridge.

Frosting/icing

850g cashews, soaked

135ml water

400ml agave nectar

150g coconut flakes

10g orange zest

Mix till smooth in high-speed blender.

(If you give it a try, let me know what you think!)

Raw Apple Cake

Popping the berry garnish into my mouth was a sublime ending to this meal – I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience, including relishing the last of the English summer out in the very cute courtyard.

I find that presentation makes a huge impact on the enjoyment of a meal, and the presentation here (as you can see by the photos) was beautiful. Note to self: will make more effort with presentation of my own meals at home, and not just for special occasions!

Fueled on by all things green and raw, I walked back to my hotel (a 16km round trip, in the end – things always look closer on the map, don’t they?!), feeling amaaaazing. I’m so glad I made the trek to this inspiring restaurant.

Saf is by no means cheap, but the food is good, and it gives Londoners the chance to experience raw fine-dining. If you’re in London and want to treat yourself to a meal at Saf, head to www.safrestaurant.co.uk for all the info you’ll need.

I love that more and more raw restaurants are popping up all over the world. Aren’t we lucky? Thank you so much to all the restaurateurs who are helping to bring raw to a wider audience.

Till next week!

Love Jo

P.S. Oh, and my sister’s wedding was beautiful!

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