152-154 Curtain Road,
Shoreditch,
London,
EC2A 3AT
(020) 7613 0007
The ViewLondon Review
The raw food movement has arrived in London, bringing with it fresh, pure botanical ingredients. That’s all well and good, but how does it taste?The VenueLocated on Curtain Road, between Old Street and Great Eastern Street, Saf is approximately a five minute walk from Old Street underground station. Easy to find from its elegant pale wood signage, it took the owners 18 months to find this venue (they scoured both the East End and Notting Hill before plumping for this Shoreditch premises), and they’re determined to make the inside as attractive as anything they put on their plates. There’s lots of pale Scandinavian furniture, a funky bar area with tall stools to relax over a cocktail before dinner, pretty tea lights and oversized lampshades. The feel is relaxed and elegant. During the summer, there’s a terrace so you can catch some rays while enjoying your healthy food, and the “glass box” kitchen in the middle of the venue will doubtless prove a major talking point.
The AtmosphereSaf means pure in Turkish, and it also stands for ‘Simply Authentic Food’ in this instance. There’s something ever so Los Angeles about this place, the group behind the venture (LifeCo) pursue a pro-vegan agenda and the crowd is healthy, young, skinny and tanned. What’s perhaps surprising is that you could easily invite a crowd of blokes here without fearing they’d turn their nose up at the food. There’s sufficient variety on the menu that even the staunchest pie and mash fan will find something to fill him up. The nicest surprise is the attentive, knowledgeable and passionate staff, who stop to explain the ingredients (and their origin) of each course, from pre-dinner cocktails through to your desserts. The passion is infectious, and by the time you leave you’ll be talking about the things you’ve learned and how surprising it is what can be achieved with raw ingredients.
The FoodIt would be impossible to visit a raw vegan food restaurant without massive preconceptions. Is it just glorified crudites? Will it fill you up or will you fancy a pizza afterwards? Will cold soup taste disgusting? Well thankfully none of the fears are justified. The food is conceptual, but it also stands on its own as really good, simple food and when you leave you’ll be talking about the flavours of the things you ate, not how it was prepared.
A popular starter is the beetroot ravioli, served with balsamic fig and stuffed with a herby ricotta cheese. The four large ravioli are light and fresh, and the cheese has an able, rich flavour that stands up to the sweet beetroot. If you’re a sushi fan, the vegan version is the a roll created with parsnip rice and served with hot wasabi. Starters range from £3 - £7.50.
If you’re feeling really hungry you have an option of a cheese course between the starters and main courses, but you’ll probably be more than ready for the main event at this stage. If you’ve got a hearty appetite, go for the Buddha Bowl. This would keep even the most fervent carnivores happy, with a vast bowl full of vegan options that really fill you up. There’s jasmine rice, spinach sprinkled with garlic, balsamic carrots, and a soft and moist tofu glazed with green tea. The tofu is the piece de resistance in this dish, the glaze is surprisingly sweet, and dipping it in the hot sauce it’s served with will give it a spicy kick. The mushrooms main course is just as filling, with an incredible mushroom and truffle croquette that tastes silky smooth and almost creamy, and wild mushrooms served with warming and fragrant rosemary. Order the beet salad as an accompaniment; the horseradish and merlot reduction is a great complement to the sweet beets. Main courses mostly cost around a tenner, with salads about £5.
The best option to end the meal is the excellent brownie sundae. The chocolate brownie is chewy but light, with a homemade peppermint ice cream served on top, a mint puree and fresh pure cacao. It’s perfectly light and the mint turns the traditionally stodgy brownie into a refreshing end to any meal. The ganache tart is equally enjoyable, though the drunken cherry sorbet it’s served with steals the show, with rich, deep cherry flavours that whisk you away to British springtime when cherries are in season. Desserts are priced not much over £5.
The DrinkThere’s a full organic wine list available at Saf, though to opt for wine would be to miss out on the thoughtfully-designed, botanical cocktails, all made with fresh, organic ingredients and crafted by hand. The Lacey Langston is a firm favourite, made with local apple and pear juices, Cava and framboise (yes, all organic, of course!), it’s incredibly sweet and refreshing, and not too alcoholic that you’ll be weaving your way through the restaurant on the way to the table. Somewhat stronger is the gin-based Tarragon and Tonic, though the most enjoyable cocktail has to be the Spiced Apricot Martini. The spiced apricot is flavoured with anise, ginger, lemon and sugar, and the anise and ginger both have great aftertastes that sit and fizz warmly on your tongue. Priced cheaply at about £7 or £8, the cocktails make a great accompaniment to your meal, and who knew you could get drunk without guilt when the ingredients are this good?
The Last WordSaf is a big surprise – by all means, visit with your preconceptions, because the food, cocktails and service here are all enough to blow them apart. You will leave feeling full, but that’s not half as good as the smug feeling you’ll have knowing how healthy your meal was!