Saf

RIP Saf, you will be missed. Your new concepts are eagerly awaited, but the truth is, the Kensington Branch (which is still open) is not as awesome, so mouring is still underway.

It won’t matter if you are vegan or not. every dish produced here is so beautifully thought through and flavored that i doubt anyone would find themselves missing meat.
Knowledgeable staff. Literally the most amazing cocktail list. Great wine list. … everything you read you want to try.
The cocktail and food ingredients are things you literally will not find anywhere else but you find yourself pondering why you can’t find it anywhere else. But that makes it all the more special and worthwhile because you won’t find something comparable anywhere else.
It is expensive but quality and atmosphere come at a price… and i leave there with no regrets always thinking about when i can go next.

Who knew raw food was this good?! Saf did & now so do you!
Delicious cocktails to wash down your vegan delights. Get the Cashiew Cheese Trio to start, woo hoo!
Friendly staff and prices that won’t break the bank.

The best veggie ever! Great food, mood and staff! Brilliantly tasty and not barbarically pricey! Go back? Fosho!

This is a slightly tricky review, for while there are many things that I love about this place (not least the fact that it is 100% vegan, so I can choose just anything from the menu), it ultimately didn’t quite make the cut for ‘I’m a fan’.
I chose this place for my birthday as a special treat, and accordingly had high expectations. I must say that I really like the clean but friendly design of this place, and the service was for the most part impeccable. (One of our waiters seemed a little distracted; I also found the fact that we were served by 4 different people over the course of the meal somewhat irritating. That said, they were all extremely nice.)
As for the food, we had starters, mains, and dessert. I think the starter was my favourite dish — the dumplings and the sushi were packed with flavours and absolutely delicious. The mains, unfortunately, were a bit of a let-​down — by no means bad, but also not very exciting, and the portions (especially for the Sunday roast) were too small. I like places that are generous with their food (for me, that’s part of good hospitality — your guests should never leave wanting for more). For dessert we shared a chocolate fondue, which we didn’t really warm up to (partly because the fondue itself didn’t really warm up to us — literally). The people at the neighbouring table had the white chocolate cake, and in hindsight I really wish I had chosen that.
I also must admit that although I thoroughly enjoyed the meal and felt stuffed afterwards (although you really do need 3 courses to feel satisfied — don’t think you can get away with less!), I started feeling hungry again very shortly after leaving, which was not what I had had in mind when I set out for a 3-​course meal.
So in sum, I found the menu to be creative and the food (for the most part) packed with delicious and interesting flavour, the service excellent and the atmosphere extremely pleasant. I also think that the price is absolutely reasonable for what you get. But at the end of the day, I guess I will just never really be a fan of the raw-​food-​kitchen — somehow it just doesn’t satisfy me in the way that I expect to be satisfied from a good meal.

I love Saf, think its a great place, nice vibe, and amazing food.
I thought I waiter the other night was a little over the top, felt like we had an at home butler, but overall great experience.
The food is pricey for sure, but the drinks are organic and lovely, and the food is outstanding. Try the cheese platter…

Not five stars because the service was mehhh despite there being only 3 other occupied tables and at least four servers on duty. But, let’s start with the good stuff first.
Saturday dinner at Saf started with the cheese tasting plate, which featured several cashew cheeses. They were all delicious and my fave was the one that featured a stripe of ground cilantro sandwiched between two halves. Yes cilantro haters, there was an entire layer of your enemy and it was delicioussss.
I got pumpkin risotto for my main and it did not disappoint. It was the perfect amount of richness – not too cloying but very tasty and filling. The dish was also sprinkled with toasted pumpkin seeds, which made for great texture and added flavor highlights.
Finally, do not leave without ordering at least one cocktail. The drinks menu is vast and features many exotic-​sounding creations, all of which I wanted to try. I got the Old Smokey, which was a pleasing blend of orange, chocolate and scotch, followed by the Guilty Husband #2 which was some chocolate and flowers champagne cocktail.
For such a great place, it seemed strange that service seemed less-​than-​ideal. We didn’t get our cocktails until we were halfway finished with our appetizer despite it being the first thing we ordered. We didn’t get water until we started eating our mains. We tried ordering additional things and were told a server would be with us shortly to write things down. The server never appeared and we had to flag down another person. Again, there were only three other groups there and they were all small groups. What gives?
Oh well, I complain now but will likely be back to master the rest of the drinks menu.

This vegan restaurant is out of this world in terms of creativity and flavor balancing.
I recommend the vegan Sunday roast — only available Sundays with a Perfect Bloody Mary and the chocolate ganache afterward. You may want to split the roast because it’s a hefty portion.
Staff are knowledgeable and the drinks menu is creative.
If I could afford to, I’d go every week.

I am not a vegan. I am also not from London (or the UK, for that matter); however, Saf was truly a delightful experience. I went for lunch, and had the Saf bowl, which included kimchi, avocado, parsnip «rice» (phenomenal, by the way), and heaps of other deliciousness.
The presentation was fantastic, the price was fair (9.50) considering the quality, presentation, and obvious love put into the dish. It filled me up for lunch, and considering I had just spent hours wandering aimlessly in the rain as a tired tourist, such a feat is impressive.

Cashew cheese, I love you. How do you manage to taste so much like the real thing, while being kind to my sensitive digestion? I may never know, but I’ll always appreciate what you’ve done for me, cashew cheese.
Saf manages to create wonderful dishes of vegan delights, mostly raw, that leave you feeling full and proud. Full because normally vegan restaurants are lacking substance. Proud because you probably just ate the healthiest meal of your life. Doubly proud because it is a good restaurant just in general — never mind the specialised diets they cater for.
I had the raw cannelloni, the asparagus risotto, and the raw cheesecake. All were delicious, but the risotto was not by choice. All of the other mains contain soy (even the ones that didn’t say «tofu» or «miso» outright on the menu, thank goodness I asked). So I was left with no other option but the risotto — turned out to be good though.
I deducted a star because the prices are pretty steep, the service is pretty slow, and our main server was lacking more than a few brain cells (telling me that the tofu main didn’t contain soy… ummmm…) — but it still garners four stars for being delicious.
I probably won’t return any time soon — it’s a special place miles away from where I currently live — but I’d love to see how the Whole Foods location compares.
Three cheers for cashew cheese!

just like the food at saf (Raw), i’m gonna give it to you raw, straight up:
Saf is:
— a place you may take a date to highly impress him or her.
— a place that has EXCELLENT service & knowledgeable and chatty bartenders /​servers
— atmosphere (awesome) & fun
Saf is not:
— cheap (very small cocktail for £8.50) boo
— for those who love MEAT and can’t stand fake meat substitutes
— for those who are super hungry

YES! This is one of those places you write home about. And I did. Seriously.
Yes, it’s pricey, but I also think it’s worth it. The cocktails are dangerously tasty. Dangerous because you’ll slug it down before even realizing you’ve had alcohol.
I think the macadamia feta is better than real feta. I totally felt it melt in my mouth. I just cannot complain about anything from this restaurant. The pad thai with courgette noodles and almonds instead of peanuts, the green curry and the fettuccine alfredo topped with cashew Parmesan were all amazing. If I wasn’t in public, I would have licked my plate… and all the plates of the people dining with me.

So let me get this straight… I’m going to order and you’ll deliver but I definitely won’t be getting any cheese at all on my plate, oh sorry and no meat. Okay so this is a vegan joint but then they told me it would all be raw… yep they are charging me for cold veg!!!
It’s disgusting — well actually it mindbogglingly tasty. I’m terrifying myself just writing this.
Hidden away in Old Street is this gem, with it’s own secret garden, infused spirits and fabulous food it’s not at all what you’d expect. You really have to open your mind to the concept of raw food and the fact that even though this isn’t your trusted favourite flavours, it’s an experience which will teach you the value of your taste buds. Food is about exploring more, trying more and pushing ideas to the limits, well, it certainly does here.
Paired with the food is a selection of expertly made cocktails that mix and infuse spirits how they should be and to perfection. Saf are the experts here and I have yet to see them challenged.

This place ain’t cheap, but they’ll serve you up a wonderful drink (and dinner if you ask them — it’s called ordering). They swung and missed on the mint julep I ordered first, but more than made up for it with a tasty Trilby — which is a brilliant scotch drink.
They have a lovely outdoor area which I like a bit more than the inside portion — though the bar allows you to people watch and interact with the nice bartenders. The food is wonderful, though you get the idea that, like many specialty vegan places, they’re trying a bit too hard to impress you.

I’ve died and gone to mixology heaven.
How good is it, you inquire?
Just the fact that I’m able to use the words «delicious» and «artichoke apéritif liqueur» in the same sentence should give you a hint. Joe McCanta clearly is the heart and soul behind these creative and perfectly balanced cocktails, although the day we popped by he was off speaking at a cocktail convention in New Orleans. Figures.
(Don’t worry Joe, Alex did you proud — allowing two curious Clara’s to sniff the infusions, ooh and ahh at the all-​organic range, and tour your Grey Goose Greenhouse picking at the growing herbs all the while.)

This place totally blew my mind, the flavors are amazing! I’ve always been a fan of raw foods, but they all tend to taste the same… totally not the case here. Each dish was perfectly balanced and rich in flavors that pretty much exploded in my mouth, especially the «cheese» plate — major WOW! I’ve always had the chef’s special of the day and have never complained, especially the pumpkin ravioli… definitely on my list for last meals to have for my last day on Earth — heck, I’d come back just for it!
Definitely pricey, but such a rarity to find a place that’s extremely veg friendly that everyone is able to enjoy. Great atmosphere, right when I stepped through the doors I felt relaxed and just ready to enjoy the night with my friends.
The service and guests are always enjoyable, everyone is so friendly! I thought it was weird when people came into my conversation, but it has always worked out and made my experience far better.
Saf, please come to San Diego… my heart and palate is waiting!

Saf can pretty much be summed up as sexy vegetarianism. Interesting, but it only goes so far.
I have been indifferent about going here for a long time as I have read some shocking reviews and some great ones. A friend went there yesterday for supper and insisted that it was great so we went there for lunch today.
The place itself has a pretty, kind of slick 1990’s vibe with a great dinning area and a kind of communal datey atmosphere. Before we get to the food, the drinks are good, really good. Lots of options and all expertly carried out.
Onto the food as that is what should make Saf stand out. It is fancy vegetarian food with all the bells and whistles you would normally find in good French food (sauces/​reductions/​dressings) and the waiters treat it as such with knowledgeable descriptions and discussions of it.
I had a durum wheat dumping starter. It was what a starter should be, a bit different, a bit experimental and precisely cooked.
The main was a vegetarian tart (which I uploaded a picture of — the fancy pile of vegetables). This was a buckwheat base and splodge of light vegetable centre. It didn’t work. The buckwheat base was too hard and thuggy and combined with the centre was like putting cream on a brick.
The pudding was a flapjack that due to the lack of eggs etc. was an abscess of flavour.
When confronted with substantial bill I still felt it was worth it as it was an interesting experience. The room, good drinks, attentive service and distinguishing fact that all the food is vegetarian gives you an alternative meal. However, as I wondered down the street my feeling was that if after a Chinese meal you leave hungry, here you leave without flavours as they just disappear from your mind.

If you eat at Saf, you’re probably vegan and rich, so you’ve got a lot to feel good about.
The food was yummy – considering it was raw and vegan. The pumpkin pie was so creamy it was hard to believe that it didn’t contain dairy, but apparently it was all done with mirrors and nuts.
The cocktails are small and £8.50, the dishes are small and expensive and you won’t get out of here drunk or full without spending quite a bit.
The fun part was talking to the staff about the food. It’s all very interesting if you’re into this sort of thing – they don’t cook it over a certain temperature and use natural ingredients and grow things themselves. Funny thing is that a lot of the staff aren’t actually vegan – I thought you had to be pretty die-​hard to work at a place like this.
All in all an interesting place, nice interior, good food, raw novelty.

Only had beverages there, but what we had was great.
We had a cocktail called «The Shoeshine» with Hayman’s Old Tom gin, Vya sweet vermouth, The Bitter Truth’s orange flower water and orange bitters. Joe McCanta really knows how to put it together while still keeping it as small-​producer as possible. Nicely done! Perfectly balanced — will make anyone appreciate gin.
The concept of the place is amazing — I wish every restaurant had their own garden, tried to only use organic or closely-​sourced products at the bar, etc. Plus more places in the UK HAVE to start growing their own urban gardens and keep it in-​house — if global economy food sourcing really becomes more and more difficult and expensive, everyone in the UK will only be able to eat fried fish and bangers if there are no local farms…
Keep up the good work, Saf!

Vegetarians and vegans have come a long way since the days since the only options on the menu were things like ‘vegetable pie’, ‘vegetarian lasagna’, etc etc; basically, uninspired choices. Furthermore, there was always the implied notion in a vegi café that because you were not a meat eater, you were a bit of a hippie (nothing wrong with that though), who’s idea of fine dining was having matching plates.
Saf is one of the new breeds of vegetarian, vegan and raw food restaurants — one which is sleek, sophisticated and up-​market. The décor is all low lighting and glossy surfaces. Clearly a lot of money has been pored into this place. My friends and I started off at the bar with some cocktails — expertly made and full of fresh ingredients. I had the spiced apricot martini which was my waitresses personal choice, and it was delicious, gone in 2 seconds.
We had some pre starters before we moved onto our actual starters, Edemame with a strong wasabi powder and white bean humous with mini crostini. We followed this with Vietnamese summer rolls and Almond cheese. For mains, we tried out the Thai Green Curry, Buddha Bowl and Sushi Plate. Let me just say that every single dish that I had here was mouthwateringly good. My slight issue was with the portion sizes, I was hoping that they would be larger. The price of the food also adds up, especially as we ordered more than we had planned to do because we were still hungry. I’m sorry to say that one of my friends was still so hungry when she left that she contemplated getting a burger.
I have eaten in plenty of vegan restaurants in California, and in an amazing place in Hawaii, and the high standard was easily the same. Unfortunately I have had more value for money in the American restaurants, however, I understand that this is the price you pay for exceptional produce.