If we all ate something cheap but filling before going in there, and then we went as a big group but just ordered one thing each and had a bite of everything it would work out quite cheap :D
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If we all ate something cheap but filling before going in there, and then we went as a big group but just ordered one thing each and had a bite of everything it would work out quite cheap :D
Took an American client to Saf two weeks ago for a business dinner - they have changed the menu already! Now have cooked food too - kind of defeats the purpose of being a raw food restaurant but the gyosas and ravioli dishes were really good but not raw. My client loved it and said it was the best vegan place she had ever been to! As she is American, she has eaten in a lot of raw food kitchens and she loved this one.
They seem to be having specials every night - with cocktails for only 6 pounds on some nights.
that's disappointing :( do you think they hyped up the raw for the press attention initially? did you get a chance to ask them about the change of menu to some cooked?
edit; i just checked out the site; with ref to cooked, was the food fully cooked or warmed or dehydrated to the max acceptable to still call the food 'raw'?
I ate there several weeks back and really enjoyed it, although I was not full afterwards so snacked when I got home :(.
There were 4 of us so I got to try quite a few dishes and quite a few cocktails (which are fab). Particularly enjoyed the cheese course and the beetroot salad.
Well, I really enjoyed my lunch at Saf. It's the first vegan restaurant I've ever been to. I too noticed that the menu had changed (it was different from what was listed on the website whenI checked). And yeah, my meal wasn't particularly raw... There were 7 of us all together and we got a few starters to share - olives, spring rolls, boursin cheeses, nachos, beetroot ravioli. All of these went down really well. They were yummy. The cheeses were a big hit with us all even though I'm the only vegan and my family seemed quite amazed at the concept of dehydrated raw crackers lol. I kinda agree that the mains aren't as impressive as the starters - I had a really nice hummous ciabatta sandwich. Not raw but good. Others tried out the "breakfast" which was scrambled tofu and stuff and the chickpea crepes. Everything looked good but I don't think anyone was particularly amazed by their food. However, my sisters & cousin got desserts and they were amazed by these lol. They were lovely raw cheesecakes and chocolate tarts and things... mm. A couple of family members moaned when they realised their coffees were made with (shock, horror ) soy milk! lol. But all in all we had a really good meal. Also, I loved the presentation of everything - saf is really stylish and cool. I will definitely try and go back sometime for an evening meal (when I'm feeling rich) and I reeeeally want to try out some of their cocktails.
[YOUTUBE]mux43qzWlK0[/YOUTUBE]
The food I past had there was not raw - it was fully cooked - shame they have had to go down this route so soon...
good vid korn.
unless you are dehydrating to a specific temperature, how can you monitor a top temp of 48 degrees?
re: the cooked food in saf, i went there at the end of april, and there was cooked stuff, so it's not a recent thing. plus, they have two other restaurants which i think employ a similar thing.
to be fair, a vegan restaurant is a challenge enough for a lot of people. completely raw might be stretching the old business plan too far, especially in winter in cold, grey london. at least they have a lot of raw things...
amanda
I stumbled across a Saf vegan restaurant while in Munich in May/June. Would have gone in to eat but my non-vegan friend had just eaten so we didn't. :( I did buy a couple of little things from the downstairs store though (cookie & drink).
i'm going there tomorrow night *excitement* it was actually an omni friend who wanted to try it after watching sex and the city (???) i was a bit confused about the 'cheese course' on the menu but eventually figured it out. it does look rather yummmy. my only concern is i'm not sure cold food is a great idea in such abysmal weather? i rely on regular cups of tea, porridge for breakfast, soup for lunch and a cooked meal in the evening to keep warm. and MANY layers. bbbbrrrrrrrr
Much of the food is served warm, just double check your order with the staff if you feel you wouldn't enjoy something cold. Alternatively you could warm your insides with cocktails instead!
I thought the cheese course was fantastically tasty.
now i know its not real cheese i can't wait to try some. yeah cocktails for definite.... hmmmmm oh gosh
i'm not going to sleep tonight for the excitement...
How was it Agatha?
I'm hopefully dragging a work colleague with me at some point this weekend to try it out. Whoot.
Saf is cool... But very expensive.
Haha, was fully booked for us as well. Alas, a few well placed "ohhh nooooo!"'s and puppy dog eyes + :( faces = a table becoming available an hour or two later.
Overall the food was great, although a little overly salty we thought. Portions are small and it is expensive (£105.something for 2 of us-although we didn't really hold back), but some of the dishes are fantastically tasty! (not excluding the hostess :tongue_ani: ;) ) and would definitely recommend the cheese tasting platter thingy-ma-bob.
We only tried two of the cocktails, but found them pretty meh to be honest, which is unfortunate.
Would definitely go back.
Hope you enjoy Tuesday Agatha.
haha! erm yes possibly. i always thought it was just a general northern adjective but now you mention it maybe mark radcliffe DID make it up. (and i've just realised how bad my typing is hmph)
wow £105? i think i will skimp on the average cocktails to make sure i can afford a four course meal. affording it and fitting into my belly are different things however; do you think they will let me take a doggy bag home?! or is that just too embarrassing to even ask for?
I can't believe you guys went there especially and didn't bother to book! :confused:
(I'd go there just for the cocktails, I don't think they are average at all.)
Yeah we arranged it specially on the quiet so you weren't there!! :p
Bad Marrers :mad: :D
Awww, I get all awkward about meet-ups. I'm really anti-social sometimes lol! Maybe I should go to Kiran and scarlett's b/day meet and stop being such a wuss :p
i went last night with an omni fried and it was delicious! i left with severe stomach ache, but not sure thta had anything to with the food ( i had bene feeling queasy all day). we had the cheese platter and i loved it, my omni friend was less convinced. we both loved our starters, maki and the beetroot ravioli, main courses were less amzing. i had chinese pancakes. i don't really like raw mushrooms so not sure why i ordered that, dessert was fabulous! and so were the cocktails hmmm flowery champagne yum!
i defintely go back but maybe wait till a 2 for 1 offer next time (sundays i believe)
Anybody want to come with me there in the next two weeks? I cannot find anyone who would enjoy this, and I want to check it out before I leave london... =)
Did you go in the end Butterfly?
I ate at there with friends recently, after the wine tasting. The food was really good. Here are pictures of the main courses, forgot to take any others.
Root Veg Tart (I had this)
Buckwheat and herb crust, purple sprouting, creamed spinach
http://s19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...s/IMG_1844.jpg
Market Plate
seitan brouchettes, mash potato, braised red cabbage, sprouted broccoli and chanterelle gravy
http://s19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...s/IMG_1845.jpg
Winter Risotto
pearled barley, roasted pumpkin, ‘buttered’ chestnuts
http://s19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...s/IMG_1846.jpg
The cheese course was fab as usual. I had Beetroot Ravioli to start, Cucumber & Black Pepper sorbet for dessert - both delicious.
http://www.safrestaurant.co.uk/pdf/Saf-UK-Dinner.pdf
No i didn;t...that looks amazing! i am travelling through turkey though so i think i will check out one of the safs there, cannot wait!
My husband I went to Saf for dinner one night and had each of the courses. We weren't that impressed with the food. It was kind of uninspired and insipid. Although we both enjoyed the 'cheese' course and the chocolate thing I had for dessert was good. The cocktails were also kind of unimpressive. We wouldn't bother going again.
I think it depends what you have and I'm lucky I seem to be able to guess what I will enjoy and what might be a bit dull for me (having sampled the meals of 5 other peoples over two visits my predictions have been proved right).
I definitely had the nicest of our group that day but the Market Plate was good too (would have been my second choice) so I'd definitely order that in future. I didn't think much of the Risotto, a bit bland but that's what I expected. The desserts are lovely but I didn't have room for anything other than sorbet this time.
Well my husband had the risotto and also thought it was a bit bland. I had the Buddha bowl. Maybe you're right and we just made bad choices that day.
is the non-raw food served properly hot, or does it come out lukewarm? i don't like it when some of these places serve lukewarm food.
don´t worry, gorilla! non-raw food is served properly hot. when i was there with my father i had the aubergine in black bean sauce, which was quite spicy and not bland at all.
i can contribute with a few pics!
the famous cheese tasting platter:
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...a/IMG_0654.jpg
http://www.veganforum.com/forums/%5B....jpg%5B/IMG%5D
mango crépes and the raw pumpkin cheesecake at the back:
http://www.veganforum.com/forums/%5B....jpg%5B/IMG%5Dhttp://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...a/IMG_0655.jpg
http://www.veganforum.com/forums/%5B....jpg%5B/IMG%5D