You would normally need to do a fair bit of persuading to convince me to go to a vegetarian restaurant I hadn’t heard of, but a Vegan restaurant which follows the concept of RAW food, where food cannot be heated over 48 degrees C, well, you’d have me jumping in the nearest Chelsea tractor heading in the opposite direction. That is, unless, I wasn’t footing the bill and that there was a decent wine list in which to numb my tastebuds, should things go as expected. Benevolence came in the form of Olive magazine, who asked me to take part in their ‘Pro vs Punter’ feature for the September issue, and this, in addition to an interesting cocktail list and lengthy wine list, sealed the deal.

SAF (Simple Authentic Food) is actually the first UK part of a chain already established in both Germany and Turkey. The SAF restaurants appear to be a spin-off from ‘detox’ and ‘experience’ centres located mainly in Turkey, that claim to offer help with a healthier living. That’s why I was quite surprised to find that the restaurant in London is also a bar, as surely the consumption of alcohol directly contradicts any healthy eating plan? Mind you, I can’t say I know any vegan’s who have chosen that route for health reasons, so perhaps they all go down the pub and binge drink as much as the rest of us. Either that or the fact that the owners recognised that no restaurant would last 10 minutes in the UK if they didn’t serve or allow booze on the premises!

Inside the Hoxton (where else?) based establishment, the décor lends to the quite funky, 70’s retro, although there is an immediate feeling of relaxation and serenity in the atmosphere, which is rather pleasant, considering the heavy traffic outside.

Miss R & I selected some edamame beans, sprinkled with wasabi pea powder to munch on, whilst deciphering the strangely constructed menu. The four sections are split into Starters, then Cheese Course, followed by Greens & Salad and then finally the Mains. Our waitress helped decipher this mess by saying we could order any of the first three as a starter, although some people ordered the salad as a side, or a main. I decided to go fully off-plan by ordering one of each, with Miss R following suite, albeit eschewing the cheese option. Not only was the waitress unfazed by this, but she helpfully asked us how we wanted them served, before suggesting that whilst the starters could be served at the same time, perhaps Miss R’s salad could be served at the same time as my cheese dish, whilst my salad could be served as a side to my main. I know that this isn’t exactly rocket science, but that, along with her excellent knowledge of the menu certainly elevated my overall view of the service.

The Spring Dumplings were first up for me, consisting of spinach, fried onion, date and water chestnut, which gave plenty of flavour to the filling. The pastry(?)/casing was the right consistency, apart from where it was sealed at the top, where it got slightly chewy, although this didn’t mitigate my enjoyment of the dish. The Maki Roll was beautifully presented and I thought was a well made sushi, although the shiso taste is an acquired one, which didn’t agree very well with Miss R.

After ordering, I suddenly remembered, rather disconcertingly, that I wasn’t going to be getting normal cheese, but Vegan cheese, which I have never eaten and didn’t even know what it was made of. My concerns in getting a cheese substitute were, in fact, completely assuaged, as the Almond Cheese with candied pecans, fennel bulb and fennel pollen was only distinguishable from normal soft cheese in that the texture wasn’t as homogenous. The taste was surprisingly good, which our waitress was quite happy about, although if she’d have known how low my expectations were to begin with, she may not have been so pleased. The Caesar salad on the other side of the table didn’t go down quite so well, but whilst the kalamata almond croutons were not of the crunchy variety, they were very more-ish, if a little reliant on the miso paste which seemed to be holding them together.

The Buddha Bowl mains course I ordered comprised of tea smoked tofu, rice, garlic greens (like curly kale), plus kimchee (spicy cabbage) and sambal. I’ve never been a fan of tofu and the only times I’ve managed to bear the taste is when it’s in some kind of spicy dish, like a veggie Chilli. I was therefore most impressed by the texture and taste of the smoked tofu, which had quite a meaty taste which reminded me of Chinese crispy duck. The rice was a little stodgy, but overall it was a well constructed dish. I can’t say the same for my seaweed salad, though, which unfortunately tasted as you might have expected, slimy and tasteless. Miss R’s Daily Ravioli was of the roast vegetable variety, coming with a fairly plain tomato ragout, which was well received by Miss R, but didn’t really stand out, in my opinion.

Out of the two desserts we selected, Miss R’s Ganache Tart was certainly the winner, the rich chocolate contents complementing very well with the cherry sorbet. My Apple cheesecake wasn’t too bad either and I especially liked the apple cardamom sorbet it came with.

Although having low expectations to begin with is more likely going to result in a more positively perceived experience, I did very much enjoy a number of aspects of SAF, not least of which was the food. The menu had enough variety and overall quality to make me want to order several dishes, the surroundings were pleasant and the cocktails good enough to stand up to close scrutiny in any decent London bar. I would have said the service was superb, but as we overheard the waitress talking about a ‘Special’ dessert to a neighbouring table, which she’d failed to mention to us, that superlative should be dropped a few notches. The raw element of the menu is not really noticeable either, particularly due to several of the dishes having been heated to more than 48 degrees C (as highlighted by an asterisk, to those who don’t want to break their raw diet). The descriptions on the menu’s do lean a bit too much towards the flowery marketing variety for my liking (fever tree tonic being a classic), but this is just a minor irritation which doesn’t really impact on the whole experience. So, I would say to even the most voracious carnivores out there, to give it a go. You may be pleasantly surprised with the food and if not, the cocktails should do the trick!