life with booyaa

so we dressed up a bit, got there early to have cocktails at the bar first, only to find our table was ready so were seated straight away. i chose a jasmine pearl martini which was just gorgeous. i could have quite happily had another two or three. and we chose some nuts and olives to pick at while we were perusing the menu. the curried cashews were ok but nothing spectacular, the sea salt almonds were delicious and so were the olives. i bought some almonds to take home and i would have bought olives had there been any on sale.

we were sat quite close to the door and i was not happy about the very strong draught it created when someone came in or went out. next time we'll definitely ask to sit near the kitchen, out of the doorway. we noticed it less as time passed, perhaps because we were more focussed on our dinner, but still, it wasn't great. the decor is clean, light, fresh, with intriguing lighting, an emphasis on wooden tables, tall handpainted canvasses on the walls. the bar staff were bright and breezy. our waitress was evidently new and/or not particularly au fait with the cuisine as she had to run off and ask in the kitchen in order to answer questions (from our neighbours, who i think had a supremely allergic person in their group.)

for a starter i had beetroot ravioli. it looked lovely, with the deep red discs and creamy filling. i think the beetroot had been dehydrated as it felt dry and i was slightly disappointed that along with the heavy nut cheese it lacked juiciness. booyaa had the caviar which intrigued both of us. didn't taste of much, but it was fun. the latkes were nice and i'd like to learn to make them at home. onto the cheese tasting plate. i was disappointed. the cheeses were ok, but a little bit samey by the time you'd got a quarter of the way through. also, one of the crackers, which had a fabulous texture, was heavily spiced with chipotle. and i really don't like anything smoked. can't bear it. so i let booyaa take the lion's share of the shared cheese platter. onto mains. booyaa had enchiladas. this was a dark smooth nut pate, wrapped in finely sliced courgettes. i chose the mushroom croquette. again, a really great texture but so much chipotle that i couldn't taste any mushrooms at all. i left it on the plate but enjoyed the delicious whole 'roasted' baby veg that accompanied it. the greens and flower salad saved the day for me. i was in need of a big dark green salad by this point. then... dessert. now this really was special. i had the pineapple rose and it was divine. a light pineapple sorbet with a rose syrup, an almond biscuit with some little red pearls. booyaa had the day's special, which was a millionaire's shortcake and also very good. all of the dishes had a few different trimmings or a drizzle of sauce, whirl of microgreens and so on. presentation on all the food was truly excellent. they even use interesting plates. i'm convinced they use the same slate floor tiles my sis used to have in her wetroom ;)

so, i think my review has to be that the cocktails and desserts are fabulous and i'll go back just for them. but there's too much heavy food, it's not the kind of thing i want to eat. yes, i want fancy gourmet raw food from time to time, but some lighter, fresh options need to come on the menu, so i could have a lighter starter, not be forced to eat nut-based for each course. ok, so booyaa wanted the cheese tasting plate and if we'd skipped that perhaps it wouldn't have seemed quite so overwhelming. even so, i came out of there feeling lots lighter than i would if i had been out for an italian, chinese, indian dinner. so not all bad...

it came to around £120 for the two of us, with a cocktail each, starter each, sharing cheese platter, salad, mains, dessert each, bottle of wine and a coffee for booyaa. so not cheap, but we got a lot for our money. and i know how much time goes into raw food prep, so i don't feel it was that outrageous. though, fair enough, compare it to dinner for two at vitaorganic and, um, yeah. it's pricey! but it was a special treat and we had no qualms leaving our cash on the table.

i feel like i've been really negative about the place. perhaps i'd been so excited about going that i'd put it on a pedestal and was bound to be disappointed with such high expectations. or perhaps it's just not my kind of food. i really want raw food to ease into the edges of mainstream, for purely selfish reasons: so that it's easier for me to dine out, pick up take out dinner from time to time, have access to a wider range of raw ingredients and get a green smoothie from an ordinary juice bar. and the other good thing would be the growth of the movement, for the health of the planet. but i think we need a few more veggie-vegan-raw cafes around, some slightly greener, more aware juice bars. bit by bit. saf may convince meat eaters that vegetarian food can be sexy (as the various mainstream media reviews prove) but it's not going to spark a raw revolution.

saf restaurant website
cocktail menu
mains
desserts