Food & Drink

New London Restaurant: 42°Raw ~ Please Sir Can I Have Some Raw?

Is raw food a bonafide thing now in London? I ask because The Royal Academy’s newish restaurant, called 42° Raw, has an entirely raw food, vegan menu with no sugar, gluten or dairy. Oh and nothing cooked over 42°C. That seems pretty bold or do they just know their clientele really well?….Vogue House is just a Pilate stretch away after all. The couple of times I’ve been in, I’ve heard more French and American accents than British.

Founded in Copenhagen, this is the second outpost. The white pine interior is very Nordic though the menu isn’t – more West Coast USA. It has a Pret/café vibe rather than somewhere you’d take Gwynnie on a hot date.

So what is 42°Raw? In their words:

What is 42 Raw?

I’ve eaten at one raw food restaurant in London before – Saf (when it was in Shoreditch, now closed) and enjoyed it – stylish without the sackcloth. There are now branches at Wholefoods and in Harvey Nichols, so there’s clearly a market. On a separate note, if anyone knows why sushi is never served in raw food places, do please share.

The raw lasagne made from layers of courgette with a sauce made from cashew was very tasty though I’m not crazy about walnuts so the pesto didn’t work for me.

42 Raw banoffee pie – thankfully tasted nothing like “proper” banoffee pie which I can’t stand

I love fruit and veg and am a great believer that healthy food should be delicious not a punishment. One meal without meat won’t kill anyone. Traditionalist one meat two veg types will consider this food hell but if you like “rabbit food” and fancy experimenting with new flavour combinations and textures hop on over.

42 Raw, 6 Burlington Gardens, London W1J OBD www.42raw.co.uk 

UPDATE: This location closed in October 2013. The company says a new London location is coming in 2014.