London's best restaurants for raw food

Owned by well-connected glamour puss Camilla Al-Fayed (of Harrods fame), Farmacy sells ‘clean eating’ to an eager audience of moneyed Notting Hillbillies and aspirational hedge-fund wives. It’s a happy, joyful, ‘free-from’ kind of place – no dairy, no sugars, no additives, no meat, with lots of raw stuff lurking in its signature ‘earth bowls’. Judging by the ridiculously glossy good looks of most of the customers, the idea seems to work. 

Starting as a health-promoting venture in Brighton, La Valle (formerly known as Foodilic) may have changed its name, but still remains a favourite with the locals and peddles a solid menu of decent organic and vegan bites, including raw salads and raw cakes. It serves kombucha ‘raw tea’ alongside cooked breakfasts and dishes from the global melting pot.    

Helmed by River Café alumnus Theo Hill and stationed slap bang in the middle of Portobello Road, Gold is easily the best-looking and scene-iest place in this part of west London. The menu’s a good mix of fresh salads and hearty plates bordering on comfort-food territory, as well as several unusual raw revelations, like a pimped-up wild sea bass carpaccio with chilli, marjoram and datterini tomatoes. With its buzzy vibe, produce-led dining and lush, verdant interiors, it’s no surprise it’s permanently packed. 

Billed as ‘east London’s answer to delicious wellbeing’, this all-day café-cum-wine bar in Bethnal Green champions holistic dining, biodynamic drinking and organic ideology without over-egging the eco issues. The menu’s largely vegetarian and vegan, but poke around and you’ll find plenty of raw stuff, from superfood salads to scrumptious desserts (protein-packed brownies anyone?) – great with a cocktail or a cold-pressed juice (if you’re detoxing).

A slender sunshine strip of a restaurant promoting guilt-free ‘clean eating’ within the swanky surrounds of The Ned hotel/club complex, Malibu Kitchen feels like a slice of California in the City. The menu favours veggie and vegan over meat and fish – although there’s something for everyone, including fans of raw food. Vegetable and mango rolls with spicy nuts, poké bowls and zesty colourful salads all fit the bill.  For that full-on LA trip, wash it all down with some lip-smacking green juice.

Raw and cooked sit side by side on the menu at Paradise Plantbased – a healthy all-vegan café in Kensal Rise. If uncooked is your bag, then home in on the pizzas, lasagne and soups – as well as the protein-packed salad bowls. It sells raw vegan cakes and other sweet things too, and you can even do breakfast ‘in the raw’, so to speak.

At this Japanese-Peruvian-Brazilian hybrid of a restaurant, the dining room just fizzes with energy, while the eclectic menu – which features everything from ceviche to plantain to kobe beef – is similarly exciting. The bright colours and lush foliage make it appealing whatever the weather, but if the sun happens to be shining, ask for one of the handful of small tables out on the narrow strip of balcony overlooking Covent Garden.

Occupying a new space on the renovated ground floor of the Myhotel, Tanya Maher’s squeaky-clean café offers succour and sustenance to the looks-conscious Chelsea set. Fully raw, vegan and organic, the menu is all about ‘adventure salad bowls’, ‘medicinal mushroom latte’ and even ‘living lasagna’. There are plenty of moreish snacks and sides like coconut chips and spiced pili nuts to keep you feeling clean as a whistle.

As you’d guess from the name, this dinky first-floor café throws in its lot with the foraging brigade, leavening its menus with sacks of wild greens, fungi and other pickings from ‘pristine ecosystems’. On the plate, WFC’s organic, veggie and vegan offerings are pretty decent, with enough raw stuff to satisfy the zealots too. Their menu’s seasonal, and they don’t use refined sugar, gluten or overly-processed foods such as wheat, peanuts and soy.