Before going any further, I have to disclose that my visit to Raw Aura tonight was my first ever time eating at a raw food restaurant. I was vegetarian for 14 years, then returned to being a carnivore for the last 12 years, and now am eating 90% of my calories as raw food.
Raw Aura is a new restaurant, having opened on August 24th, 2009 at 94 Lakeshore Rd East, Port Credit, in the premises that was formerly occupied by Higher Grounds Coffee House. It is directly across from the No Frills store & next door to Rabba, just 200 meters East of the Credit River.
The menu, which can be viewed in it’s entirety on the web site, is absolutely dripping with amazing-sounding ingredients, combined in unique ways; my wife and I were very excited to visit this place and get our first exposure to what Raw Vegan cuisine can be. We weren’t disappointed!
When we arrived, around 5:15 on a Friday, we were greeted by the very friendly staff, all dedicated raw-foodies, and passionate about their working in such a unique environment. The furniture and decor is very natural, with natural wood and dark chocolate colours mixed with tans and creams – a very pleasant, relaxing environment for sure.
We started our meal with the Samosas, which, according to the menu are “sweet and crispy apple, coconut, flax wrappers stuffed with a creamy, aromatic cauliflower, pinenut ‘potato’ filling and served with a fragrant tamarind and cashew ‘sour cream’ dipping sauce”. These delectable triangles were, in a word, heavenly! The wrappers are smooth yet grainy, sweet yet slightly edgy, and the filling is so incredibly smooth I could feel my tastebuds doing the happy-dance. The dipping sauce, while not needed for any sort of flavour boost, was soo yummy that we finished it off after the samosas were done.
Next up were the Mini ‘Burgers’, 3 savoury patties made from a robust combination of seeds, marinated vegetables, sun-dried tomato and onion, each topped with a different homemade dressing and served in crisp Romaine lettuce leaves. Each one of the patties must have only weighed about 2 ounces, but man, were they satisfying, tasty, and m-m-GOOD! The sweet and spicy mustard topping was our favourite, but the chipotle and the sundired tomato ketchup were very tasty too.
Next came the Falafel, one of my favourite non-raw foods, and something which I consider myself somewhat of a connosieur of so I had very high expectations and some niggling doubts as to how they could be good RAW. Well, suffice it to say that my doubts were completely unfounded! The hummus was so smooth, silky and light and the falafel themselves are incredibly textured, clean-tasting and light. I think this is partly attributable to the fact that Raw Aura grows all their own sprouts and beans, so things are as fresh as they can possibly be.
Our waiter, Dmitri, had explained when we first ordered that we should make sure to leave room for desert, as they had just made a pumpkin pie, and it was to die for. So, we ordered the pie for desert.
This pie was very unlike any pie that I have ever eaten! The ‘crust’ is made with a mix of dates, walnuts, and some other kind of nut, and it was fantastically tasty all on it’s own. The filling was made with bananas, pistachios and a couple of ‘secret’ ingredients, topped with a layer of pumpkin seeds. To call this delectable really is an understatement!
A few observations:
- The portions might be a surprise to people not used to the filling qualities of raw food, yet the amount of food is plenty for 2 people with very hearty appetites.
- The cost is less than what one would spend on dinner out in a far less healthy establishment
- Try this place out soon, because it seems to me that it is destined to be a very busy spot where line-ups will be the norm, given it’s small size.
All in all, I’d rate Raw Aura as a 9.5 experience. I can’t think of anything they could have done better, or differently; I just don’t like to give straight 10′s!
- My Videos (100%)
- Great Homes (100%)
- About (100%)
- Random Thoughts on a Sunday Afternoon (100%)
- We Don't Give Ourselves Enough Credit (100%)
Ryan Chelak
on Aug 29th, 2009
@ 9:13 am:
Great review Chris! Definitely sounds like a place to try. I’m sure it will only get busier – they’ve got a great spot!
Cheers!
Chris
on Aug 29th, 2009
@ 12:45 pm:
Thanks Ryan – I agree – so centrally located, awesome food, the right demographic, etc.
‘We Don’t Compare Ourself To Other Airport Restaurants’ « miltonblog.ca and miltonblog.com
on Aug 30th, 2009
@ 8:37 am:
[...] jumped tp the corollary to my own business. That, in turn, got me thinking about the corollary to my recent experience at the Raw Aura restaurant in Port Credit, and also my same-day experience at the local Bulk Barn [...]
Tori
on Sep 3rd, 2009
@ 11:46 pm:
The owner MEGHAN is my room mate. I pretty much got to sample the menu as it was being made. I am in Vancouver for a few months and SO SAD I missed the opening. Just wanted to say SHE IS AWESOME. A WONDERFUL, CARING and GIVING person. How can her food not be DELISH and SO NOURISHING!! She does EVERYTHING with love!!
HUGS TO MEG!
PLEASE hug her for me..I mean REALLY hug her…I miss her so and she is working SO HARD!!
Tori
Katherine
on Sep 4th, 2009
@ 7:27 am:
Just a correction for anyone looking for the restaurant, it is across the street from No-Frills (there is no Food Basics or Bulk Barn here) and right next door to (just east of) Rabba, on the north side of Lakeshore Road East at Elizabeth Street. In Port Credit, the East-West boundary changes at the Credit River, not at Hurontario Street, so even though it is west of Hurontario Street, the street is called Lakeshore Road East.
Wishing Raw Aura all the best
Chris
on Sep 4th, 2009
@ 7:34 am:
Thanks Katherine – my better-half, the she-who-should-be-obeyed, told me about that error, and I completely forgot to change it. Much better directions – thank you for investing your time to do that.
Nathalie Lussier
on Sep 4th, 2009
@ 8:44 am:
Great review Chris. I am away from the GTA at the moment but will be back soon and I can’t wait to check it out.
Thanks for the photos, the mini-burgers are actually quite tempting I must say.
Chris
on Sep 4th, 2009
@ 8:51 am:
Thanks Nathalie! We’re hoping to head down again really soon, to introduce some friends to the joy of raw food.
Raw Food in Port Credit, Ontario | SouthernONLiving
on Sep 4th, 2009
@ 9:34 am:
[...] If you haven’t checked this new restaurant out, you really need to – check out my review on MiltonBlog.ca [...]
Katherine Marion
on Sep 6th, 2009
@ 1:16 pm:
Our raw meetup in rainswept Vancouver passed me this yummy link…
Rawsome!
Can hardly wait.
Katherine
http://www.RawsomeChef.com
Chris
on Sep 6th, 2009
@ 3:27 pm:
Excellent! Thanks Katherine – when you coming down to try it out?
nick
on Oct 21st, 2009
@ 4:27 pm:
Hey you guys, glad to be here, just joined and love the review of Raw Aura.. I will go to enjoy most of their menu soon, probably this week or then next as soon as I get well since I was with a cold for the last week:-) I guess I did not stay with my raw diet haha:-(
I live in the north/west part of the GTA, not much to chose from here in the raw arena… but is some of you can suggest any… PLEASE do so anytime,.. thanks!!!
A couple of weeks a go went to check out Green Earth… a small little place in the east end of Toronto… 385 Browdview, Toronto 416-778-9199 it was a great experience and loved their Pho a special Vietnamese soup… I will go back for other dishes that attracted my attention:-) hope this helps for some one who is not 100 raw..
look forward to more of your reviews… thanks a lot.