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!