Saf

I went to Saf on Saturday night with a large group, for a friend's birthday. First impressions were good - the room is lovely, and felt very high end, good finishes lighting etc.

We were seated for about 30 minutes before we were asked if we wanted to order drinks - and that was after was flagged down the waitress. The staff seemed to be ignoring our existence - this was the first sign of trouble. Throughout the meal the service remained shambolic - at one end of our table we were issued with double sets of cutlery, while the other end got none...those who ordered soup were not given spoons, and had to chase down a waitress to get some...we has to flag down the waitress to order food (an hour after we had sat down)...ordering wine was a trial - they took our (not cold enough) white wine away after pouring and again we had to chase someone down to get refills...chasing down was the general theme! And as expected, the large bill came and we had been charged 12.5% service...we asked what we assumed to be the head waiter to take off half and he immediately offered to take it all off...as if he'd had to do this many times before...and no asking of what the problem was, etc etc. Overall, the worst service I've had in a long time in London.

Oh, the food...ranged from not very nice to inedible to vile...greasy "cheese", dried herbs, everything leaving a nasty taste in the mouth. The birthday boy's orange-cocoa "cake" will haunt my nightmares. And, expensive to boot.

So, safe to give SAF a miss I think.
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ladbroke - View all reviews by this user
2 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 1
Monday, August 08, 2011

I went back to Saf after a great first meal (see review below) but was rather put off on my second visit by the seating policy. The restaurant was by no means full, yet the manager seated my partner and I in a table so tight I nearly had to be wedged into my seat. Worse, he then put other diners at the tables immediately adjacent to us. On my right, there was a table perpendicular to ours, and so close that the diner's hair could reach my wine glass. On my left, there was a young couple, and the man seemed to be trying to convince the woman not to break up with him. He was not very good at this, and it was all I could do to stop myself intervening in their conversation, although I was not sure whether I should give him tips or urge her to leave him.

This lack of privacy, not to mention the discomfort, was pointless, as the restaurant still was not full when we left. It is a very bad policy on the part of the restaurant, but they only shrugged when I pointed it out to them at the end of the meal.

The food was still very good.
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Harry
6 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 5
Tuesday, June 21, 2011

This is the best London restaurant I have been to in months. It scores well on all counts: food, service, atmosphere, cost. I wouldn't necessarily have known it was vegan if it had not been pointed out to me. The food is just good, regardless of that.
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Harry
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Friday, June 10, 2011

went to saf for a friends birthday monday 6th june.

main problem was - a cake had been pre ordered with the restaurant a week in advance. so after an interminable wait we enquired as to it's where abouts. after three separate times being told it was on it's way. when clearly it wasn't i requested to see the cake that apparently was on it's way. the pre-ordered cake was nowhere to be seen and another variety had been taken out the fridge. apparently the first 2 they made they weren't happy with. so had binned them.

it would seem pretty normal practice to inform your diners that there was a problem and the requested birthday cake probably was not going to materialize. so, would we mind if they substituted it with a pre -made one they had in the kitchen. i doubt if anyone would have minded. instead we had some terrible excuse about cakes not being up to scratch.

there is surely something wrong with a restaurant that cant successfully make something on their own menu.

shame about this as the food was pretty good. but generally service v slow
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4 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Wednesday, June 08, 2011

Service was fantastic here, and staff really went out of their way for us, were friendly, attentive and knowledgeable about the dishes.

Food was good. I really liked the fact that some of the dishes were different than what you'd find in your average restaurant, although some of the friends I was with thought the dishes were a bit too different. I loved the mussaman curry, the laksa and the black tofu and the fact that I didn't feel bloated after the meal despite having 3 courses.

The restaurant was much nicer than I had expected and the restaurant was fairly busy with a good atmosphere considering it was a Monday night.

Prices are quite expensive for the amount of food you get but is exquisitely presented and different which makes it a but more special.
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Annie - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Thursday, March 17, 2011

This is my favourite London restaurant by far.

As a foodie and a veggie I struggle to find places to eat where I'm blown away by the food, where I could never have made the food myself. But Saf is one of those places. Eating there is like a learning experience, and I leave feeling more nourished than when I went in- a real refreshing change!

The service has always been great, they can get a bit busy at times but when things calm down the staff always have the time to chat, recommend and answer any questions.

The drinks are also great and any time that I have the money or it's a special occasion it is to Saf that I go. Try the chocolate ganache tart... it's a sugar, dairy and wheat-free must!
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wolfgang_veg - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Saturday, September 25, 2010

The food (which is vegan) was fabulous. I went with two carnivores who thought it was all delicious. Cocktails at the bar when we arrived were unusual but great tasting. The staff were really informative about the food and the evening was great right up until the end, when my opinion was changed by the treatment we received. When the reservation was made and on arrival to the restaurant we hadn't been told that there was a time limit for us to be finished by. At around 10:30 pm, after having finished dessert and contemplating having coffee we were told by a member of staff (he may have been a manager as he didn't appear to be a waiter) that we needed to leave as the table was needed for another party who were waiting at the bar. He was insinuating that we had been there for too long even though there had been a steady delivery of food and drinks to our table throughout the evening. We waited for the bill to arrive and then a few minutes later he came back and he was surprised that we were still there and appeared agitated and annoyed that we hadn't paid the bill and left. We explained that the bill hadn't arrived at which point he calmed down and told us that we were welcome to move to the bar. It was a very disappointing end to the evening as prior to that we had been talking about when we would go back to the restaurant but now I'm not so sure and for this reason would be reluctant to recommend Saf to other people. The food alone does not make the evening memorable.
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sammi
5 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Saturday, May 01, 2010

Without a doubt the best vegetarian restaurant in London. Although most carnivores would scoff at that achievement, saf is a truly remarkable place whose food combinations will broaden your horizons and tantalize your palate. Even my fiercely carnivorous gf was impressed! I started with a lemon Ginger and lavender drink which was superb and refreshing. Next I had a beetroot ravioli with a cashewnut ricotta filling topped with tricolor carrots, figs and a very delicate dressing- it was like a work of art and the flavours worked together like a well conducted symphony. My gf had the gyozas served in a wonderfully light, soy chilli and spring onion dressing and were bursting with refined flavour. 

For main I went for the Thai yellow curry which struck the perfect balance of tangy and spicy flavours with subtle fragrant waves of lemongrass and coriander- perfect! My gf had the brazil nutroast with marris piper potatoes, red wine and onion gravy, curly kale, and braised parsnips. For anyone that has nightmares about dusty dry incipid nut roasts, come to this place On a Sunday and have your nutroast phobia cured!! It was quite simply sublime. 

Just when we thought it couldn't get any better the desserts came. The chocolate ganache tort with walnut and vanilla coulis was comfortably the best chocolate desert I've EVER had in the 31countries i've eaten in- astonishing considering it's made without milk! The coconut cheesecake with raspberry coulis was so good I literally couldn't stop myself from oohing and ahhing quite audibly! Instead of getting alarmed looks there was a knowing nod from the staff and regulars- they've obviously seen reactions like that before! 

Then the piece de resistance- the espresso cognanc rum and cinnamon cocktail served by the super talented in-house mixologist- in the words of the hitchiker's guide to the galaxy- this was an "intergalactic gargle blaster"!!! It was just DIVINE! 

This restaurant isn't only the best vegetarian restaurant in London, but one of the best restaurants of any kind in the city. Its ethos, creativity, design, service and sheer artistic brilliance all come together to produce an exciting and immensely satisfying experience. Just don't tell too many people about it!   
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DC
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, February 01, 2010

This restaurant is wonderful, albeit very expensive.

My friend and I shared a tasting plate to start. A great idea to experience the variety of raw foods and flavours. We were very pleasantly surprised by it. To follow I had the green curry and my friend had pad thai. Both superb - delicious and beautifully presented. We choose side orders of chilli potato wedges with dip and a tomato salad. The wedges were to die for, but the tomatoes were just sliced and drizzed in oil, for £4! Desserts were a disappointment and didn't really work. My 'cheese' cake, made of cashew nut 'cheese' had a strange texture and a bland taste. My friends rasberry tartlet tasted like a fruit topped flapjack - not bad, but not outstanding. The service here is brilliant and the staff explain the concept clearly and succinctly without being patronising. The venue is modern, clean and comfortable. The only issue I would have with the restaurant is the price. For the above plus 2 non-alcoholic coctails we paid £81 (there's a 12.5% service charge added) which we thought was over the top. As a vegetarian, I think this place is great and my meat eating friend enjoyed it just as much. Now we just need to save up to go again!
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Candy Smith
7 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 4
Saturday, September 19, 2009

best dinner ever. what else to say its a perfect restaurant, every thing is environment and health friendly. i had no more to expect, the music could be louder.
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- View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Thursday, September 03, 2009