Review: Secret of Raw

For an omnivorous foodie, it can be hard to stomach waiting for your meal and listening to two women at the next table wax enthusiastic with the waitress about exactly what sort of herbs come with the grass plate, which is listed on the menu for 105 Kč and changes daily. Raw foodism may be well and good and beneficial for some, but for fans of actual cooking, it's not exactly an exciting prospect.

In the country that Anthony Bourdain so famously called "the land that vegetables forgot," it's a sure sign of expanding tastes and niche palates that two raw restaurants have opened in Prague in the past six months. Raw foodism as a dietary trend may have been around for more than 100 years, but it's certainly a novelty in this town of meat and dumplings and general stodge. One of the restaurants is located quite far out in Prague 5, so there was more buzz surrounding Secret of Raw when it opened at the beginning of the year in Žižkov. While it's become a welcome hub for the yoga and vegan communities, if you're not particularly beholden to either of those, there's little appeal past the novelty, which wore off pretty quickly for this reviewer after leaving still hungry following three courses that took a slow two hours to make it from kitchen to belly.

On my first visit, we waited so long for any attention from the staff that we began to wonder if the flower arrangement on the table was edible, and whether we'd be charged for it like a pretzel in a beer hall. When the waitress did show up, she asked what we would like to order, despite the fact that we hadn't seen the menus yet. We were sitting by the kitchen, which at most restaurants would be emanating smells galore, but here was marked by the constant whirring sound of an industrial blender. The lights also went out for a few moments at one point - transforming the restaurant into a cozy, candlelit room that was a marked improvement on the otherwise brightly lit small space.

Almost everything we sampled on that evening proved a disappointment and seemed incredibly expensive for how little food was actually served. I kept having the feeling that I was missing something about what was supposed to make this taste good or be exciting - about what the "secret" of raw food must be. At Secret of Raw, it's strictly vegetables; there's no raw meat or fish as in some other proponents of raw foodism. A lot of the items are vegetable impressions of other items, which I suppose is supposed to make it sound more interesting than it actually is. There's pizza, and a burger, and lasagna and other pasta items, but their claim to these names is loose. Some items even have no correlation to their names at all, which was the case with the "shrimp" starter. (It included the quotation marks around the name, as apparently anything can be called anything if it has quotation marks around it, therefore I will call this dish "good.") It neither resembled a shrimp in taste nor appearance, and in fact was completely unappealing: three solid brown pellets that tasted of densely packed bulgar and poppy seeds, rolled in coconut shavings. They were dry and mealy and off-puttingly sweet, and came in a bright-orange lightly curry-flavored sauce.

Another starter fared a bit better, with a dense wrap made from pressed sundried tomatoes stuffed with celery, carrot and bell peppers with a mild dressing, although it just became tedious to crunch into after a while. And it was difficult not to think about what these prices would get you elsewhere - most dishes are between 150 and 200 Kč here.

The "lasagna" was thin rounds of beetroot layered with a fennel and garlic cream that had some interesting notes, but the portion was incredibly small. I wondered at the sort of people who could eat things like that and be satisfied, and felt a pang of awareness of both my own gluttony but also indignation at wanting my money's worth.

Spinach manicotti was spinach purée, fluffed out with soy cream, stuffed inside shaved slices of cucumber and topped with a dollop of sundried tomato. It at least had a smoothness to it that was more enjoyable to eat, set off nicely by the crunch of cucumber. On that visit, we finished with the best item of the lot, a wedge of white chocolate cake that was really quite nice; the chocolate had a cheesecake consistency and was backed by a rich cookie crust.

Returning for a lunch visit proved more fortunate. Our waitress this time around was friendly and chatty, and was amenable when we asked to order something off the regular menu. Perhaps it was just what we happened to order this time around, too, but we left full, which was an improvement.

The raw nachos were tasty and filling, being pressed crackers of seeds and chili flakes that carried a little punch. There were celery and carrot sticks as well, and two types of dip: a soy sour cream and a "cheddar" dip. The fajitas were the best of the menu sampled, but would have been better served with the romaine lettuce separate. Instead, the marinated soft vegetables (mushrooms, bell peppers, red onion) were spread on top of the lettuce, the cumin-heavy sauce, along with sour cream, soaking through it quickly. Lettuce on the side could have functioned more as a wrap for the veg, in keeping with the name. The leaf was also unwashed at one end, with quite a bit of dirt on it.

The raw pizza was markedly more expensive than other items, at 240 Kč. Perhaps it's meant for sharing, but it was actually a decent portion for a light snack for one person. The flat base was made from a nicely chewy cracker of grains and seeds, and was covered with a paste of sundried tomatoes, black olives and rucola, with a drizzling of white soy cheese. It went well with a glass of organic white wine.

Eating food raw is said to aid digestion and make the most of vegetables' nutrients. While that is indeed a good thing to keep in mind, and could be enthusiastically maintained at home, going to a restaurant should be something special, and regardless of what type of restaurant it is, the experience of dining out should leave one full and satisfied. At Secret of Raw, however, the secret just eluded me.

Fiona Gaze can be reached at
fgaze@praguepost.com