THE RAW KITCHEN, Fremantle
by JENNY D’ANGER:
Vegan food served raw, “spaghetti” fashioned from strands of zucchini, nut cheese on raw pizza and seaweed salad; it wasn’t too long ago a restaurant devoted to uncooked food would have been sneered at as feral Fremantle.
But the raw revolution has well and truly hit town and customers are queuing to get at it, from hipsters and middle-class young mums to blokes in high-vis you’d expect to see chowing down on a chicken parmy at the pub.
The Raw Kitchen was doing such a brisk trade at its previous digs in the South Terrace Piazza it was only a matter of time before it moved somewhere bigger.
Who knew the old Jim Kidd/Rivers building next to Victoria Hall on High Street could transform into an eatery of soaring proportions, an uber-grunge warehouse. Interior decorators aren’t really needed for a utilitarian warehouse but I bet creating this industrial ambience cost an arm and a leg.
It’s so large it dwarfs a couple of sea containers, one fitted out with tables for diners, the other a showcase for local artisans.
Fortunately the D’Angers arrived early for lunch as the tables quickly filled around us: By 12.30 the queue was out the door.
The expanded premises come with an expanded menu, including cooked options like massaman curry made with local tempeh ($24), roast pumpkin pizza ($26) and hasselback potatoes ($10) smothered in a rich-purple olive tapenade.
But we were here to eat raw. As fans of pad thai we were intrigued to see how this Asian staple might translate.
The “noodles” were fine strands of zucchini and the dish an amazing blend of almond satay sauce
The “noodles” were fine strands of zucchini and the dish an amazing blend of almond satay sauce, kaffir lime, tamarind, fresh herbs, including coriander, and mung bean sprouts ($20).
And the fact it was cold didn’t detract one iota.
Cheese-allergic D’Angerous Dave hesitated over a slice of raw pizza ($10), until he was assured its cheese is derived from macadamia.
The base is dehydrated buckwheat and was absolutely delicious and crisp—a week later he’s still raving about it.
But the crowing glory of the meal was the five-seaweed salad ($22).
A mix of seaweed, green mango, beetroot, sour cherries, black sesame seeds and a red miso dressing, it was magnificent and left a wonderful sesame oil coating on the taste buds.
It’s a shame we were too full for dessert, as there’s a mouth-watering selection of raw cakes, not to mention sugar-free smoothies made with fresh almond milk (from many past encounters I can thoroughly recommend the banana—$8.50—it’s so rich it’s almost a meal on its own). Caffeine addicts don’t miss out at the Raw Kitchen, with a selection of coffees made with either soy or rice milk or, for $1 extra, handmade cashew-macadamia-date milk.
The Raw Kitchen
181 High St, Fremantle
Phone 9433 4647
open 7 days for breakfast
and lunch, Fri–Sun dinner