Are you coming to California? Search here for the best deals in Flights, Hotels, Vacation rentals, & Cars!

Raw Food Restaurants

Perhaps not everybody’s cup of herbal tea, the raw food movement is slowly taking over the world, or at least California. This is where the movement is at its most strong and some say it is where the movement started. It makes sense really; the raw food diet promises health, a sunny complexion, and that all elusive perfect body. In California, where the beaches are so often the center of life, and where Hollywood beauties roam, looking good is a very real life pursuit of many. Here we will give you a run down of some of the best places to try the raw food diet, at least for one meal, in California.

A wonderful restaurant in Costa Mesa is ‘118 Degrees’, which is a humorous name referring to the temperature under which a food is considered raw. This restaurant offers a very trendy setting and an incredible menu to choose from. Some of the delicacies include sweet coconut wraps, apple cinnamon fig pecan cookies, sweet bread with almond butter, breakfast burrito, shitake sushi rolls, eggplant carpaccio, coconut ceviche, and pesto tortellini.

CRU Organic Raw Food Restaurant in Los Angeles is located on Griffith Park Boulevard and was voted the Best Raw Food Restaurant in L.A. magazine’s 2007 review. The chef, Rachel Carr, creates dishes using influences from Italian, Japanese, Thai, Tunisian and Indian cuisine. The setting of the restaurant is comfortable, relaxing and atmospheric with a menu which includes spicy curried squash soup, vegan Caesar salad, herbed cashew cheese and fig pate, pesto ravioli, and chocolate fudge cake. CRU also offers a smaller menu of cooked vegan food, so everyone can have what they want.

Another winning restaurant, ‘Alive!’, was granted the Best Raw Food Award in San Francisco. It’s found on Lombard Street and offers 100% organic food in a really comfortable ‘Zen’ setting. There is even a take-out service here, so you can call ahead, order and then drop by to pick up your delicious raw vegan dish. Examples of such delicious dishes include Asian noodles, pizzas and cheesecakes.

If you are a raw foodist, or have heard about the raw food movement, then you absolutely must try one of California’s amazing raw food restaurants. When in California, do as the Californians do and eat raw food!