A new vegan restaurant has launched in London, offering meat- and dairy-free fine dining to its customers.

Saf restaurant in Shoreditch, which opened last week, is a 60‑seat eaterie offering a botanics-based menu with a focus on organic, locally sourced ingredients.

The opening reflects a growing trend for vegetarian dining in London, after York-based Vanilla Black and Swiss chain Tibits recently announced their arrivals.

Executive chef Chad Sorno oversees the kitchen at Saf, with the menu featuring a range of vegan and raw food courses, including cheeses made from almond, cashew and pine nut milk. The food is complemented by a drinks list, overseen by sommelier and mixologist Joe McCanta, which includes organic and biodynamic wines as well as organic spirits.

The London outlet is Saf's fourth opening. Owned by healthy living group The LifeCo, it also has two restaurants in Istanbul, Turkey, and one in Munich, Germany. If the first London restaurant is successful, the group hopes to expand the concept across the capital.

McCanta told Caterer that Saf aimed to offer its diners the "best possible option".

He said: "We source our ingredients in a hierarchical way starting from local organic, to local, British organic and European organic, depending on what's available."

McCanta added that there was a "definite" trend towards vegetarian dining. He said: "This isn't just evident in London, but rather there's a global trend reflecting people's increased awareness of the health benefits of fresh organic produce."

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By Kerstin Kühn

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