Raw Soul

Although a small place, Raw Soul has a variety of good food. Loved the Lasagna. With a smoothie and you will get full quick. Definitely a must try.

This was the very first restaurant I went into while staying in NYC. I was a bit nervous… would the New Yorkers be nice? Etc… well, the service here was great. The food here is good, solid. The raw soup we had had some nice spices that gave the soup the illusion of being cooked… Anyway, the food was good, but honestly, not my favorite stuff. To be fair, I’m not a vegan, vegetarian, or on the raw food diet, but my bf is vegetarian so I’m all up in vegetarian food anyway. I’d come back here, but again, not my favorite. However, I’d DEF recommend it to anyone who likes raw food.

delicious! lasagna was excellent – but definitely raw lasagna, if you’ve never had that before and are expecting something close to lasagna, you’ll be disappointed – and my green juice was lovely.
i strolled in at 4 PM, unaware that they had just opened for dinner, but i was greeted courteously and promptly. the prices are a bit high, as per the usual for raw or vegan food. NY to LA, you pay extra for health and quality.
i will return! heard the pizza is awesome.

I would give Raw Soul more stars-​the food is great, but I cannot excuse the unfortunate service I receive from the young woman behind the counter. She’s short, cold and aloof, which I could almost understand at Pure Food and Wine, but not at a soulful Harlem spot. I travel from downtown to eat there, and after this last time dealing with her, I’ll be taking a break for a while.

Alright I took the train 40 minutes uptown to come eat here and guess what– I came back every day for 5 days it was so dang good! The owners are the nicest, cutest couple ever. Calling everybody brother and sister. Check it out if you want to try Raw food!

Fin place for first timers to get a taste of raw food.
The gazpacho soup was out of this world. Hearty tomatoes with bits of vegetables and even some avacado. Though a bit pricey, they also have a varied drink menu that includes smoothies and juices.
The raw burger on flax was certainly different. It wouldn’t be mistakened for the Hamburglar in a line up. The walnut and other mixtures created a dense cube of «something.» Not bad on it’s own– simply not a burger though. My girl friend also thought it tasted q bit bitter.
Notably, the sauces were delicious. I’be heard this about them before and i agree.

This is a real gem of a place. I knew it back when they were located in a real hole-​in-​the wall on St. Nick. Then they moved to 145^th… The folks who run this place are terrific. I highly recommend their pizza and their ‘burger’. I gotta be honest though… I’ve yet to have a vegan dessert that I liked. I’m a real dessert connoisseur and I think I tried one or two of the desserts here and didn’t like either one. But the savory food rocks! (And btw, I’m NOT a vegetarian/​vegan, and yet can still appreciate raw food…)

If you want terrible food that resembles crap a lot more than soul food, this is your place.

Some of the reviews here confuse me, ever so slightly.
If the high-​water mark of one’s eating career rests somewhere around steak or a plate of chicken nachos or something equally «full of cooked animal» and one uses this experience as a way to determine whether or not what one is currently eating is «good,» then coming to a raw vegan restaurant would seem, to me, to be contradictory to one’s best interests. At the very least, it is a setup for disappointment.
With THAT said
This is one of my favorite restaurants in Manhattan. I definitely do not get out here often enough, as the 40-​minute train ride generally conflicts with my «HUNGRY — MUST EAT NOW» tendencies, but when I do make a plan to come here, I’ve never left disappointed.
I am not a raw foodist, but if I were ever able to discover how to make food like this or, if Raw Soul somehow become a wildly popular chain across America with a store on every corner, I would certainly consider converting. Everything that I’ve had here is delicious.
I highly recommend the lasagna, which absolutely surprised me the first time I tried it. Considering that the ingredients are raw, the textures and flavors that they have chosen do a really nice job of coming together to replicate what one would recognize as lasagna.
The BBQ Burger is also an excellent way to go if you’ve never tried this before or are looking for something with immediate gratification. While everything may appear foreign, the tastes are familiar and delicious.
How they make what they make, I have no idea.

Best pizza I’ve ever had in my entire life!
I wasn’t crazy about the burger or the wrap but I go back or the pizza.

The best raw vegan food next to Pure Food & Wine. Desserts never disappoint. It’s a bit more expensive than what I’d like to pay but you get what you pay for. This place is the first place I hit up when I go back home to Harlem :-)

Raw Soul is incredibly inventive. It feels like a hidden gem — a cozy space below street level. The food is somewhat comparable to Pure Food and Wine downtown, though a more down-​to-​earth version. The results are equally astonishing — so many phenomenal tastes. Marvelously-​flavored, filling versions of pure and healthy raw vegan tamale pie, pizza, burgers. cheesecake, etc. The naturally fermented sorrel punch simply must be experienced.
It is not the fastest service in the world, but this is because they create each dish on the spot. The owners are clearly spiritually attuned people, and the food is meant to be treasured rather than gobbled.
Rather expensive.

For what it is, Raw Soul is pretty good. I mean, it’s RAW.
But if i had to choose meat and heat over raw, i’d do it in a heartbeat. I couldn’t handle the cold. The tastes were pretty amazing (again, for what it is) but on the other hand, it made me uneasy what exactly it was.
It was awfully expensive for the area, although the man who worked the counter was very nice. The desserts were good (for what they were) but i’d take full fat, high cholesterol chock full of animal product that was baked over this anytime.

They got these great fermented drinks…
and a coconut meat –based «ice-​cream» that’s absolutely amazing.
I’m not a biggest fan of raw, but everything I had at Raw Soul was amazing. Especially the pilaf. And you won’t come out hungry.

i can’t rave enough about this tiny as a closet yet cozy as mittens spot! first off, the vibe is extremely friendly & laid back. i liked that there was a diveristy of folks eating when i went there on a sat night & all looked quite pleased to be there. i found out why when my tamale pie & berry berry smoothie arrived.
the tamale pie was extremely flavorful, had a satisfying texture, & was a nice enough portion that didn’t leave me feeling gypped. my smoothie, made with a bunch of berries, agave nectar & the addition of spirulina was practically a meal itself, a yummy, thick & naturally sweet dessert.
i sampled off my dinner companions plates & really enjoyed the lasagna & fell in love with the enchiladas.
the prices are a bit high for me but it’s definitely going on my «places to put in my budget.» and, i felt the prices were worth it: delicious, healthy, flavorful food at good sized portions. yay for raw soul!

My experience may be a little biased since I’m a meat eater but the food here has no texture. I really had a difficult time enjoying anything I tried here: burger, quiche and enchilada. The enchilada was the best out of the three but expensive ($ 14). The quiche was the worst. The entire dish was mushy. They make a nice ginger beer which is basically ginger put through a juicer and fermented. The nice thing about this meal was that it was very filling. I consider myself a big eater but I couldn’t finish my dish. While it was filling, would you know what I meant if I said my mouth wasn’t satisfied?
Lillian, the owner, is very patient and very knowledgeable about the food she serves. She’s conscious of where the ingredients come from and how they are prepared. While the restaurant is small, it’s a nice atmosphere and very clean.
Needless to say, I won’t be going back but it was definitely worth the try.
FYI — There will be an open house on 1÷25÷09 from 16:00 — 19:00 which will include food prep demonstrations as well as samples.

They don’t have a bathroom on the premises. Is that even legal? When I asked the waitress where the restroom was, she directed me to the Dunkin’ Donuts next door. That’s a whole star off.
That very strange aspect of the place aside, the vibe and food is great! I’ve been raw-​ish for over a year now, and Raw Soul really has the simple-​but-​creative thing down. I went with a steak-​loving friend, and he was not only impressed, but too full to finish his meal (the BBQ burger).
It’s kinda expensive, but eating out raw is just like that.

I’m officially obsessed and in love with RAW SOUL. I had lunch there on Saturday with friends from out of town (they were not vegetarians nor vegans) and everyone was stoked that we went there. The food is incredible at the restaurant, the vibe is pleasant and did I say the food is incredible. I had the lasagna (Our classic vegetarian lasagna with zucchini noodles, walnut cheese and sun-​dried tomato marinara sauce) and it was out of this world. Also shared the Enchiladas (Two flax tortillas stuffed with net meat and chile, topped with salsa and pine nut cheese, garnished with black olives) which were tasty as can be. And the chocolate cake dessert was exceptional. I even bought the book written by the owners, Raw Soul Health Journal… I think I may actually become a healthy vegan now!
CLOSED ON MONDAYS & SUNDAYS
They have a great $ 12 dinner special on Weekdays.

My sister who lived in the Harlem area introduced me to this place. She is an organic, raw food, health nut! And at the time when i went here about 1 year ago i was completely against even the sound of it, so when my sister suggested we eat at raw soul after our shopping excursion on 125^th. i was alittle bit mad, but too tired to put up a fight so we ended up walking down the steps to Raw soul.
I looked at the menu, but had no idea what to get seen how i never ate raw food and was craving a nice big juicy hamburger! She ended up ordering the pizza, some soup, a shake, and some «dessert.» Well i must say that i rather enjoyed the food, and found my whole plate clean, picking off of my sister’s dish. After that i was amped to find somewhere in San Francisco that give me the same wonderful food, no such avail, but anyways, the food was amazing! Highly reccomend this place. When i go back to NY this is definitely on my list of places to eat!

Raw options in Harlem? You bet ya! Raw Soul does magic with raw food turning it into some of your favorite dishes. I hear the dairy-​free cheesecake is great!