The restaurant group, which uses plant-based ingredients for its dishes at its restaurants in Shoreditch and Kensington, opened Saf Express on Harvey Nichols’ fifth floor on 13 January.
Company spokesman Kerem Sezer said the new site, which is principally take-away with a 10-cover casual dining space, will be run as a pop-up for two months, but could go for longer if it is a success.
“The express concept was something we have been thinking about doing for a while, but we hadn’t had the opportunity to do it, so when we were approached by Harvey Nichols who wanted to get in someone who could offer healthy food, we saw it as the perfect opportunity to try it out,” he told BigHospitality.
Healthy fast food
Saf Express operates under the same ethos as the main restaurants in the group, serving both raw and cooked vegan food, but dishes are scaled down or made for the take-away market.
The outlet offers a range of juices, designed to have a positive effect on health and well-being, along with wraps, soups and salads and has created 'meal-deal' style lunch packages to include a juice, a main dish and a small snack under themes such as ‘detoxing’ or ‘energising’.
Sezer said: "The concept is designed to offer quick and easy fast food which is healthy and relatively inexpensive. We think it works really well in this environment."
Saf opened its first site in Shoreditch under head chef Chad Sarno in 2008. It also operates a restaurant in the Whole Foods building in Kensington, London and has a site in Turkey.