SimplyRaw Express

This place is a great vegan, raw, and gluten free restaurant if you’re looking to grab something and go. It’s kinda of a smaller place that does have seating, but most of their stuff is served cold and prepackaged in the accessible fridge next to the cash register. They do have a menu written on the chalkboard on their wall, with a few warm foods listed. Their warm foods are things like soups and quinoa bowls. So not really much. I did try their coconut curry soup, though and it was delicious! I also picked up a few of their cold prepackaged foods from the fridge. Like a chickpea salad and a cauliflower salad. Both were great! They use a lot of Indian spices like turmeric and curry. If you would like to sit down and eat, just ask them to transfer the packaged food into plates. They don’t mind!
I came here specifically to try their desserts though. I’d seen photos of their cakes and they looked so cool and colorful! It’s all raw too! I got the chocolate mint cheezecake, and funky monkey cheezecake, and chocolate parfait. I didn’t really like the cakes to be honest (guess I’m not used to a raw cake?). The parfait was great though! Tasted like fluffy chocolate mousse. I’d definitely stop by again to get that.
I’d also like to mention that the staff here are beyond kind and inviting! You feel like you’re walking into someone’s house for dinner! So warm and welcoming! :)
I’d like to come back again to try their smoothies. I had some samples and they were delicious! Overall I think this is a great place for take-​out and to pick up something sweet.

If I could give zero stars I would. This place has the worst customer service out of any business I’ve ever been to. When I went there, 2 employees were simply standing a bit behind the counter with the register chatting among themselves. How nice. I walked in here with a dumbfounded, and slightly freaked look I’m sure… NO ONE even greeted me, or came up to me to ask if I needed help. Instead, they both turned to stare at me… then started talking again. I needed «help» figuring out what to get as my first taste of raw meal options. I’m sure that not everything is equally recommended to start off with. I felt lost walking around the store with a dumbfounded and confused look on my face. When one of the employees actually DID come around the counter, it was to say hi and chat to some of her friends sitting down already eating. After wandering by myself for 25 minutes I just left, went home, googled recipes for raw desserts (I DID see some desserts in their fridge), went out, bought some cashews, coconut oil, and maple syrup… and started whipping up my own dessert. The funny thing is, I was totally happy to pay a small fortune to sample one of almost EVERY item they had in their store… if someone would have just come up to me and talked to me for like 2 minutes to give me some kind of guidance. Since then I’ve been to 2 other raw food cafes and had wonderful experiences. This place lost a lot of business with me. They need to hire better employees. WORST customer service ever.

I went here recently with a friend for lunch. I was really excited to try out a gluten-​free raw vegan restaurant in Ottawa. The food did not disappoint, although I found the prices a little high for what you get. There are no prices on their website, so I will list them here in my review, so you have an idea of their price point.
I got their Smoothie and Salad Combo ($ 15). You get to choose a pre-​packaged salad that is regularly $ 7.50 (there are salads that cost more, but they are not eligible for the combo deal) and you get to choose a smoothie (which regularly sells for $ 8.95). I chose the Curried Kale Salad and the Shamrock Chip Smoothie.
The Curried Kale Salad is delicious. It had kale, pumpkin seeds, shredded carrots and red peppers in it. The dressing was a creamy curry. It was delicious, but I found the portion small. The Shamrock Chip Smoothie had spinach, bananas, hemp, mint, maple syrup and cocoa nibs in it. It was excellent. It tasted like an after eight/​grasshopper cocktail (minus the alcohol, of course). It was gritty due to the cocoa nibs and hemp seeds, which I didn’t really mind except for the bits that got caught in my teeth. The smoothie is a good size, I would estimate that it’s about 16 oz.
My friend got the Quinoa Bowl ($ 8.99). The restaurant has cooked items too, not just raw items, because obviously the quinoa is cooked. It was filled with all sorts of vegetables like zucchini, carrots and cabbage. It looked quite good.
I really enjoyed the food but I was hungry again in an hour :(Maybe I just have too voracious an appetite :(
The seating area is small, with less than 15 seats. The staff are nice and helpful. As with most restaurants in Hintonburg, there is no parking lot. You have to park on the street if you are coming by car.

Stopped in to check out some of the juices (which are $ 8 for 350ml) and to have a look at the lunch menu. I ended up purchasing a smoothie called Strawberry Fields which tasted fine.
I wouldn’t necessarily describe the 3 people working behind the counter as unfriendly, but they were not very engaged with customers. One person did approach me when I was looking around to ask if I needed any help.
There were 3 customers including myself and there seemed to be confusion about how to make a quinoa salad for another customer which required getting a manager (staff person #4) from the back to prepare. I couldn’t quite figure out why only one staff person was working the cash and preparing all of the orders but it ended up costing them at least one customer (the individual who was waiting behind the quinoa salad order gave up and left).
Overall, there are many healthy options but I don’t think I would be in a rush to go back given my experience with the service.

Try the My Thai and Malted Love. Delicious!

Love that there’s a raw restaurant in Ottawa! Their My Thai and Pineapple Mint fresh smoothies are yummy but my favorite is the chocolate mint macaroon.
Natasha, Mark and the «staff» there are really nice.
I encourage everyone to support this little gem of a spot!