My favourite healthy cafe haunt in Romania
The winter means layering up, pressing snooze several times before you drag your butt out of bed and nursing a hot cup of cocoa for the better part of a day. For a lot of us, the drop in temperatures has us craving calorific drinks like mulled wine, eggnog and hearty meals with the family. I was in Romania with my sister in December for a little over two weeks. Boy, was it cold. I found it hard to get out of bed every morning to do some yoga or to go and work up a sweat. I had a few good days where I made it to the nearest gym but as it got colder, my quilt become my best friend. I knew the only way to get myself to stay healthy without piling on the pounds would be to eat healthy so I started googling healthy cafes in Romania.
One morning on a coffee run, I stumbled upon a cute cafe called Rawissant. Now, Rawissant is a family owned business run by Christine who is very passionate about raw food. Her passion for vegan and raw food began after the birth of her first child when she started reading about the benefits of going plant based and what it can do for your body and the environment. She had the pleasure of meeting Gabriela Oltean- a famous raw and vegan chef over a workshop. Gabriela then inspired her to pursue her passions and to open a cafe in Piatra Neamt, a small mountain town in #Romania.
As most of you already know, Eastern Europe gets bitterly cold with temperatures dropping to minus 20 in the evenings. As a result of this, the locals eat a lot of meat, cheese and drink a lot. I suspect its probably because nothing can really grow in these temperatures. As much as I love my roast, borsch and sarmale (romanian cabbage rolls); I was craving something healthy. There’s nothing like a bowl of fresh berries from the farmers market to nosh on or a large hearty salad at dinner.
Anyway, I digress.. Rawissant is a very inviting and beautifully curated space with gorgeous accents and really great vibes. Most people just order meals on the go for lunch or a quick breakfast but there are a few seats for those who want to enjoy a dessert with their coffee.
The menu is carefully crafted to include your favourites from the acai berry bowl, almond milk lattes, vegan sushi, avocado toast and a large variety of juices and smoothies. There is a two course cooked vegan menu with a soup and a main course that changes everyday. #Rawissant has the nicest selection of decadent desserts that are sweetened with #agave or honey. The cafe also has non dairy milks (almond, rice and and soy) for the dairy and lactose intolerant. If you are hungry and looking to nosh on something more substantial, there are a bunch of sandwiches, chickpea salad and raw burgers with the crispest flaxseed crackers.
I was so thrilled with my cafe experience that I ordered Rawissant for lunch at the hotel on afternoon. It was bitterly cold and I was nursing a terrible stomach ache. Christine hand delivered a beautiful care package with home brewed kombucha, Rawissant (#acaiberrybowl), Raw burger, two desserts, raw crackers and a curcumin smoothie. The kombucha was wildly appreciated because it was just the right ratio of tart and sweet without being too acidic. I bet my stomach would’ve been thrilled if I had access to this fermented brew over the course of the week. My almond milk latte arrived piping hot and was absolutely delectable. The almond milk was prepared in house of course so it was free from all the chemicals and nasty gunk. The #acaiberrybowl transported me to a beach in #Bali and I was so impressed with the quality of the #acai as well as the toppings. It was a large bowl and the addition of banana and oats made me feel incredibly sated until almost dinner time. If I had to pick a favourite, it would probably be the raw crackers which were these incredibly thin flatbreads made with seeds and onions (gluten free, grain free) and absolutely delicious. The smoothie with curcuma (the active ingredient in turmeric) touted as a superfood the world over for curing everything from rheumatoid arthritis to cancer. It was hard to put them down and I remember making rolls with them on the train to #Bucharest the next day.
Verdict: Rawissant is a fabulous little gem in the largely carnivorous town of Piatra Neamt. I wish Christine and her family all the very best on their culinary venture. The desserts are delightfully decadent and you can’t really tell they are vegan unless someone tells you. I would highly recommend that you bookmark this place if you are visiting Romania and stop by the cafe for a ‘raw sandwich’, ‘rawissant bowl’, home brewed kombucha and carry home some crackers to nosh on later.
Eating a plant based diet comes highly recommended by famous raw food advocates, nutritionists, doctors, yogis and athletes and the benefits are undeniable. For starters, these foods are bursting at the seams with antioxidants, trace minerals and vitamins that fight free radical damage and help battle chronic inflammation. It keeps your ticker in check, you have more energy and people who eat mostly plant based food end up leading pretty active and healthy lives. This comes with a caveat though that the produce must come from a reputed source that is sustainable, organic and free from pesticides so that it is healthy for the body and the environment. Eating mostly low GI fruits, vegetables, non starchy vegetables and seeds can do wonders for your physiology, repair hormonal imbalances, fix your skin woes and even help your digestion a little. I do suggest that one consults their doctor or their nutritionist before switching over to a 100 percent vegan diet to make sure you don’t have any deficiencies. However, eating a mostly plant based diet with a few indulgences once in a while shows great rewards.
About Christina:
Christina is a 37 year old entrepreneur who left her banking career to start her own venture. She is the owner and founder of Rawissant- a delightful little cafe in Piatra Neamt that specialises in raw and vegan food and desserts.
Quick Notes:
Address:
Mihai Eminescu 12, Piatra Neamț, Romania
Email:contact@rawissant.ro
https://www.instagram.com/rawissant/?hl=en
Website- http://rawissant.ro/
