Surrounded by a plethora of chain restaurants and fast food takeaways, Stoke isn’t exactly a cosmopolitan city when it comes to choosing a restaurant or even quaint little cafe to eat at. With a massive shopping development taking place in the city centre which promises to bring the city the likes of Gourmet Burger, Chiquitos and #CheekyNandos just up the road from NOM Bar and Restaurant and the trend of most independent shops closing their doors in the city, it’s refreshing to see that theres a new breed of local foodie companies determined to put their own stamp on the food market within a city made on a bed of cheese filled Staffordshire oatcakes and pasty shops.    Just recently a little gem of a foodie offering opened up in the bustling town of Newcastle Under Lyme. Amidst a scattering of charity shops sits Rawr – an uber cool cafe come juice bar. Jumping on the back of the latest superfood fascination and a time where every man and his dog owning some kind of smoothie machine and utilises the #eatclean hashtag, Rawr offers a range of culinary delights free from the nasties that are often packed into our food without us knowing and sometimes, even caring.

Detoxification, energisation and rejuvenation aren’t usually requirements I factor into my daily choice of food consumption I must admit, but I’m always open to learning more about what I put into my body and how I can improve my diet not to lose weight but more to see how food can affect my energy levels and mood. We’ve all experienced that post junk food binge feeling where eating 27 bags of crisps, 4 Babybels and a bar of chocolate seemed a good idea (just me?) and been left with post binge bloat and a crazy post sugar slump.

    I’m neither vegan nor a superfood person but I love fresh colourful food, cute little shops and of course, supporting local eateries so when Lilly insisted we #BEMORERAWR on our lunch break one day and given that Rawr is situated a lazy 5 minute stroll from our work we took our hineys along and went to see what the guys at Rawr have to offer.

As a self confessed carnivore and lover of all things meat (ooerr!) a menu that doesn’t feature a scrap of meat must seem like my worst nightmare. Despite hearing amazing things about the Green Thai Dye Salad from Lilly, my love of cheese and a good pun led my hand to the uber fresh looking sandwich “Things Can Only Get Feta” (I know right? Magical) which comes served with a little taster of hummus crisps. Hummus. Crisps. Served on the most sumptuous bread I think I’ve ever tasted, these generous gluten free door stop size sandwiches are crisp and refreshing against the tangy creamy texture of the feta cheese. I purchased a bag of the hummus crisps for a “side course” as I was convinced I’d still be hungry but apparently a sandwich full of salad? Surprisingly filling.

The vast drinks menu at Rawr Newcastle Under Lyme is enough to overwhelm anybody. Teas, artisan coffees, juices, wellness shots, protein pints and everyone’s favourite – the smoothie! I opted for the scrumdidlyumptious sounding “Snickerdoodle Dandy” that I was guaranteed would be the closest thing to blending a Snickers bar without any actual chocolate. The Snickerdoodle Dandy combines all the goodness and yumminess of banana, almond, dates, peanut butter, lucuma and chia. The result? A tasty treat that may not exactly be like a Snickers (it was more banana-y in my opinion) but the blend of the dates and the peanut… Gorgeous. Half way down the super cute kilner jar and paper straw of goodness I found myself wishing I’d ordered a large size despite the ever full feeling from the combination of the smoothie and the sandwich (I didn’t even get all the way through my bag of crisps  – a first for me).

Not only does Rawr offer up such culinary delights, they also stock a retail area which showcases all of the supplements that go into their own smoothies and juices for some at home smoothie making (handy as I just picked up the Morphy Richards Easy Blend and have looked upon it exasperated by the possibilities). They also stock a variety of natural cleaning and Paraben/SLS free products should you wish to make a purchase over your sarnie. Speaking of sarnies – you can even grab yourself a loaf of baked goodness to try and recreate the goodness at home.

I’m heading back tomorrow for “further investigation” and to give one of their juices a whirl.