**2020 update: Sanctua is no longer open**
Sanctua is a brand new, fully vegan restaurant that just recently opened in Oadby, and is the first of its kind in Leicester. I first heard about Sanctua back in December last year, and the concept thrilled me. The restaurant is the brainchild of Bindu Patel, AKA Chef Bee, who has worked at Michelin star restaurants, including Gymkhana and Trishna in Mayfair, London. In addition to being 100% plant based, the restaurant also sources local and seasonal ingredients, while promoting a reduction in plastic pollution, no use of palm oil, recycling and up-cycling. I was recently invited to the soft launch of the restaurant, and was delighted to accept the offer and see the concept come to life.
The soft launch was on a blustery Saturday evening, and by the time Andrew and I arrived for our 7:30 reservation the place was packed. It’s a small space, but beautifully and sparsely decorated. There’s a real natural feel to the restaurant, with colourful wood tables, hanging plants and minimal wall decorations. In the background you could hear the soundtrack of birds singing which I thought was a really lovely touch and brought the whole ambiance together.
Our dinner consisted of a 4 course set menu, starting with an amuse bouche of chilled sweet and sour watermelon with mint and pink Himalayan chilli salt – it was so delicious and the perfect way to warm up our palates. I also ordered a glass of red wine while Andrew had a spritzer (all the drinks are vegan, of course).
For the starter, we were served crispy golden, black sesame vegetable tempura with fresh lime, coriander and matcha chutney, plus a homemade sriracha aioli, quick pickled radish and a soy dipping sauce. The entire dish was magic. The tempura was light and crispy, the sauces bursting with flavour and the veggies were perfectly cooked. I loved the presentation too – it’s clear that Chef Bee has spent time in very high-end restaurants.
For the main we had Malaysian laksa with rice noodles, crisp tofu and stir-fried vegetables. Again, every bite of this dish was delectable. The sauce was so creamy and flavoursome with just the right amount of heat, yet managed to remain light without overpowering the other elements of the dish. I’ve tried to make laksa before, and this is always how I imagine it will come out but never does!
For dessert, we were served a coconut, ginger, chilli and lime sorbet with toasted coconut, coconut sugar and coconut salted caramel. This was a showstopper. The sorbet was incredibly creamy and was more like the texture of icecream, and the salted caramel was just drool-worthy (sorry – running out of ways to say how yummy everything was!). If you read my blog you know I’m not a sweets person (unless it’s a chocolate dessert), but this was one of the best desserts I’ve eaten in a long, long time and I would absolutely order it again.
In all, our meal was just superb. The restaurant is now open for bookings, and for now will be offering a set menu rather than a la carte options – but you can be guaranteed everything will be delicious.
Be sure to follow Sanctua on Twitter or Facebook for updates.
*Our meal was complementary as part of the soft launch, but all thoughts are my own*