In a suburban strip mall 20 minutes outside Victoria, tucked between a Tim Horton’s and a Pizza Hut, you can get delicious raw, vegan food. This is definitely not a tourist place. Only a very lost tourist winds up way out on West Saanich Road.

Everything at Rawthentic is vegan, and most of it is raw – the exceptions are a few dishes incorporating rice. I was torn between the spinach manicotti and the chipotle burrito wrap, but eventually chose the Italian dish. Instead of pasta, wide strips of zucchini encased my spinach, raw falafel, nut cheese, marinara and Brazil nut parmesan. Fresh and delicious! Can’t say it tasted exactly like manicotti, but the inspiration was clear.

If I had more stomachs, I would have ordered the black forest shake, too. It’s made with sour cherry, raw vanilla, raw cacao, almond milk, banana and dates. But I did manage an excellent piece of raw vegan chocolate cheesecake.

Manager Gabrielle Eschner told me that this location opened going on two years ago. Rawthentic also has a location in Courtenay, farther out on the wilds of Vancouver Island. Some of their customers are fully raw and/or fully vegan. But many are looking for gluten-free, diabetic, soy-free or dairy-free dining options. “Everyone who works here, we’re already into some kind of healthy eating,” she said.