M.A.K.E. Matthew Kenney Cuisine – Santa Monica Raw Food Restaurant for Dessert!

M.A.K.E. Restaurant in Sant Monica

Matthew Kenney (formerly of Pure Food and Wine) has founded a raw cooking school and restaurant in Santa Monica, California. Not too long ago, I was seriously considering attending this school for raw chef training. The location is a bit hard to find, since it is on the top floor of a shopping centre in The Market at the end of 3rd Street and is more of a cafeteria in feeling than a fine food restaurant, being open to the mall. We actually stumbled upon it by accident and planned to return.

The afternoon we stopped by for dessert, we were the only people in the place, other than a lot of staff (or perhaps students) who seemed to be having a meeting. The service was rather slow considering the how little effort was involved in plating ice cream and pre-made desserts, and the fact that we were the only paying customers, but we didn’t mind sitting a bit after walking around The Getty Museum all day.

“Banana Split”

I was disappointed by this “Banana Split” since I like to have an actual banana included. We had a really delicious non-dairy version of the “Banana Split” at Real Food Daily (another Santa Monica vegan restaurant) a couple of days prior and I am sad to say that the M.A.K.E. version paled in comparison. The raw ice cream here at M.A.K.E. was delicious, but one type was almost melted and the others were firm. They didn’t serve me one of the flavors I requested, since it was apparently too soft, but I am kind of glad, since the best flavor was the substitute. The replacement flavor, the green one in the center (avocado) had some kind of crunchy substance underneath that was really delicious – probably some nut and date combination. The sweet crisps stuck in the ice cream were apparently made from banana. I would have loved more sauce as well – that sad little drizzle was not nearly enough!

“Chocolate Cake with Peppermint Ice Cream”

 My son ordered the chocolate cake which was rich, silky, moist and dense – I would call it more of a chocolate cheesecake texture. I had a taste and it was delicious.

Pineapple Cheesecake with Coconut, Strawberry, Goji Berry”

This “Pineapple Cheesecake” was pretty good, although I found the texture kind of grainy. I think it had a nice presentation, but the serving size was lamentable. Those little mounds measure about an inch across (note the strawberry slice to compare) so very pricey for what you get.

Overall, I was left a bit disappointed with M.A.K.E. After having the most exquisite, creative raw dessert (both visually appealing and amazingly delicious) in the candlelit ambiance of Pure Food & Wine in New York City (owned by Sarma Melngailis, Kenney’s former partner) I would recommend that you save your dollars for NYC. Perhaps the savoury dishes were more stellar, but Cafe Gratitude, just a short distance away in Venice, is another delicious raw and vegan option with relaxing decor.