Good morning,

a very satisfied London Baby here 🙂 Yesterday I heard that Deliciously Ella is opening her second Deli and that the soft opening is this weekend, so reviving the very fond memories of last year (when the original MAE Deli openened), I popped by for a breakfast this morning.

The Place

MAE is located in the old United Dairy Building in Weighhouse Street, just behind Bond Street Station. Despite its central location, not much of the craziness of Oxford Street can be felt here, and its a beautiful calm space.

The menu and food is the same as in the “original” MAE Deli in Seymour Place (more below). The style of the new place is a little bit different from Matthew and Ella’s first place – and the name reflects this. The new place is simply called MAE.

First of all, the place is much bigger – as the other Deli, it has a ground floor dominated by the food counter (what joy to look at!!!) and a basement space. On the ground floor are the familiar high chairs overlooking the street for a quick bite, but new is a beautiful corner wiht a large communal table – I am sure it will soon be well filled and a place for interaction with some fellow guests. The design of the counter, menu on the wall feels much more modern and streamlined (and a bit less cozy) than in the other Deli – and the kitchen is now also upstairs. Not only can you then watch the magic happening, but it also saves the staff the hassle to juggle food from the narrow basement to the top 🙂

Downstairs, lots of wood and pastel colours dominate – again the design more clean than in the first Deli, but it still manages to pull off a cozy vibe and is a place that invites you to spend time, either with some friends on the normal smaller tables, a large communal table, or even when you are alone, lounging in comfy chairs or a small hidden corner.

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The Food

I already raved about the food in my original blog post on the Mae Deli last year- and I continue to stand by it. During its first year of opening, Mae Deli has found a simple, yet working menu.

Breakfast choices in the morning are different varieties of “breakfast bowls” (ranging from Acai to Coconut Yoghurt to Porridge) and Banana Pancakes with a wide range of toppings, as well as Rye toast with different spreads (nut butters / avocado etc.) .

Lunch / Dinner consists of the MAE bowl – choice of up to 4 cold / hot salads / dishes from a list of around 10 choices, changing every now and then with a few beloved classics. Furthermore a soup option, as well as the option to top everything up with a “protein” choice of grilled chicken or salmon (something which originally produced much backlash, as it breaks with the “Vegan mantra” that some felt was important for Ella. – Its not! Matthew and Ella have always made clear that they want to be a place of healthy food, not to exclude certain styles of eating!).

For the peckish, there are the famous Engergy balls (they started their life as humble “Power Balls” in the Mae Deli and were such an instant hit, that they are now being sold in supermarkets all over the country!!), as well as a wonderful choice of brownies, and other gluten/sugar free baking options.

Coffee is great quality – but mind you, all options including milk, it will be plant-based (nutmilk, oatmilk, coconut etc.). I wrote about this in the last blog, I personally prefer “regular” milk but again, nothing to fault the Mae Deli with (and there are great coffee places in London when feeling like a coffee :)). I have become a fan of the Matcha Latte as well as the Turmeric Latte – especially the latter one if I haven’t come across anywhere else.

Last but not least the cold pressed juices and rock star smoothies. The later make for a meal themselves- they are that creamy and rich!

You can check out the full menu here.

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Conclusion

Summing up, I am a very happy bunny. The food is as great as in the original MAE Deli and I love the bigger space, as the (originally) very cosy Original can become very very crowded. Of course it remains to be seen how this place fares once its known and open, but at least the setup allows for more breathing space. Also, I don’t want to forget to mention the good service. A team of happy, motivated and polite staff make for a pleasant stay. All seem to radiate the positive energy of the place, even in busy times. I am curious to see if this will be the same once the place is extremely packed (as it has been the case with the original Deli where the staff sometimes has to do more crowd control than anything else), but for now, manager Jaz and his team have taken all the learnings and flawlessly brought it to the new place (its a soft opening and the place just runs perfectly -at least from a customer perspective!).

Practical information

MAE opens officially Monday 31/10/2016 and is located on 18-20 Weighhouse Street. Opening times are Monday to Friday 7.30am-9pm and on weekends from 9am to 9pm. More information can be found on the MAE Deli’s website – as of today (30/10) it’s not yet updated to reflect the new Deli but I am sure this will soon change 🙂

Last but not least, I do want to mention that i undertook my visit completely privately and am not paid or sponsored in any way by The Mae Deli or Deliciously Ella. I just happen to be a big fan of Ella, her philosophy and her food and I really like how it all comes together in her Delis!

Guten Appetit!

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