Every time I visit London, I make sure I take a visit to Deliciously Ella’s deli on Weighhouse Street which is just off Oxford Street. My mum and I love it in there! We either go for lunch and pick up a Mae Bowl or just pop in to grab some of the most delicious indulgent treats to take home with us. This is definitely the best part of any trip to London. The deli is located on a quiet corner and offers a bright and vibrant space to visit with friends and family and enjoy their plant based goodness.
Ella has been a huge inspiration of mine for the last couple of year. When I think food blog, I think Deliciously Ella. Ella has inspired me to form my own collection of whole, real food recipes as well as following her message behind her brand. It was through Ella’s passion for food, that I fell back in love with the wonderful variety of nourishing foods on offer. Having a ‘plant-based’ diet myself, Deliciously Ella shares how to make delicious meals and treats using plant based ingredients. Her recipes maybe vegetarian, wheat and refined sugar free, but Ella is constantly sharing her message that ‘it’s not about diet or deprivation, there’s no one size fits all, and everything I do can be adapted to suit you.’ Recent research has shown that only 27% of people get their 5-a-day in the UK, so Ella aims to help by providing the most interesting, delicious ways, to add more fruit and vegetables in to your diet. I agree with her value: Natural, Simple and Honest, which definitely comes through in everything she does.
I adore the deli as it offers honest and healthy food and the staff are very helpful and knowledgeable by being about to tell customers exactly what is in every dish on display. When me and my mum went for dinner, we opted for the Mae Bowl in which you can select four of the options on display. I opted for the falafel, chickpea and avocado hummus, quinoa salad and brown rice topped with homemade baked-beans. My mum had similar, however chose two of the other mixed salad-like dishes, one having cauliflower and one being based around broccoli. My favourite out of my four was for sure the rice and tomato beans. I could have easily had a whole bowl full of just them! We both found the meal one of the most delicious things we had eaten-out in a while. I also love the fact that they also offer the opportunity to take-away and it’s great how all of the packaging is recyclable.
Ella is constantly changing the options in her delis to keep the menus relevant and interesting for consumers and regular visitors. Some of the main dishes often change with the seasons, such as in the colder months, a stew is normally added to the menu to go with the brown rice and in the summer more fresh smoothies and juices are available. However, they still do listen to all the feedback they receive by keeping all of the customer’s favourites. I really want to go back to the deli and try out their breakfast/bunch options. I keep seeing pictures popping up on Instagram of the nutty granola bowls, topped with peanuts or almond butter and seeds. The avocado toast option and the sweet-corn fritters look equally as yummy.
I also fancy on of the monthly afternoon teas. This is a new addition to the delis which started in the summer. Although the event is quite pricy, I feel that it would be a lovely experience and the food is always of a really high quality and the presentation of the photos that I have seen is beautiful. The menu celebrates some some of the brand’s favourite dishes from Seared Polenta Squares with Sweet Potato & Cashew Paté, Mini Savoury Courgette, Basil & Pequillio Pepper Muffins and Cucumber Rye Finger Sandwiches, followed by our Fudgy Brownie Bites, MaE Cake Bites and a Homemade Scone served with Coconut Yogurt and our Red Berry Jam.
The deli is decorated beautifully both inside and out and is spread over two floors. I enjoyed the relaxed vibe of the space and was perfectly calm away from the mad London rush of Oxford Street. The ground floor is dominated by the food counter and a basement space is where we chose to sit. On the ground floor there are the high stools overlooking the street, but I liked the beautiful corner with a large communal table. The design feel very modern and in many way very ‘Instagramable’. Downstairs, lots of wood and pastel colours dominate. The clean design has a cozy vibe and is definitely inviting. I admire the deli’s philosophy that is displayed on the wall:
Ella and the brand have great ethics behind them too, having become increasingly aware of the waste that is produced daily. As all their food in the deli is ordered fresh every morning, they always try not to over order, as this will end up with a lot of wasted fresh food. They do this by monitoring trade patterns, however, it would be pretty impossible to get the predictions always perfectly correct. Therefore all food that is left by the end of the day is given to City Harvest or a really innovative start up for food waste called OLIO. This means the food is shared between those in need and they thrive off giving back to the community which I find very admirable!
The best part of the whole experience is definitely the treats on offer. Me and mum don’t know what we would do if they ever remove the brownie and peanut cookies from the menu. These are possibly the best two things I have ever tasted! I am always looking forward to these.
I would 100% recommend exploring one of Ella’s delis. Would you like to visit a brunch/lunch spot like this during a trip to London?
Rachel
rachelfoxweb.wordpress.com 