Is Mae bae?

After dragging every single group of my friends to The Mae Deli on separate occasions in an attempt to try everything on the menu (it worked – the lovely Mae team member behind the till yesterday called me a regular #win) I finally feel I can write a review.

The Deli was co-founded by food blogger Deliciously Ella, who most of us know from her cookbooks. The Deli itself is on Seymour Place, a short walk from Marylebone station and an even shorter walk from Hyde Park. It’s cute, cosy and contemporary on the inside with light wood, cushions, a lamp and a clean yet rustic feel with small vases of a few flowers and plants. A warm and friendly atmosphere, though getting downstairs to the additional seating would probably prove difficult with a pushchair or a wheelchair and, considering there isn’t too much seating upstairs, it would be great if it could expand soon (especially considering how busy it always seems to be!) The size does make it lovely and cosy, though, and it reminded me a little of the atmosphere at the Soho branch of Mildreds.

The first few times I went, I went with some of my best friends from university for brunch. Cue smoothies, pancakes and porridge. All were amazing. The porridge was a huge portion and hot with lots of coconut chips and berry compote  – perfect for dreary British weather. The buckwheat pancakes were also lovely, though second to the porridge just because they were big pancakes, and not the small, fluffy American pancakes (which I usually prefer). Even so, they were filling and amazing with almond butter, berry compote, coconut chips and maple syrup. Sweet – but not too much, and they taste just like normal pancakes.

If you’re going with people who don’t follow a plant-based diet I’d recommend sticking to the breakfast menu (no matter the time of day) – it all tastes as if it was made with dairy and eggs. The Peanut Butter Protein smoothie was my favourite though, it’s creamy but not too heavy and just bursting with nuttiness and banana flavour. Amazing post workout or as a snack. Or just whenever really, it’s so good. I also stole a sip of my friend’s Tropical Berry smoothie, which is very summery and fruity – bright and with a hint of coconut. Definitely the best one for the summer.

All about the diversity

I’ve been a few more times more recently, and finally managed to have lunch there yesterday as a graduation treat with my friend from summer school, Alice. It was, honestly, one of my favourite meals ever. Though the queue was making it’s way out the door, there was little waiting, and I went for a cold salad bowl. I went with: spiced peanut sweet potatoes, Mediterranean tomato and artichoke salad, sundried tomato falafels, beetroot corn and edamame quinoa and the walnut pequillo pepper humous. 

It was all so amazing! The humous was my favourite – it’s smooth and creamy and not too strong but very summery and flavourful. The spiced peanut potatoes were probably my next favourite – I was pretty wary about the combination but it worked perfectly, they were tender and with just a hint of nuttiness. I was really sad the maple roasted sweet potatoes weren’t on the menu anymore as I didn’t get a chance to try them – but these were really, really good!

The Mediterranean salad was also a winner – it was really light and just like a Greek salad (minus the feta and with artichoke, which I loved) with a horseradish dressing taste in the background. Definitely something I’ll recreate at home this summer!

The sundried tomato falafels had a definite taste of sundried tomatoes, which I love, but otherwise one to steer clear of, though it isn’t an overpowering flavour. Though the flavour was very much on point, the texture wasn’t one for me. It was the texture of Cauldron brand of falafels that you can find in supermarkets, and I personally prefer the texture of the falafels that the Great Food brand make – they have a crispy outside and are less crumbly. That is more of a personal preference, though.

The beetroot, corn and edamame quinoa was my least favourite, simply because the dominant flavour was of beetroot, and although I do like beetroot, it overpowered everything else.

 
I also went with the Deep Greens juice as a massive green juice/smoothie/anything green fan. It was exactly what you’d expect – being made from vegetables it’s not one to try on a whim or of you’re not used to vegetable juices. It tastes of what’s in it, and that’s a lot of green vegetables. Personally I really liked it, and found it really refreshing because of the cucumber, but the Fruits one is sweeter and just as refreshing. I’ve yet to try the Roots or the Greens, but also think they’d be a little milder than the Deep Greens (clue’s in the name, I suppose!) Though the juice was great, priced at £6.95 it isn’t something I’ll be getting again, especially considering there’s a Pret around the corner which has a green juice for £3.69 (ish) that tastes almost identical. And though there is supposedly half a kilo of fruits/vegetables stuffed into the 500ml bottle, it still seems ludicrous to pay basically £7 for a bottle of juice. As the entrance lady at Hyde Park said, you could get a teeny bottle of prosecco for that much.

Dessert was the Mae Cake and a sneaky try of a friend’s Hazelnut Raisin Energy Ball, though the week before I’d shared some of the sweet treats with my family, and we had fun trying the Cacao Almond Energy Ball, Pecan Brownie, Peanut Butter Slice and Apple and Raspberry Slice. So pretty much all the desserts. I have my priorities in order.

The Peanut Butter Slice is definitely the bet. it’s decadent and reminded me of a Snickers bar. Nutty and chocolate-y is always a win. The Cacao Almond was my next favourite for similar reasons, it was smooth and rich and completely moreish. The Raspberry and Apple Slice is also a favourite because it is so fruity and summery, less dense and rich and so much lighter. It isn’t too tart or too sweet, but the perfect balance. Though my Dad said the texture was like nylon. This was followed by an intense discussion about the texture of nylon.

I expected the Mae Cake to be similar to the Raspberry Apple slice, but I was a little disappointed. The icing and the strawberry were lovely – refreshing and cleansing. The sponge, though, was a little dry and a (dare I say it) nylon-isn texture. It was a little dry – particularly as I’ve recently tried the Pistachio Rose sponge from The Wild Food Cafe and that was amazingly moist.

The Pecan Brownie is, controversially, my least favourite because I found it a little stodgy and much too dense. The flavour is too heavy and not particularly rich of cacao, and the texture is a little dough-y. And, finally, the Hazelnut Raisin ball wasn’t a favourite but simply because I’m not crazy about hazelnuts or raisins. I imagine fans will prefer it to the Cacao Almond one, but almonds and cacao win me over every time.

I already want to go back to try the asparagus salad, summer slaw and bok choi salad – all of which sound so light and lovely for summer! And I’m also dying to know what the Strawberries and Cream Wimbledon smoothie tastes like! Sadly, I don’t think I’ll be able to make it back there anytime soon considering I’ll be moving to New York very soon!

Overall, is Mae bae? The food is all so filling and satisfying, the salad bowl especially left me stuffed. My favourite sweet treats are so satisfying, especially because I know they’re doing good for my body. The food itself is very bae – full of flavour, goodness and so much variety. The only downsides is the price – though that relates mainly to the juices and a little to the salad bowl (around the £10 mark means it’s not somewhere I can be going for lunch everyday).

It’s busyness, however, speaks for itself. There’s no doubt part of it is because of how well known the Deliciously Ella brand is, but, even if that’s true, the food does live up to expectations and it is worth a visit if you’re in town. My one request wold be to bring back the mylks – I’ve wanted to try the Cinnamon mylk for months and it’s no longer on the menu! And the Orange Sesame Truffle Balls. And, whilst I’m at it, please never stop making the Peanut Slices. Ever. In fact, it was recently announced that some of the Energy Balls will be available online and in supermarkets soon, so if the Peanut Slice could join them that would be like amazing! That’s going to be my Christmas wish this year.