Plants by Deliciously Ella: The best vegan meal at a plant-based restaurant I’ve had in years!
I DID NOT miss the meat, dairy, butter, fish or honey!
Located in Snob approved Mayfair…. we even spotted Rami Malek walking past as we enjoyed our meal!
Deliciously Ella deli was rebranded as Plants by DE this year and the result is magnificent. Still the same great vibe inside but with plated and served food. It's casual but formal (?!) food in DE’s classic Mayfair setting. I 100% want to go back the next time I’m in London with some of my carnivore family members.
King oyster mushroom scallops with parsnip purée, carrot jelly, parsnip crisp
These were amazingggg. The texture. WOW. So similar to scallops I was shook. Nice and fresh and slightly chewy (in a good way). Served with an almost bitter and creamy celeriac purée and sweet carrot jus and crispy roasted carrots. Stunning. The meaty, sweet mushrooms with the bitter celeriac and sweet carrot elements. Also how similar do these look to regular scallops.
Cured Isle of Wight tomatoes, tomato labneh, basil purée, dried cherry tomatoes, pine nuts
Was really nice and fresh and juicy. I found the cream cheese pretty rich and wasn’t such a fan of so much lemon zest/oil flavor (I prefer lemon juice - it’s less essential oil-y) but the pine nuts with that spicy seasoning stuff was great. Not overwhelming but defs not underwhelming.
Cashew and miso mac & cheese with a sourdough herb crumb
Definitely one of my favorites. It was so creamy and satisfying especially perfect for the autumn/winter weather in London. You would not know it was vegan and in fact if I were to have a mac n cheese that is made in the American style (with a Béchamel sauce instead of an egg custard) I would prefer to have it vegan and this one.
The crispy breadcrumbs contrasted really nicely with the soft but al dente elbow macaroni pasta. And the miso meant it had a Savoury umami flavor as well as a smoky flavour. I’m assuming the cheesy ness came from nutritional yeast and a milk alternative. My mum also loved this and she doesn’t often love Smokey flavors.
Rainbow bowl: brown rice, avocado, pulled jackfruit, purple sprouting broccoli, pickles
This was probably the most “expected” dish. By that I mean that it had all those vegan flavors - kimchi (but not super Korean flavour) - and elements and is similar to what you could get from like a harvest bar (and similar to the old deliciously Ella deli style).
But I wanted to try it cause it seemed cool and goals for what healthy people eat for lunch. A perfect dish to feed your gut microbiome.
The rice was a bit flavourless and the rest of the ingredients were very intense - even the guacamole which I thought would be a welcome soothing element of the dish, was also pretty tart. The jackfruit was a great substitute. I think I was just a bit too full to really enjoy this dish - I would love to have it during summer when I crave a sharp and nutritious bowl of food. There was also some pickled cucumber and red cabbage kimchi. Nice and fresh and crispy broccolini.
(Oat) Flat white & they gave you a little bag of choc almonds instead of a mint with the bill
I still spend the first half of the day walking the world with guilt and regret that I can enjoy oat milk as much cows milk. I so badly want to like it. In summer I drink iced americanos sans milk - cause I’d rather have no milk than an alternative I don’t like. So, I ordered an oat milk latte in order to be the person I want to be, and I can’t lie and say I’m a convert. But it wasn’t too bad. And I felt cool walking into Selfridges with my takeaway DE oat milk flat white ;)
This meal was both surprisingly and unsurprisingly delicious. Both my mum and I thought this was such a lovely lunch and any meat eater is bound to have a fantastic time. The vibe, the aesthetic, the food and the insta-street-cred was all perfect.
King oyster mushroom scallops £11 ; Cured Isle of Wight tomatoes £11; Cashew and miso mac & cheese £5.5 ; Rainbow bowl £15 ; Flat white £3.5
18 Weighhouse St, London W1K 5LU, United Kingdom
