Élan Cafe

I decided to give the very pretty Élan Cafe a visit on my birthday for brunch. Unfortunately, I regret it. While it's a beautiful spot, the food leaves you wanting.

Élan Cafe: 1 Minute Review

Where: Élan cafe has two locations in London. This review is based on: 48 Park Ln, Mayfair, London W1K 1PR

Price: approximately £20 - 25 per person for brunch. 

Cuisine: British / Middle-eastern

Dietary Information: Vegetarian, gluten-free, and dairy-free options are available. All meats are halal.

Overall Rating: 3/10

Perfect For: Brunch

What to Wear: Casual / Smart-Casual

Key Tip: The queue for Élan cafe is extremely long and slow-moving but this is only for a table downstairs because of the floral decor. There are, however, tables outside and on the ground floor.

Élan Cafe Review

A lot of you, like me, may have spotted pictures of Élan cafe on Instagram. It looks like a gorgeous spot for cake and tea and all things brunch - basically all of my favourite things in life. 

Me realising my t-shirt matches the decor

The queue to get a seat was long when I went on Saturday morning and was mostly full of tourists (so I imagine it must be busy any day of the week). Not only that, it's extremely slow moving. One woman told me she had waited 30 minutes just to move one space forward, and she and her friend were 10th in line...so we are talking hours to get in.

However, the line is for people waiting for a seat downstairs, which has most of the floral decor, meaning most people pass on the tables available on the ground floor and outside - leaving them wide open for the taking.

I opted for a seat on the ground floor and I am really glad I did, above is a picture of the downstairs area. While the decor is pretty, it's a small space, with little to it, and so in my mind is not worth the long wait.

Food Review

As for the food, it really wasn't great. For starters, a lot of options on their online menu weren't available. The cafe already has limited options with none of the usual suspects - such as pancakes, scrambled eggs etc - on offer.

'Eggs on English Muffin' with added lamb merguez and hollandaise

When I got my 'Eggs on English Muffin' they actually forgot the hollandaise sauce but were happy enough to give me some when I asked. However, it was still quite dry, and the merguez sausage (which we added as an extra to the dish, and they were happy enough to accommodate) was fairly tasteless.

Mocha

The mocha was actually rather nice; not too sweet with a good balance between the chocolate and coffee flavours.

'Breakfast Plate'

As for the 'Breakfast Plate,' which was beautifully presented, it really wasn't up to scratch when it came to taste. The poached egg was full of uncooked whites and was cold, and the merguez sausage lacked flavour. I found most of the sauces bland, however, the hummus was nice, as was the za'atar yogurt.

'Velvet Latte'

The 'Velvet Latte' was on the expensive side at £7, and then it completely let me down. It's made with condensed milk - I was vibing Vietnamese coffee - but when it arrived it was room temperature, and had a rose like taste to it. You might love it - but I'd ask for it double extra hot if you do choose to go for this one.

Aside from the brunch menu, the cafe has a number of sandwiches and salads you can try too.

They also do an amazing selection of cakes and pastries which I admit look good.

Especially these stripy croissants. 

I suspect their cake is better, but after experiencing their brunch, I was reluctant to stick around for more.

Searching on Instagram you will notice (and you will see when you get there) the place is packed with fashion bloggers mostly, there are limited pictures of the actual food. It seems the cafe has decided to focus on it being a fashionable spot and has let their food standards slip which is a real shame. All in all, if you want to enjoy good food, I'd skip this one.