A Saturday Lunch with Mum at The Mall Deli

Last weekend mum popped over for a visit and a spot of lunch, so we walked up to Clifton village and sauntered around the streets looking for somewhere we had not tried before. Tempted by Cordial and Grace only to see it was too busy we crossed the road to try The Mall Deli cafe. Always enjoyed buying little bits and bobs in here but it's not somewhere I have been for a good while. As we sauntered in I noted they stocked the infamous bacon jam as well as other interest peeking products like lavender sugar, perfect for a topping on a pear crumble by the way.

As it was slightly too early for lunch we started with a pot of tea each, mum went for English breakfast and I went for the girly Earl Grey. If I'm honest this wasn't the best start to our lunch, mum's tea pot did not have enough tea in it and was very insipid and mine was just a bad choice of tea. The girly grey had the added extra of rose petals in the normal Earl Grey mix. I like the flavour of rose in tea, big fan of Lahloo Pantry's Rosebud mix, but this was so heavily perfumed it was bordering on drinking potpourri crossed with cleaning products.

Girly Grey tea

The smell of lunches around us was encouraging so mum picked a jacket potato with coleslaw from the deli and salad, whilst I went for a brie and onion jam panini with a side salad. Tempted by the delicious looking ploughman's that passed us as we waited, piled high with freshly sliced deli meats and pickles, we suddenly realised how hungry we were.

Gooey Brie and Onion Jam

Our lunch was very delicious. The brie was very smooth and the onion jam wonderfully sweet and complimentary. A classic combination that I too often neglect. Mum praised their home made coleslaw very highly, simple flavours but well combined. As we had been eyeing up the cakes on the counter the entire time we were there we thought it would be unsporting not to sample at least one of them. So we picked the raspberry and coconut cake to share.

Coconut cake

Desiccated coconut in the sponge, cream, jam and topped with fresh raspberries was a great way to end lunch. The sponge was lovely and soft, I've had cake flavoured with coconut before, but not like this. It was subtle and the raspberries gave it a fresh lift, mum and I agreed it was something we'd like to replicate next time we fancy trying something new in the kitchen.

So after a wobbly start with the tea, The Mall Deli really picked it up with the food and it's definitely somewhere I would go again, if only to sample the delicious looking ploughman's that passed us earlier in the day. To see what the deli has to offer check out their website.