Élan Cafe, Knightsbridge, London
On 22nd April 2018 by HelenOn Saturday myself, Liv, Steph and Emma went for a girls’ day in London, more specifically we went to Élan Cafe.
Élan Cafe has two locations, one in Mayfair opposite The Dorchester hotel and one in Knightsbridge just past Harrods. After initially going to the wrong store (Mayfair) we took a taxi to the one we had meant to go to in Knightsbridge.
On arrival there was a queue which we were expecting. The cafe took our names and we had about a 45 minute wait before we were seated. I can’t say it was an awful 45 minute wait as we got to watch all the super cars pass us in the street – Ferraris, Bentleys and Lamborghinis.
When we got in Élan it didn’t disappoint: a flower wall, flower arrangements, neon signs and lots and lots of pink – what wasn’t there to like? We were sat at the back of the cafe with a table right next to the famous flower wall. Once seated we were given our menus and got to choose what we were having. I’m going to be honest, if you are coeliac or gluten free there isn’t a vast amount for you to choose. Also nothing is labelled as specifically gluten free and the small print on the menu does say that although cross contamination is monitored it can’t be ruled out so they don’t label dishes. Having said that, if you’ve read this blog for a while you’ll know my love affair with Acai bowls and there was one on the menu with gluten free granola. I did get the waiter to specifically check it would be gluten free with the kitchen, which he did, so I took the chance (bearing in mind what the menu stated with cross contamination) and I was absolutely fine. It was one of the best and prettiest bowls I’ve had and I’d recommend it to anyone. There were only a couple of choices of gluten free cake and they had sold out but that was OK, at least I ate.
The rest of the food the girls ordered looked amazing and you couldn’t fault the presentation. Liv had avacado on toast, Emma had smoked salmon, avacado on flat bread and Steph had chicken goujons. They also shared sweet potato, courgette and halloumi fries followed by red velvet cake, brownies and Nutella cheese cake. Drinks wise I had fresh orange juice and a latte, Liv had apple juice, and Emma and Steph had smoothies.
The staff were friendly but service was slow and sporadic. Liv and I were served food first and had finished before the others even got theirs. We were asked to move tables too as the table we were seated at was being used for a booked afternoon tea.
The restaurant stipulates there is maximum stay of 45 minutes; however I think we were there for 2 hours in total and we didn’t feel rushed at all.
I would recommend this place for a visit. Be prepared for a wait and be prepared for very relaxed service. However, for London, the prices were reasonable and the decor is simply beautiful. The perfect place for a girls’ day out.
As always disclaimers are in the About section. Thanks to Steph for letting me use one of her pictures x
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