Souli Cafe Marylebone
Nestled in Marylebone among the sea of Costas’, Macdonalds’ and hairdressers you can’t pronounce lies Souli an unpretentious yet gourmet cafe serving up the finest take away lunches London has to offer.
Inside the warm farmhouse greens and glass cabinets give a homely Mediterranean feel, yet there is an air of modern chic magazine shelves and menu boards reminiscent of an American cinema. We popped down one afternoon after the lunchtime rush and chatted to leading lady Hella and pick her brains on everything Souli.
Hi Hella! So what inspired Souli?
We want to provide Londoners with a great quality gourmet lunch that won’t break get bank. Our menu is inspired by Tunisia however has other cuisines incorporated to create variety. The decor came from wanting to team a Mediterranean vibe with New York edge, my husband and I did all the interior design ourselves.
Tell us a little about your food (we say while salivating with a variety in front of us).
Here we have a selection of our weekday lunchtime menu:
– Chicken, lemon, potato and thyme soup (which was was AMAZING! So creamy and flavoursome)
– Oak smoked salmon with lambs lettuce and candied orange zest (you can see why its one of the Evening Standards top 5 best sandwiches! The combination was divine!)
– Sirloin with watercress, horseradish and creme fraiche (encased in the most divinely soft bread)
– Superfood salmon, red cabbage, edamame beans
– Kale, Apple, carrot and ginger (zingy and fresh)
– Christmas spirit tea (actually tasted as good as it smelled!)- Mexican inspired hotpot and rice
The menu is seasonally changing and we offer a vegan hotpot and soup each day. Friday the soup is more meat and the hotpot more veggie based. We also offer Tunisian dairy free shakes and a Tunisian hotpot on Thursday which is lamb with cous cous and veg.
We are also open on Saturday’s where our weekday soups and sandwiches are available alongside brunch-y gluten free crepes, omelettes, breakfast sandwiches and spelt pastries grace the menu too!
Do you make all you food in the shop? How about your suppliers?
Everything except the cake is made right here! From our chicken bone broth and roasted chicken and beef to our candied orange peel in our smoked salmon sandwich and crunchy granola.
We have a great French artesian baker who supplies our bread fresh each morning and our coffee is roasted on a wood roaster in Rome by two brothers who’s company has been in business since 1938. We really think carefully about where we source our food from.
It is clear to see the love that has gone into the whole of Souli. All the food was fresh and flavoursome without being teamed with an extortionate price tag. The attention to detail is second to none, from the candied orange peel accompanying our smoked salmon to the creamy, nutty homemade granola.
Next time you think breakfast, lunch or afternoon treat in central London give the guys a bell and see what all the hype is about!
