Deli Mavi
Mediterranean
195 Rushey Green, SE6 4BD
£
Mediterranean restaurant Deli Mavi serves up honest, delicious and cheap as chips grub to Catford locals. A favourite amongst those in-the-know, Deli Mavi is always heaving at lunchtime with students and those enticed by the lunchtime deal: two courses for something as silly as £7.00.
I passed by Deli Mavi one afternoon and was instantly attracted to the lengthy menu, offering original breakfast choices as well as a vast selection of mezzes, shish and wraps. The great thing about Deli Mavi is that I literally want everything on the menu - it all sounds so mouth wateringly fresh. On this particular occasion I was utterly seduced by the Turkish eggs: sourdough, topped with avocado, cucumber, smoked salmon, halloumi and a poached egg (£5.70). All of this was surrounded with salad which made the presentation of the stack absolutely lovely - it looked like something you would expect to see at a much pricier joint.
Tom went for the Turkish feast (£7.70): a fried egg accompanied by spicy sausage, halloumi, feta, fried potatoes, pepper, tomatoes, a filo pastry and olives. Although this originally sounds like a ridiculous amount of food, it all fit nicely onto the plate and wasn't at all overpowering. The food did take a little while to come, but this just goes to show how it is all made-to-order, a definite positive of any restaurant, but especially a small and busy cafe such as this. A bonus was the freshly squeezed orange juice - a tad pricey at £3.70 but honestly one of the most delicious orange juice I've ever tasted.
The service at Deli Mavi was attentive and friendly, the decor of the place felt decidedly trendy for Catford and wouldn't have been out of place in Shoreditch. The atmosphere, however, was much nicer than that of anywhere in East London. Instead of being filled with a ton of top-knotted, flat-white drinking clones, Deli Mavi is filled with normal people and families enjoying honest food at top notch prices.
Whilst eating, Tom said he felt as if he was on holiday, which was slightly ridiculous as we were sitting on a main road in South East London. However, when I searched for Deli Mavi on Trip Advisor, there stood a 5 star review, titled "Just like being on holiday" - maybe the idea was not so far-fetched after all. Go to Deli Mavi for yummy food, friendly service and fantastic prices - or simply to feel as European as possible in the heart of SE6.
OVERALL RATING: *****
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