Marie Délices

Many years ago, before Unilocal (but not before internet, I’m not that old), I had an awesome wedding/​holiday in a corner of France, hunkering down at a farm-​based B&B with friends and with a fantastic host. The whereabouts have faded into the mist now but what I remember is a warm welcome, a barn for my motorbike, and the most fantastic of breakfasts, and is still rarely topped. Fresh cake every morning (plum cake for us Brits — still no idea why), fresh bread, fresh homemade butter and jam that differed every day. I ate my body weight in bread, butter and jam. It was the first time I’d enjoyed jam and re-​introduced it into my life.
Passing Marie Delices, I decided to check it out, having a secret love for the odd crêpe now and again, but seeing bread, butter and jam on the menu took me right back. It didn’t disappoint — delicious baguette (why can’t the UK make bread like this), tasty jam, and so on. £4.10 for that, orange juice and a coffee isn’t the cheapest breakfast around (nor the most expensive), but for me, it absolutely hit the spot. I’m sure I’ll be back for a galette one of these days, too.

This was a nice surprise for lunch. Good Crepes and cider. And parking on the street right in front is a big bonus. They seem to have a clientele of regulars which is always a good sign.

Charming crêperie just up the hill from Morningside proper, close to Henderson’s wine. The order of the day is very authentic crêpes, with products and recipes from Brittany. That means ‘sarrasin’ flour if you’re eating savoury (‘buckwheat’ to us Brits), and lovely cider (again straight from Brittany) from a ‘Bolée’ on the side. I was too hot to partake of the former, but enjoyed the latter. My French other half had a complète (ham, egg, cheese) as tradition demanded, and reported very favourably.
Deserts are great too, with regular changes in the cakes on offer. The ‘gâteau renversé à l’ananas sauce au caramel’ (upside-​down pineapple cake with caramel to you and me) was, I’m reliably informed (by my personal Frenchie once again), amazing, and there were gluten-​free offerings as well.
Marie herself was lovely, clearly still very proud, and rightly so, of her endeavour. Well worth a visit when you’re down this end of town.