Maison D’etre

3 Reviews on “Maison D’etre”

• Alyssa

  This place is super sweet. It’s a cute cafe with lovely decor. It has delicious coffee and a huge range of home made cakes. Our group had the hummingbird cake, a coconut and lemon slice, a chocolate muffin and the banana bread and everyone was really satisfied. The staff were really lovely, and couldn’t do enough for us which is always nice. We were here late in the afternoon but watched on as everyone around us ordered incredible looking brunches – we can’t wait to come back for brunch! Highly recommend this place!

  June 14, 2016, 3:48 am

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• Gabriella M

  Maison D’etre is one of the cutest cafes in London, with great coffee and delicious pastries! Yeah it’s not located in the nicest, most central area but honestly it’s worth the walk through Highbury.The cafe is adorably colorful and has a cute french look. They have nice porcelain cups which match the tea pot they bring out your tea in. Their hot drink selection is quite good, they serve a nice coffee and also have a really great mint tea. I especially like their pastries and when they make carrot cake you shouldn’t try anything else, this is one of the best carrot cakes I’ve ever had!I also really like the sandwiches they have, especially the portobello mushroom, goat cheese and dijon mustard sandwich. The only dishes which I’ve found disappointing at Maison D’etre are the salads which sound delicious on paper but are mostly quite dry, and mostly just made of lettuce.This place has a great atmosphere, I especially love sitting in the back room which is essentially a small veranda, decorated very nicely with plants and cases of fruits.

  January 30, 2015, 4:07 pm

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• Iris

  Highbury Corner isn’t exactly what you’d call a remote, tucked away spot. And yet, glancing over it from Highbury and Islington station, it’s all too easy to dismiss it as just another traffic junction; the stream of buses coming from all directions, and the pains of walking to the opposite side of the roundabout without risking being ran over, are the two things that inevitably come to my mind every time I think about that side of North London.My memories of Maison d’Etre always tend to fade into the more vivid, graphic images of speeding cars and crashes waiting to happen. A small, unassuming cafe in the middle of a big roundabout; you could almost say it’s hiding in plain sight. Rather than the kind of place you chance upon, and decide to try on an impromptu whim, it’s the kind of place you plan to visit a couple of hours or days in advance. You look it up on Google Maps, check the address and opening times twice, and then go on your mission, carefully exploring the surroundings to make sure you don’t miss the entrance when you walk past.Maison d’Etre is ideal for brief solo visits, or bite-sized meetings with friends; the time it takes to enjoy a cup of coffee and a light snack is just about the amount of time you’d bear spending in such a constrained environment. However quirky and tastefully decorated, the interior is so cramped, you may reconsider the thought of going for a second round of food or drinks. After a heartwarming bowl of courgette soup with warm bread, I toyed with the idea of trying one of the dainty cakes on the counter, but thought better of it and headed back to the great outdoors. Although the staff doesn’t rush you to leave, and allows you to spend as much time at your table as you need, you may feel the need to see yourself out after one hour or two. If that’s your choice, be smarter than I was: get a slice of cake, and have it packed for takeaway.The cafe’s size and lack of privacy make it unsuited for different types of interaction. The freshly made, home-cooked food may impress your partner on a first date, but the risk of elbowing your neighbours as you engage with your sweet yet awkward first hug may put romance off the cards until the end of your meal. If you’re a remote worker, refrain from bringing anything bigger than a tablet, as balancing a laptop and a plate of food on the same tiny table requires a funambulist’s skill. And if you’re taking a colleague out for that confidential conversation you wanted to have out of the office, you’re better off choosing a larger cafe, or accepting that the rest of the clientele will be aware of your thorny business in no time. I was working remotely on my visit, and could tell that my neighbours were having exactly that kind of discussion; having to focus on not spilling my soup on my keyboard provided a strangely welcome distraction.Prices don’t play in Maison d’Etre’s favour, either. My hunger for dessert was a direct result of the size of my soup: too small to provide a fulfilling lunch, and yet priced at 3.80, the cheapest of a series of more pricey but equally tiny mains. 2.80 per slice of cake would sound much more reasonable – if it weren’t, again, for the scant portion size. If you’re a fanatic of homemade fare and a keen supporter of local independent businesses, you won’t mind paying a premium to get both things in just one meal; as for me, I probably won’t give Maison d’Etre a second chance. London boasts plenty of cafes that guarantee the same quality for a fairer price, or larger helpings (and breathing room) for the same amount of money. whatevergetsyouthroughtheday.wordpress.com

  November 3, 2014, 3:57 pm

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