Meli Café – a Greek mashup of clean juices, hearty omelets and almost everything in between

in Eating Out, Eats & Drinks • August 12, 2015

Despite staying out late the night before with Bachelorette Party Night 1 (and in due part to our strong Cocktail Courier pre-game), we somehow found the strength to rise and shine for a 9:30 a.m. breakfast.

I’d heard of a new Meli Café location opening on Dearborn, so was psyched to take the girls here to try it out. I had a good feeling as we were promptly greeted and seated, given my deliciously positive experiences at Meli’s other locations.

Arrival situation. So far, so good.

Then we started off our morning with some of these. One of my favorite things about Meli Café is its impressive juice variety. My fave was this chilled blend of kale and other vegetables called Green Machine. I felt so rejuvenated after several sips, it was as if the mix instantly rinsed away the tequila residue in my liver from the night before. (A girl can dream.)

And then, these happened.

First off, it took me forever to order because I opened the menu and there was a staggering amount of options. Like, there is literally something here for everyone. From omelets to benedicts to waffles to wraps to sandwiches to salads to vegan & gluten-free options to pastas to creative sandwiches and burgers. It was insane in the best way. I would have tried everything if I had all the stomach space and monies in the world, but alas, I do not, so I refrained from ordering with my eyes and proceeded to try:

This beauty was their homemade Greek yogurt bowl with granola, honey and almonds. Really. It was as delicious as it sounds; the perfect combo of sweet, crunchy, chewy and salty.

And then there was this skirt steak and mushrooms breakfast bowl that was incredibly savory but (almost) simultaneously guilt-free were it not for the mozzarella. But no one says no to cheese (and if you do, why are you here), so yeah. Fun fact: The dish is called Mana Mou!!! with legitimately three exclamation points. I’m not kidding, so if you ever order this dish there, you must order it at that voice level and report back stat. (We were too hungover and tame to try.)

Then, we countered our hangovers by downing some wheatgrass shots chased with an orange peel. Yum.

Breakfast of champions (/bridesmaids).

Our day 2 itinerary was slightly aggressive with a LOT of fun activities in the hours ahead, so I’m glad glad we rolled ourselves out of bed for such a tasty wakeup call. Plus, the service was top notch. (It’s hard to find friendly people in the mornings!)

Try it out! (http://www.melicafe.com/menu/dearbornmenu.pdf

Disclosure: I received a complimentary meal to facilitate this post. Review and all opinions are my own.