YamJam

At EL&N Deli & Bakery, the food is the star of the show - and the counter is its stage.

From the very first sketch, this was never just a place to serve.

It was a place to pause. To gather.
To look - really look - with that wide-eyed, childlike wonder as you try to choose your treat.

We wanted the food to shine so we designed a space that would let it do just that.

A long, low counter clad in soft-veined white marble: calm, elegant, quietly luxurious.
Above it, a tilted mirrored ceiling angled just so, catching the glisten of sugar crystals and the gloss of a perfectly set glaze.
Warm lighting draws your eye to the detail - the crust, the crumb, the careful layering.

Because good food deserves to be seen.
And beautiful food?
Deserves to take centre stage.

📍

There’s a moment, when the dust settles and the doors open, where you find yourself standing in the space…

And it looks just like the render.

This is one of those moments.

These side-by-side shots of EL&N Deli & Bakery at 📍Dubai Hills Mall show just how closely the final space holds to the original vision - from material palette to architectural rhythm to every perfectly placed arch.

That kind of transformation doesn’t happen by accident.

It takes trust. Communication. Craft.

And a whole team working to a shared vision.

Massive credit to the contractor and project management consultant .pmc who brought this design to life with such clarity and care.

It’s always rewarding to see a concept carried through so precisely.

From sketch, to render, to reality.

There’s a moment, when the dust settles and the doors open, where you find yourself standing in the space…

And it looks just like the render.

This is one of those moments.

These side-by-side shots of EL&N Deli & Bakery at 📍Dubai Hills Mall show just how closely the final space holds to the original vision - from material palette to architectural rhythm to every perfectly placed arch.

That kind of transformation doesn’t happen by accident.

It takes trust. Communication. Craft.

And a whole team working to a shared vision.

Massive credit to the contractor and project management consultants .pmc who brought this design to life with such clarity and care.

It’s always rewarding to see a concept carried through so precisely.

From sketch, to render, to reality.

Our last post was all about the window.

And now, we’re happy to say...the doors are open too!

Introducing the new EL&N Deli & Bakery, now open at 📍Dubai Hills Mall.

An extension of the iconic brand - but with its focus firmly on freshly baked, artisanal goods. Distinct from the café experience, the bakery brief challenged us to let the food speak first.

We weren’t just creating a new space, we were creating a blueprint - a way to capture the spirit of the original deli in London, and carry it somewhere entirely new, without losing its soul.

From the very first sketch, we knew exactly what we were chasing: that feeling of standing outside a bakery with your nose to the glass, staring at rows of pastries you can almost taste.

Taking inspiration from the architectural character of Covent Garden’s historic Market Building (home to the original EL&N Deli & Bakery), we translated its essence into a new, scalable context - a design that could hold the same charm, the same integrity, and stand confidently across many different locations.

A calm, contemporary palette of warm brick, soft marble, and sage green.

A quiet rhythm of arches and curves that gently echo the spirit of the original.

From the outside in, this space is about invitation.

To pause.

To look.

To walk through that arch and into a world where good things are baked daily - and beautifully.

A Tale of Moss & Majesty - which one is your favourite?! 🌿👑

Two lobby installations.
Two very different personalities.
One shared mission: to make heads turn before anyone even reaches the grand staircase inside.

Swipe through to explore:

🌳 The Enchanted Swing Tree - dressed in bark, moss, cascading florals, and nestled into a forest floor of preserved blooms, ferns and succulents.

👑 The Velvet Throne - velvet-tufted, gold-trimmed, and entirely enveloped in a glamorous floral takeover.

📐 And Jules’ original sketches - a satisfying side-by-side of vision and reality (with some extra moss for good measure).

Both were designed for District 8 - home to Blume, Rodina and Luxuria - and both are 100% artificial (though a few preserved flowers and real moss crept in too, just for texture).

One is pure fantasy.
The other? Regal theatre.

So tell us… which one has your vote?

It all starts with Jules and his pencil.

Not just lines on a page – but the first layer of intent. A space imagined from feeling, not just function. And its personality captured from the very first stroke.

Then from pencils to pixels, the render comes to life. The mood deepens, the details get dressed, the textiles take their place. But look closely, and you’ll see the DNA is unchanged.

Every space we design begins with an idea — something felt, not yet seen.

The sketch is where that idea finds its voice. This is what Jules does best - capturing the spirit of a place before it exists - line by line, story first.

didn’t just appear - it was meticulously drawn into being.

The Render.

From pencils to pixels - the second phase begins.

Here the mood deepens, the details get dressed, the textures take their place. But look closely, and you’ll see the DNA is unchanged.

Because when you start with a clear idea, everything later that follows simply supports it.

The Sketch.

It starts with Jules and his pencil.

Not just lines on a page - but the first layer of intent.

A space imagined from feeling, not just function. And its personality captured before a single surface is chosen.

The soul of was there from the very first stroke.

Before became a space of theatrical ceilings and gold leaf detail, it lived in these meticulous sketches - hand drawn by Jules, with precision and intent.

Our sketches aren’t just part of the process. They ARE the process. Studies in form and flourish that are not drawn to impress, but to express.

At YamJam, this is always where the story begins. With pencil lines and curiosity, and a hand that can translate feeling into form.

Before became a space of theatrical ceilings and gold leaf detail, it lived in these meticulous sketches - hand drawn by Jules, with precision and intent.

Our sketches aren’t just part of the process. They ARE the process. Studies in form and flourish that are not drawn to impress, but to express.

At YamJam, this is always where the story begins. With pencil lines and curiosity, and a hand that can translate feeling into form.