We were intrigued to try Mayfair as we had done some research online and found it is an independent coffee outlet. The location of Mayfair is somewhat hidden from passing traffic and probably needs to try to get as much business from office workers at The Center as possible.
The deco looks quite nice although there is limited seating only at the counter close to the cash register, so definitely not a place to linger. We went there during late afternoon and ordered a couple of their coffees to takeaway. The price of the coffee is quite high for the size of the cup. The regular size is equivalent to the short size at Pacific Coffee or Starbucks. Therefore, for $35, we were expecting a superior tasting coffee for the price premium. We also tried their cheesecake.
They gave us a very flimsy brown paper bag which was tearing and would not have lasted much longer but luckily we had a short walk back to the office. We tasted the coffee about 3 mins after purchase and found the coffee to be very acidic, with an unpleasant after-taste. We were discussing what could be the cause of this? The quality of the coffee beans? Probably not since surely a specialist coffee shop would make the effort to purchase decent, if not top-notch, beans. The process? Maybe, could it be a combination of how the beans were stored and handled? Prehaps the beans were ground and left out for an extended time before being served to the customer? Experience of the barista? Who knows but the barista needs to know his coffee beans very well and taste the coffee regularly. I hope the owner is passionate about the coffee he serves to take note of this.
On a positive note, the cheesecake was very good and full of flavour. However, I don't think people will go to just try out the cakes. There is only a limited selection of pastries and nothing really suitable for lunch.
We really surprise the cheesecake was the highlight of our visit when the coffee should have been the star. I hope there will be some improvements and we are happy to give Mayfair another opportunity.