Mayfair Lane – The Best Perth Pub Wine List?

I was invited along to check out the new Mayfair Lane gastropub in West Perth a couple of months ago with a few local Perth food bloggers. Initially I turned down the invite as I wasn’t sure if there’d be a strong wine angle that would suit the Travelling Corkscrew – I was luckily wrong! After chatting with the Mayfair Lane team, I found out that they LOVE their wine and owner Foni is just as much of a wine geek as I am.

Mayfair Lane Pub & Dining Room use to be The Brown Fox, I’d never been to the venue before however it’s safe to say the new ‘Mayfair’ vibe is working for them. This Perth gastropub has everything you could want in a pub plus more. The more being all the little touches from using Riedel glassware to the ‘Dining Room’ which offers more of a fine dining experience.

The husband and wife team behind Mayfair Lane have an extensive background in food & wine around the world – Perth is very lucky they have brought their talents here. Foni is a qualified WSET Wine Educator and prior to setting up and managing Mayfair she was the wine buyer and wine list coordinator for top Perth establishments like Odyssea Beach Cafe, Balthazar, Il Lido, Bread in Common & Gordon St Garage. She definitely knows a thing or two about wine!

The Christmas break has finally given me time to get back to Mayfair Lane with Mr. Spittoon to fully digest the 7 page wine list and there’s no doubt about it, Mayfair have a top-notch wine list for a Perth pub!

The Wine List

The food is great (see below) at Mayfair but it’s the wine list which will keep me going back and will make me recommend this spot to other wine lovers. Firstly as mentioned, they serve up even their wine cocktails in Riedel glassware, I don’t want to sound like a wine wanker, but glassware is important to me. Drinking out of a nice glass helps show the wine in its best light.

On my last visit I indulged in the ‘Sauvignon Slushie’ which is a blend of iced lemonade, peach puree, apple puree and topped up with Sauvignon Blanc for $18. It wasn’t a slushie like the slurpies you get at 7 Eleven, but it was delectable and I loved the apple sliver garnish. A top match to the fish’n’chips too! There are also a couple more wine cocktails on the list (see below) which I will be trying on my next visit!

As with many wine lists, there is a ‘by the glass’ and ‘by the bottle’ section – it is great to see the ‘by the glass list’ has a decent amount of options on – nearly 40 to be precise from bubbles to white, rose and red. Glass prices start at an affordable $8 and range up to $22 for a glass of 2011 Champagne Chartogne-Taillet Brut Rose. From local wines to international wines and a range of grape varieties, you won’t be bored if ordering by the glass. Some of the interesting stand outs for me include; Jim Barry Assyrtiko, Casa de Luz Verdejo, Salomon Undhof Riesling, La Prova Fiano, Bella Ridge Tempranillo and Filipa Pato Baga Bicali Maria Gomes. See the full ‘by the glass list’ below.

How can Mayfair afford to have some many wines by the glass you ask? They have a Coravin system which extracts wine from the bottle without popping the cork! Basically it’s a needle that goes in through the cork to release the wine into the glass and once removed the cork reseals naturally and therefore the bottles last for a lot longer than if they were opened normally (and yes wine does go off quite quickly once opened normally).

There’s no surprise the ‘by the bottle’ wine list at Mayfair is just as intriguing as the ‘by the glass’ list. It’s ordered by country and by wine style (sparkling, champagne, white, rose & red) for easy perusing. Bottle prices start from approximately $38 and range up to $425 for some top shelf champagne. All I needed was a bottomless bank account to fully enjoy the quality of the Mayfair wine list which you can get intimate with below…

The Food

When Mr. Spittoon and I went the other day we opted for a very pub style lunch, as mentioned I had the beer battered fish’n’chips with mushy peas ($26) and Mr. S had the 8oz Angus beef burger, with tomato chutney & aioli ($21). My fish was divine, cooked to perfection and absolutely melt in the mouth, the mushy peas were also very good. Mr. S thoroughly enjoyed his burger and I managed to wrangle a bite, the chutney and pickles (I think that’s what they were) teamed with the homemade proper meat pattie were delectable. We both weren’t fussed on the chips but after dousing them in vinegar they went down fine.

When I visited Mayfair for the blogger evening I tried a number of dishes from their Dining Room menu and oh my gosh it was such an enjoyable night of food and wine, they sure do have some talented chefs in the Mayfair kitchen. My favourites which I would highly recommend trying are:

• Steak tartare, game crisps, sauce vierge, soft-boiled quail’s egg (GF) 22
• Lamb assiette: rack of lamb, slow cooked shoulder, shepherd’s pie, spinach puree, roast garlic, white wine & rosemary jus (GF) 38
• Twice cooked pork belly, seeded mustard pommes pureé, baked stuffed apple, cider jus (GF) 32

You can check out the full Dining Room, Lunch and Pub menus on the Mayfair Lane website.

The Atmosphere

With good wine and food you want a good atmosphere and these guys have hit the nail on the head for a top quality London pub feel, but better! I love the interior design of the place, it’s nice and open with comfy furniture and aesthetically pleasing details. The fresh flowers on the tables were lovely and the wrapped green and white candies and lovely hand cream in the women’s toilet are a fantastic touch.

The staff are friendly and are happy to suggest wines to match your meal or taste preferences plus I have to admit the owners are pretty cool too 🙂

I can’t wait to go back to Mayfair again soon for a vino and bite to eat, I’ll definitely be keeping my eye on this spot as I know the wine list won’t go stale. See you and your wine list again soon Mayfair Lane!

PS: For more pics from the bloggers long table dinner, check out this post on Facebook.