Mayfair Diner: An American Classic

Featured, Food, Philly, Philly Cheap Eats, Restaurant Reviews — By changeup on October 11, 2009 at 5:14 pm

Mayfair Diner (7373 Frankford Avenue, North Philly, 215-624-4447)

by Patrick Coyne

Photography By J Kel

http://www.vimeo.com/4916979

Tucked away from the high volume traffic and crowded sidewalks of Center City is the good food and ample parking of the Mayfair Diner. The Mayfair has been a gem of Northeast Philadelphia since its first incarnation in 1932. The eatery is still going strong and remains a relic of Americana, despite the inevitable modernization. In a world where the “faux-dive” diner serves as a second rate substitution for the American dining car, the Mayfair Diner is an anachronism, and proud of it.

The chrome exterior serves as fair warning to any patron: The Mayfair is equal parts restaurant and time machine. The booths still have individual coat and hat racks, the counter is inviting, and lined with freshly made desserts and even a few of the waitresses and regular customers look as if they’ve been coming to the Mayfair since the first Great Depression.

The menu serves up the standard diner fare: meatloaf, burgers and fries, club sandwiches and breakfast all day. The real treat is the $3 breakfast special which includes two eggs, toast, potatoes and bacon or sausage. It’s a simple, no frills kind of breakfast, and for that price, it’s quite possibly the best deal in the Great Northeast.

The dinner and lunch menu offers a number of great eats without pulling any punches. The cream chip beef served over toast is a hot mess, but it taste much better than it looks. There’s even a dinner special: One entree with soup or salad, pasta, a side, a drink and desert for $10.95, and you must save room for dessert.

The diner offers over 20 classic sweet treats, including homemade chocolate éclairs and a variety of pies, all baked on the premises. Plus, the Mayfair is open 24/7, a true sign of a classic American diner, and a godsend for any late night patron in a city that shuts down after 2 am.

The Mayfair diner seems to pride its self on its simplicity. It’s certainly not a fancy restaurant by any stretch of the imagination. It’s a reflection of the neighborhood that has grown around it and the time in which the business first came to fruition. It’s good food, served by nice people for a fair price without all the superfluous details that can bog down other restaurants. It may be simple but The Mayfair Diner is still a great eatery after 70 years- and that is pretty special.

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Tags: breakfast, cheap eats, diner, dinner, homemade, lunch, mayfair, mayfair diner, Philadelphia, Philly, pies, Specials

2 Comments

SRS says:

June 30, 2009 at 10:18 pm

How does the fact that Michaels owns the Mayfair Diner, along with 5 or 6 other ones in the Northeast enter into your calculations.
All and all not a bad article, when you’re not trying too hard to be Hunter Thompson. It’s in North East Philly not North Philly. The difference being the shades of people.

I believe Silk City is one of the original chrome diners. Probably only a few left in the country.
El Thrizereeno says:

July 6, 2009 at 12:30 am

How is this article in any way similar to the work of Hunter S. Thompson? Is it because both writer string together a series of words, which then form a sentence? Or is it that Hunter Thompson is the only writer/journalist you are aware of? I bet you’ve never read anything he’s done, you just know about that movie about him, “where those dudes got, like so high.”
And then, to really solidify your ignorance- You reveal yourself to be a racist, on the end there. Right on, friend.

You Sir, are no gentleman.
You are in fact an idiot, you have no idea what you’re talking about and you have no right commenting anonymously on the internet.

Cheerio, Douchebag.