I’ve been (gladly) visiting London more often recently and that means two things: a whole new playpen for a coffee enthusiast and overpaying for that pleasure – most certainly when a cafe of interest is located in the heart of Mayfair.

Hideaway popped up on my maps when I was in the area and with a good few hours to spare before a few-course dinner that evening ; I was hungry, but intended to skip lunch in anticipation of a large feed later – and I couldn’t think of a better way to take the edge off, than a rich cup of coffee.

I hadn’t remembered seeing it before among my cafe searches, but maybe because of its isolated location in coffee shop terms, instead surrounded by Michelin restaurants, five-star hotels and private member clubs… You get the gist of the likely clientele, and their budgets.

The name should have been a giveaway, but it was only when I stepped inside this small-ish – and hugely popular (read: packed!) – cafe when I realised it’s the baby of Piccadilly’s Hide Restaurant, which I had the pleasure to dine and break fast at before. The decor was similar (woods, wrought iron and wheat ornaments), but it was the style and content of the menus that confirmed the connection.

That realisation was actually a disappointing one, because – sadly – I do not rate Hide‘s coffee. Those fancy options: “Sumatra – Tani Gayo – Aceh Mountains – Natural process” or “Brazil – Daterra Estate – Brettanomyces Carbonic maceration process”… I had tried a couple and they all resulted in pretty acidic and not very enjoyable coffees. Obviously too fancy for my taste (who would have thought…!)

But since I snatched a good spot at the bar by the wall, prioritised for arriving solo over the couples and trios still queuing outside, I decided to bite the bullet and give it a bash. Hot chocolates & Mochas have their own section on the menu – I ordered a milk one, suspecting that the dark variety would intensify the acidity of the coffee.

I also gave into the food craving, even though the wonderful Buckwheat pain au chocolat from Hide was unavailable here, so instead I went for the basic – but equally ginormous – chocolate croissant. When I placed my order with the server who saw me at my seat, I said I would probably need a take away bag for that pastry monster. She advised she could bring me one when I was ready to leave – she had obviously seen enough in her time there, as there wasn’t much left to take away once I was done. The pain au choc was cloud-like light and pretty immaterial in the mouth, so devouring it in a few bites was much easier than what the optics would suggest.

But onto the coffee; was it acidic? Yes, but just a tiny bit, not like I remembered it at Hide, where I’d have it as a flat white – the milk chocolate worked. It also made the drink quite rich in taste, but not in that sickening way; think more luxurious flavour, delivered by a drink with a smooth texture. It was very nice – but not my best mocha in London.

I wouldn’t have expected anything less than 4 stars in this part of town – but I would expect more for the hefty price. But hey, that’s Mayfair for you!

To find out more about Hideway, visit their website.