SAINT DREUX

Used to be better.
The prawn tastes best, then beef (prefer more rare) and pork (too dry).

Ordered a Ebi prawn sando, flavours were perfectly balanced between crispy batter, savoury prawn and pillowy bread. Bit pricey but if you want to experience a very very good Japanese sando, this is the place to go to.

Have had the chicken and pork, with pork being my fav. On the pricey side for a sandwich, but the quality and taste somewhat justifies it

Had the chicken sandwich and the wagyu sandwich. Both were excellent, would highly recommend.

Beautiful Japanese eatery, I had the chicken katsu and it was incredible. However, they have little beepers when your food is ready - that is all you will hear when there! It’s too small a venue to require beeping tablets for customer orders. Very distracting and annoying

Not worth the price, they use wasabi in the mayo which should be mentioned on the menu, not everyone can accept the taste of it.

Came here over the weekend and was very impressed with the Iced Latte. Really good taste - normally it's either too bitter or too sweet but this was perfectly balanced.

I had the pork Sando, a touch on the pricey side at $16, but definitely worth trying once. The bread was soft, the meat still warm and tender, the sauce had just the right amount of mustard kick.

The chicken and pork katsu sandos were well made and delicious. The katsus were tender and crispy without being greasy, the shokupan was soft and light, and the sauces were tasty.

However, I am not as big a fan of the sesame castella cake. I found it too dense and it was slightly on the sweeter side.

Great sando, cake and hojicha latte. The wagyu sando was done perfectly - the wagyu beef was juicy and tender, it just melts in your mouth - the bread was soft and toasted just right - the sauce goes well with the beef. Though, i think it is quite expensive for a relatively small sando, it is very delicious.
The sesame cake was packed full of sesame flavour, loved it.
Hojicha latte was on the sweeter side, with good hojicha flavour.
The pork katsu Sando was done just right, tender pork, crispy skin and soft bread.
The chicken katsu Sando was good too, it has a spicy mayo sauce.
The iced matcha latte was also on the sweeter side, and could have a stronger tea flavour.

The coffee here is great! Plus it's a great place to enjoy a coffee on a Sunday when you need a break from the chaos on the streets.

Date/time of visit: 28 May 2022 @ 3: 40pm

Wow! Beautiful sandos. The shokupan (i.e. The Japanese bread) was light, fluffy, soft. The wagyu beef was cooked perfectly - tender and juicy. The panko was fried amazingly well - very delicate to taste. The mustard mayo was excellent. Combine all the ingredients and you have an amazing wagyu katsu sando. We also puchased the chicken katsu sandwich - also amazing. However, we ate the chicken sando after the wagyu.not a good idea.) The wagyu sando was so good it outshone a good chicken katsu sando. Best to be eaten fresh while still warm. Another reviewer has stated this is something you can "easily whip up at home". That statement is NOT true, unless you have experience with the ingredients. I have made chicken and pork katsu sandwiches using high quality panko but not using shokupan. My chicken and pork katsu were good but no where as good as Japanese bakeries/cafes or Saint Dreux. Further, Shokupan is difficult to make at home (I've tried) and is a little difficult to find in Melbourne and it can also be expensive. Wagyu is expensive and cooking it with the juiciness exhibited by Saint Dreux takes practise. I've had plenty of katsu sandos in Japan and they were great. Saint Dreux katsu sandos are better than the average bakery/cafe in Japan. Saint Dreux's sandos are also better than the one high class cafe we visited in Ginza. They are better than your standard Australian bakery. But you need to understand what is you are buying. These sandos are not something you easily whip up at home or can get from your normal bakery. Consequently the cost of these sandos do reflect quality (in Japan, yes they would be cheaper because that's what they do day in day out). The only downside is, yes, the price means I can't have these on a regular basis like I did when visiting Japan. The poppy seed castella cake was also beautiful. You'll be paying similar for lesser quality Castilla cake at Asian grocery stores. I will go back for more sandos and castella. It would be nice for a lovely cafe environment to go with the food; as it is, it's located in a fancy food court (not your standard shopping center foodcourt). Well worth the price. Great quality.

Best chicken Sando me and my partner have ever eaten. Visually stunning aesthetic, super quickly made and taste was incredible. Moderately pricey, but you pay for both the quality and the service as well.

Quality of the wagyu beef was too chewy. For the price, not worth it. However the pork katsu was better. Sauce and bread were nice.

I never thought I could love katsu sando this much. Simple and tastefully crafted. I got the prawn one and my colleagues got the pork one, imo I think the prawn one is better. I had the prawn katsu which was fried to perfection, perfect temperature and still juicy! It came covered in their own-made wasabi mayo which sealed the deal. I rate the prawn one a 5/5. My friends got the pork one which I didn't like as much, I'd rate the pork one a 3.5/5.

Dessert wise, the hojicha castella wasn't amazing. The hojicha flavour wasn't very strong, and it was actually pretty dry compared to all the katsu. Didn't try the drinks this time round but would love to next time. I'd give 5/5 purely for the prawn katsu!

Sando. 4 or 5 choices of filling. Soft bread with no crusts. Wonder what they do with the crusts? Order from counter and eat in the food court. One of the few places open in Cup Day.

I dont know what I was expecting when I went to order from here but it was not as good as this. The chicken is crispy, but still remains the juicy integrity that you'd expect from such a high quality establishment. The chicken is complimented by the bread and spicy mayo perfectly, all combining to make what I can only say is the best piece of food I have ever eaten in my entire life. 30 dollars well spent, 0 regrets.

This chicken katsu Sando might be the best sandwich I've ever eaten. Even better than what I had in Japan.

Love this place! Inside St Collins Lane, this Japanese Sando bar is an icon! This is a must-go and a go-again kind of place!
We came here for lunch (for two), the place only provides takeaway as it is inside the food court, but the food is of highest quality and very delicious.
Loving the prawn sando and iced hojicha!

A gem in the city!
Sandwiches are amazing. The bread is extremely fluffy and although tasty, doesn't overshadow the taste of the filling, but each element compliments each other so well. The sauces are enhance the brilliant flavour of the sandwich. You really do need to try all of them to decide which one is your favourite as they are all delicious. My personal favourite is the prawn sando.
Castella cakes are also perfect. You gotta go for the original, classic yet delicious; when done right, it really stands out.