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MELBOURNE | The humble katsu sando has taken off around the world recent years, with many places aiming to reach the highs of the best katsu sando places in Japan. In Melbourne, Saint Dreux has reached such highs.
The small coffee and katsu sando spot inside the food court at St Collins Lane is owned by Bench Coffee co-owners Joshua Crasti, Nick Chen, Frankie Tan and Claye Tobin. They were in Japan on a coffee research trip and fell in love with katsu sandos, so decided to combine the two loves with Saint Dreux.
The menu is small. A handful of katsu sandos, coffee (try the cold-foam matcha latte), a few castella (a type of Japanese cake), and Japanese sodas.
When I visited I opted for the chicken, Kurobuta pork, and wagyu. The wagyu is my pick of the lot. The melt in your mouth beef has a marbling score of 7–8 and is served medium rare. It’s the perfect blend of tender meat, crispy coating, wholegrain mustard, and soft white bread. The Kurobuta pork is also brilliant, and transported me back to Tonkatsu Maisen in Tokyo, where my favourite tonkatsu (pork katsu) can be found.
The chicken is also very tasty, but for me the pork and wagyu options are the way to go. They’ve both got that melt in your mouth fat and juiciness that chicken breast doesn’t.
The katsu sandos at Saint Dreux aren’t cheap (they range from $14 for the chicken to $28 for the wagyu), but they’re worth the price. It’s as close as you’ll find to the best that Japan has to offer in Melbourne.
Saint Dreux
L2, St Collins Lane
260 Collins Street
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia
Telephone: (03) 7016 8973
E-mail: n/a
Website
Open
Mon – Sun: 9:00am to 5:00pm