Saint Jaxie Cafe — Restaurant in Melbourne

This place has the right kind of feel – vintage on the outside and trendy on the inside. Having a chat with Craig, I wanted to know what were the items that he would recommend on the menu – without hesitation, he mentioned the Beef Tacos and Fish finger butty. Unbeknown to him, internally, I had already chosen the tacos, and wasn’t convinced about the fish. Like most Australians, I enjoy my fish greasy and from the local fish and chip shop. So seeing an upmarket and trendy take on it would be intriguing to say the least.

The long black was the first item out the door. Coming from their own brew, These Days (half Colombian and half Brazillian), I found it to be quite an interesting drink. First – it had bold flavours and I couldn’t ascertain which ones were in there. It was delicious and their own blend. Besides, I liked the fact that they served it with a shot of sparkling water – that’s the number one sign that they take their coffee seriously.

Beef Tacos: brown ale braised brisket, tamarind BBQ sauce, house slaw, charred corn, fresh coriander and lime (21) First and foremost, the presentation. Three awesome soft shell tacos. How would I go about tackling this beast? They looked so amazing, that I wanted to encase it in a glass container and put it on show. The tamarind sauce had the beautiful smell too contrasted well with the colours of the fresh slaw. My first attempt was to try and eat it by rolling it up. MASSIVE FAIL. Fork and knife it is - the most uncoordinated thing I have ever experienced. Being used to hard shell tacos or having a kebab, this threw me. Though it allowed me to have an unfettered access to the experience of all the various items mixed together. I was unconvinced with adding lime. Maybe it’s just me, but it brings back memories of drinking Coronas (beer) or doing vodka shots. I AM SO GLAD I DID. The flavours took on a whole new meaning once I added it to the second taco. It was finished way faster than I would like to write. The third one followed suit. But this time, I infused the fork and knife AND the wrap method (once the contents got smaller) and the lime was the icing on the cake! I was sold on this dish alone. I say, take the journey from wherever you are to try these tacos!

Fish finger butty: market fish, crushed pea aioli, dill and cabbage salad on fresh white bread (16) When it arrived, I was not convinced. The tacos had blown me away, this one. It was… well, too simple. Boy, was I in for a shock. In all my time doing reviews, I am yet to come across a meal where the fish was done in the way this was served up. One, there was no oil. At all. And the meat was so tender and the flavour managed to scour through the fish even though it was clearly crumbed. Mind. Blown. Then, top it with the combination of the aioli, dill and cabbage and you had one amazing dish that really gave me a new found appreciation for simplicity in meals. Sometimes, it’s in taking away things that you can make an item great. And I must admit, the chef has done a phenomenal job. If the tacos is something I raved about, the fish finger butty is like… being in heaven. This butty made me into putty. Hats off to the chef!

Saint James has only been in operation for the last 7 months. It’s a story of two hard working guys that want to travel the world and started off their journey in Australia. They take their customer feedback so seriously, that they have even changed their menu twice in the short period of time and to be honest, it shows! There is nothing more thrilling and validating as a customer to know that someone listened to you. The other interesting thing is their coffee machine from Slayer. Being the first cafe in the world to order this machine, it uses steam to produce the perfect amount of milk to water ratio. Shot volumes, brew temperatures and steam settings are available to be calculated individually via a digital dashboard. The brew alone is worth the trip – just to experience the new way of...

What "love" can do ..... here we go here we go ..... Two lads from Newcastle, England, former High school buddies decided to travel across the globe and set up a cafe in my old stomping ground, Malvern, that takes guts. They probably felt the need to leave home, Newcastle, looking for a sunnier pasture down under, because their football (soccer here) team haven’t been going so well in the last decade, being relegated from the EPL recently (not to be mistaken with IPL ladies or men) - English Premier League. I can still recalled star footballers; David Ginola, Les Ferdinand and Alan Shearer in the Black & White stripes terrorising my team, Liverpool FC in the 90's - I think, deep down we all "hate" anything Black & White, just like those Colliwobbles, sorry Collingwood FC (AFL equivalent).

So it was appropriate that 9 months ago these lads set up a cafe named after their football team stadium, Saint James Park - Saint James Cafe, a street sign on the wall will confirm that.

I'm just so glad to have been invited by Liz and to have made my way to Saint James Cafe, which is next door to Saint James Opp Shop, no relation, just a mere great coincidence.

On the main esplanade of Malvern Rd food centrum. simple, pastel tone, clean cut, casual, chic, trendy, green/floral, friendly, approachable and yet "professional" looking. Choice of undercover footpath, inside and outdoor dining areas. The brick paved backyard is super cozy, simple "Aussie" chic, closer to the "covered outdoor walkway" toilet too, pity it was drizzling, cold ...... the boys must have brought that from England and forgot to declare it at Border Control.

Gotta love their simple, easy, concise, smartly packed Menu, some Aussie breakfast/brunch favourites and some English inspired meals; mashed avocado and "peas" (hallelujah moment for some), Rob's Black Pudding, Saint Benedict (Pork shoulder) - which will be tried on the next trip and good ol' Fish & Chips :-)

I cleaned my simple yet good looking semi bowl plate of Chili Scrambled Eggs, as did my partner in crime, she did not leave anything of her Port Glazed Wild Mushrooms either. They are well made, well balanced, well presented, inviting, scrumptious, generous, delicious and next time I will request they turn up the heat in their chilli - Sambal, that's just me, you eat at your own risk.

They are super serious about their coffee too, maybe its the Melbourne's influence, Slayer and Mahlkonig and local boutique Maker Fine Coffee beans are in the house.I thoroughly enjoyed their short black and Latte this morning.

Thank you Liz, Craig, Rich, Martin and the rest team for hosting us at your work of "love", surely you can stand tall amongst the many compatriot cafes around.

All we need now is a big screen to watch their beloved team Newcastle United "live" for 2017-18 EPL season, they are back in the big boys league. Offcourse while having their delicious and scrumptious meals and coffee – they’ve still got the accent too, very authentic "English" brunch experience - "A British take on the Melbourne coffee scene" - website and I couldn't agree more with that.

That's what "love"...

I really am hoping that Saint James will bring their hotcakes back onto their main menu , pretty please 🙏🏻🥺

FOOD: I ordered the Grand Final Weekend Hotcakes special and it was absolutely amazing! I remember when I first came to Melbourne and I saw Saint James’s hotcakes EVERYWHERE and by the time I wanted to try it, they changed the menu :-( and I thought I’d never be able to try it BUT the brunch gods are on my side 🤣 after months of stalking their instagram 👀, lo and behold, they brought it back but only for the Grand Final Weekend and honestly, it was worth the wait. For all my life, I’ve always been attracted to charcoal infused foods and my favourite kind of bread is charcoal bread 🤣 so when I saw Saint James incorporating it into not just their hotcakes but their MASCARPONE??? I lost my marbles when I saw this on instagram and it definitely did NOT disappoint! Their hotcakes itself is the absolute perfect flavour and texture (I can tell why they’re so famous for it at last 🤤), the charcoal mascarpone was really delicious and though it still tasted like mascarpone, there was just a little something special about it! The lemon curd along with fresh mangoes and mango coulis added a fruity touch that was super delightful and who doesn’t love a cheeky little chocolate soil 👀 I loved how it wasn’t too sweet and with the fruity touch, it made it not too heavy and sickening!

SERVICE: Pleasant service and really friendly staff! They’re super attentive and thank you for working on the Grand Final holidays 🥺

Overall, the hotcakes are an absolute beaut to look at but also an amazing experience to taste! Saint James nailed their hotcakes and I really hope they bring back some form of their delicious hotcakes for the...