Saint Germain Patisserie — Restaurant in Sydney

i purchased a pie & sausage roll this morning, chicken & leek pie. I've always wanted to try it out, because i live locally, BUT I'm not usually a morning person, except on this rare occasion. i have to be honest, it was below average. it wouldn't make my top 10 pastry shops in Sydney or NSW. The PIE TIN in Newtown is a lot better & during my recent family visit in Brisbane, i tried the pies & sausage rolls in the FLOUR & CHOCOLATE cafe, and it was so good, better than the PIE TIN. not sure what all the fuss is about Saint Germain. i mean the guy who served me was really nice & they have a lot of other stuff, BUT i wouldn't go there for the pies OR sausage rolls. the sausage roll meat was nice, BUT the pastry was awful, too dry. the pasty on the pie was nicer, BUT the chicken & leek filling was so bland, below average flavor. even the BBQ sauce i put on it at home didn't help lol sigh. I'm not sure how they have 4.5 star avg rating, that makes no sense at all. maybe there's something there that is good, BUT the pies & sausage rolls are awful. only reason i gave it 2 star & not 1, is because i don't know what the other stuff is like, BUT there's no way i can rate it higher. needless to say i won't be buying food from there anymore. not when the PIE TIN does better food & the pies at the everleigh markets are also very good. it's a shame because the guy who served me, who my daughter tells me has been there for many years, because she remembers buying stuff from there on they way to the train station back in 2006, is really nice & friendly, BUT that doesn't excuse selling poor products. I've eaten thousands of pies & sausage rolls in my 58yrs & for me to declare that this place makes below avg pies & sausage rolls is a big statement. no offense to the owner, BUT i like to keep my reviews truthful of my experience, and i think having eaten thousands of pies over 58yrs, qualifies me to make such a statement. anyone who thinks the pies & sausage rolls are good OR above avg, has never experienced a good pie OR s roll, and there are lots of pastry shops in Sydney & NSW that make far...

True story...I was once in a tiny southern French town, and bought a croissant (yes, unremarkable so far). Upon leaving the shop, I had to open the paper bag to check that they'd actually put something in there! Light, crisp, a mere whisp of butter and flour...perfect. On the other hand, not far from saint German (to which I'll refer soon enough) cockatoo bakery makes a croissant so rich and heavy, more like a giant sfogliatelle that a whole black forest cake may leave you feeling less burdened (though still happy). Saint Germain aims to straddle these 2 worlds with their croissant. To these ex makers eyes, the spread they offer looks totally happiness inducing, in an upper end of the middle of the market way. The service is smiley frenchy, and $2.80 is a pretty lean price for a croissant these days. The trouble was that it wasn't particularly good. Nor was it bad. However, the crispness was uneven, and the crisper end were decidedly stretchy, in a 5pm croissant way...but this was 10am. I'd bet they were baked after 4am, so they weren't actually stale. From the way I saw them stacked, I suspect they went into this piled state whilst still warm. This is no favour to a croissant. The heat doesn't allow the pastry to cool evenly, and the latent steam can have a staling effect, as I experienced. Notwithstanding my inability to croissant here in the future, I'm sure this is a great little local, making frenchy...

19/10/24 - 4 stars

Pretty quaint and cute little neighbourhood bakery in Redfern. Nothing fancy and just simple baked goods, however, i would say that, strictly in terms of quality of pastries, it's probably a level below, even compared to those within Redfern.

Beef burgundy pie Flavour: S, 8/10. Solid but would have liked a richer beef and wine flavour

Texture: A, 7/10. Gravy quite minimal and beef a little dry.

Pastry: A, 7/10. Not bad but a bit chalky

Value: B, 6/10. $7 is about average but wouldnt spend on...