Bread, Espresso and Sakaisuji Club — Restaurant in Osaka

I went on a Tuesday morning right as it opened, which is not a peak time, so this review may not reflect a typical experience. After reading several of the other reviews, however, I'm not so sure. Like several many of the reviews posted, the food and decor are very well done. The interior gives a classic feel from a previous era, which is really quaint and enjoyable.

The service and customer consideration, though, needs a lot of improvement.

Because of the long line outside and a tight schedule, I opted to get a few items to go. There were only two customers in line to pay, but an experience that should have taken less than 5 minutes took well over 15 minutes.

There's no space inside for customers to wait and no shaded areas or chairs outside for those standing in line...which will become very costly business-wise in the oncoming summer months as hungry customers simply won't be able to wait for so long to under those conditions.

There was also no sign to tell customers to wait to be seated in English or Japanese, so the one single server on duty had to constantly stop what she was doing and explain to people walking in and skipping ahead they had to go back outside and wait or take their order to go.

There was no one cleaning tables, so three tables sat unclean for the time I was there, nor were customers encouraged to sit at the counter, promoting even less turnover.

The cashier at the register seemed highly cautious and unsure--I guess this person was trying to be extra careful, which I understand. However, it made the line move even more slowly for both eat-in and take out customers to pay.

The decor and food quality are excellent, but management needs to take a second look at a lot of critical parts of running a restaurant. Whether the staff need more personnel or training, or both, given the price points of this menu, I don't imagine the good food or atmosphere keeping the lights on in this place for...

Settled just south of our hotel, we wanted something nearby to Hanmachi and I wanted something sweet. I was not prepared by the degree to which I was delighted with nearly every aspect of this restaurant/bakery. 1st - the architecture; the space is a revitalization of a former bank with vaulted ceilings, European-styled moulding, hardwood accents, teller's booth functioning as a server's space, and the original bank vault used to dry herbs: every detail is has been wonderfully preserved and pays homage to the original space but is uniquely it's own. 2nd - the food; the menus are simple with no course having more than 5 entrees on the menu. There's also an all-day menu and an afternoon tea prix fixe. I had the french toast and it was served with cured meats and a lightly (but perfectly) dressed spring greens. First let me commend the bakers here because the baked goods are core to so many aspects of the menu and provide a foundation that is both technically masterful but also delicious. The menu overall had kind of American cosmopolitan meets French bistro vibe that I loved. There's a simplicity to each entree but that also means that the execution and flavor are even more important and this place delivers on all fronts. Everything was well seasoned, delicious, and impeccable. This cafe rivals some of the best I've been to in other American foodie scenes like San Francisco or Seattle and while I'm so happy this place is a highlight of Osaka's lively food scene, I'm also so sad can't pack it up and take it home with me. Consider this a love letter to Bread, Espresso, and Sakaisuji and if you're still reading this, then...

We had lunch here today. Arrived around 12:15 and waited about an hour in line. Yes, the building is beautiful but…that’s it. The menu is divided into time slots basically, and the lunch menu has 5 choices. 3 of them are hamburger steak. We were really excited to try the french toast we saw online but we didn’t want to wait another hour to be able to order it. We were also excited to try the coffee but none of the lunch options suit coffee at all. My boyfriend still ordered it and declared it 普通 lol. The lunches come with a small cup of soup (today was cauliflower and it was delicious but only a few sips) and a basket of assorted breads. Almost all of them are sweet or fruit breads. Again, not at all suited to the lunch options. Anyway, they were also just… regular breads. Literally nothing special or hard to find. The entrees themselves were drowning in so much demiglace sauce that the flavors of the actual foods were lost in it.

I’ve lived here for a long time and there are loads of pretty buildings to eat food in. The only remarkable thing about this place is the building itself, so I’d say if you want to see the inside then skip the wait, go in and grab a couple muffins for takeout and move on...