St Kai

Overview

At St Kai, classic Japanese and modern breakfast flavours combine in a brunch-filled flurry. Discover masterful dishes like the donburi rice bowls tossed with ground Wagyu beef, an array of pickles, the secret house sauce and a fried egg (delicately placed atop the whole thing). It's essentially a deconstructed cheeseburger in a bowl with rice instead of a milk bun.

If you're not after a steamy bowl of noodles to start your day, you can turn your attention to the bagels topped with the likes of avocado, furikake (seaweed flakes), chilli oil and an onsen egg for a tasty makeover of the classic avocado toast.

Those that head in for lunch should go right for a warming bowl of ramen — made fairly classically. The Yaki-style ramen (with fried noodles rather than boiled) comes with house-fermented kimchi, furikake and a fried egg; and the spicy tantanmen ramen is made from miso-soaked pork mince, chilli oil, soybean broth, bok choi, an onsen egg, nori and shallots. If you want something that can easily be eaten on the go, the wagyu beef brekkie roll with a fried egg and Tokyo mac sauce.

Then there's the coffee. Few countries share the diehard love for this caffeinated nectar of the gods quite like the Japanese — a fact that is well and truly on show at St Kai. It sources Diggy Doo's beans to serve up classic coffees as well as a few special creations.

The Bebop drink consists of coffee jelly, iced milk and two shots of espresso. And the Ghost in a Shell option comes with a coffee flower tea, iced cascara and a decent splash of cold brew.

St Kai is one of Sydney's best cafes because it expertly creates authentic Japanese dishes while also thinking up totally unique things to eat and drink. Come here once, and you'll be dying to come again — trying something different every time.

Appears in:
The Best Cafes in Sydney