Le Bajo Milkbar – North Melbourne – pick up shokupan or enjoy a quality katsu and coffee

Le Bajo Milkbar is located in North Melbourne. It can be reached by public transport via tram. I was able to walk there from Queen Victoria Market – it’s a manageable distance at 10 to 15 minutes with a brisk pace. The cafe is obscured by the surrounding industrial vibe, so you have to pay close attention to Google Maps and the signage to know that you have arrived at the right venue.

On arrival, you can peek into the large warehouse and find a café on one end and a lot of antiques on the other side. (Most of the excitement and action was clearly on the café side.) The café can be packed with people and unless you arrive early to queue for reservation, you are unlikely to get a table around 1 pm – which was the case for me. Le Bajo Milkbar’s selection is really impressive, with a more breakfast, early morning feel. Of course, nothing stops people from being able to take their food home.

The café is decorated with so many ornaments and plants. It’s quite a beautiful and cozy looking café.

Le Bajo Milkbar serves shokupan, which is Japanese milk bread. It’s worth giving it a go, whether with some butter or seasonal jam, alongside a coffee or other beverage. The bread has a unique texture and is delicious.

My experience at Le Bako Milkbar

On arrival, I was unable to get a table because there were no tables left for the day. Plus, I was keen to try their Seasonable Fruit Sando for $7 and Melon Pain for $6, but they were already all sold out. So I ended up ordering their Chicken Katsu Classic Sando for $18.5 and Yuzu Scone with Cream and Pear Jam for $4.5. We grabbed a spare table in the warehouse and enjoyed the meal. I ordered at the counter, but there is the option to order on their mobile app.

I waited outside the café in the warehouse foyer while waiting for my order. It took about 10 minutes and came in a brown paper bag.

The Chicken Katsu Classic Sando was filling for me and my wife. It was encased in their delicious shokupan, with a deep fried chicken with teriyaki sauce. It was an excellent experience, despite it being on the expensive side for bread and fried chicken.

The Yuzu Scone with Cream and Pear Jam was surprisingly good. There was a slightly tartness to the scone due to the yuzu flavour. It went well with the cream and seasonal pear jam – which was spiced really nicely.

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