Supernova

From the team behind James Street’s famed James & Antler comes yet another sandwich-centric eatery, this one focused on the katsu sando. Landing just around the corner on McLachlan Street, Supernova combines sandos, soba and Japanese-inspired breakfast dishes in a leafy, relaxed space where you can sit down and enjoy your chosen meal with a decadent drink or two. 

Those drinks are reason enough to pay the cafe a visit, with jaw-dropping sips like cream-laden Matcha-Misus, hojicha lattes and Supernova’s take on the strawberry matcha, all of which you can get with a side of matcha soft-serve. If you’ve got an appetite to sate though, the food menu is bound to please, no matter the time of day. 

By morning, you can tuck into the likes of thick honey toast topped with whipped mascarpone and fruit, pan-fried potato mochi doused in aged cheddar sauce with hot honey soy boiled eggs and tamagoyaki-style egg with milk bread, aged cheddar sauce and hot miso honey. Our favourite part of the AM menu is the pricing, with nothing over $16—a rare occurrence these days. 

When it comes to lunch, you’ll need to choose between the sandos and soba—for a splurge, we hear the gold leaf-topped wagyu striploin sando is worth the $75 you’ll drop on it, but at the lower end of the scale you’ll find chicken, pork and black angus katsus on offer, matched with shoyu BBQ dipping sauce and furikake fries if you wish. Sobas, meanwhile, come topped with crispy skinned barramundi, tempura vegetables or tataki or wagyu sirloin—meaning making your choice will be no mean feat. 

Images: Ranyhyn Laine