Café Saba is a new addition to the Norwood area and let me tell you: I was excited to hear there would be BANH MI in my immediate vicinity.
If you don't know what I'm talking about, for shame! Act like you know and then read this to get up to speed http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bánh_mì
In short, it's a Vietnamese sandwich that is all kinds of addictive and delicious - not to mention also pretty healthy. I've been getting my banh mi fix from Zen House, the Central Markets, Hanson Road or Southern Cross food arcade, so I was stoked to hear there would be somewhere a little more local to get my hands on the goods.
The verdict? It was good: fresh and tasty with just the right amount of chili. Yet, I won't be going back to Saba for my banh mi fix anytime soon, and here's why: at $7.50 for a combination roll, I paid almost double what I pay elsewhere for the same quality of product. A bottle of sparkling water also set me back $3.80.
Service was also disappointing. Despite being the only customer in the café, the rolls took a really long time to arrive. When I went to pay on EFTPOS, the staff member told me he didn't know how to operate the machine, so I needed to wait another 10 minutes for another staff member to return. I wouldn't normally be so pedantic but I was in a bit of rush that day so was really aware of how long it was taking. Hopefully this was a just a first week road bump and will improve as they go along.
While I have only tried the banh mi so far, the rest of the menu is a haphazard combination of Asian and café food, with a sandwich bar, coffee machine, cakes, curries and roasts on offer as well as Vietnamese dishes. Personally I think the all-things-to-all-people approach is generally not as successful as doing one thing really well.
The location in a plaza at 47 The Parade is a little hidden, you probably wouldn't find the place unless you knew to go there. The plaza itself is very pleasant though, green and airy with lots of seating. read more