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Grand Lafayette was incredible!! If you love Japanese then you must visit this Japanese eatery which is open all day!The food was so tasty and the pre…
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We were invited into Grand Lafayette to experience what they had to offer since they moved location and their recent Prahran launch. All the dishes we…
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Came here for lunch. Spacious area on a side street. Juicy, crispy and tender chicken . Tasty and not OTT sweet waffles. Generous portion. Both raindr…
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Grand Lafayette is open for Café. Grand Lafayette serves Cafe Food, Japanese and Coffee and Tea dishes. Incorrect or missing information? Make a report, or claim the restaurant if you own it!Details
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10 Reviews on “Grand Lafayette”
Grand Lafayette offers some of the best all-you-can-eat within its price range. For $32 you have a good selection of contemporary Japanese food where most of the dishes are pretty decent, while a few of them are incredible.
I would highly recommend their Salmon Tataki – lightly seared raw Salmon with delicious Japanese Mayonnaise. Other good dishes include the Pork Belly and the Crispy Skin Chicken. Dishes that were not so great were the Freakshii (sushi) as the rice was too compact and hard (something most take-away sushi stores also suffer from) and the Kingfish and Beef Tataki since the sauces used were too overwhelming. The dishes are presented very well; often with bits and strokes of colours like abstract paintings.
Apart from the food, the environment was very light and fresh, while the service was a bit sub-bar. The waitresses are constantly under the pump so we had to ask at least three to four times before we could get a water refill, and we had four water refills that night (so we had to ask a lot) – they couldve just provided a jug instead. The food does come fairly quickly though so no need to rush orders.
Overall, the sheer value of this restaurant is impressive, and it overshadows its few negatives. There doesnt seem to be competition to the Grand Lafayette when it comes to all-you-can-eat places at this price range. I highly recommend it.
Real rating 4.4
We had won a free brunch with Grand Lafayette and boy was it a grand experience! Heres what we had!
Gua baos – we had ordered the fried chicken and pork belly baos! As expected, both meat baos were delicious and fresh! The fried chicken was tender and juicy and so was the pork belly!
Melon hot cake – served with seasonal fruits and honeydew sauce, this was an interesting combination! The hot cakes were soft and fluffy and the honeydew was not overly sweet!
Matcha french toast – accompanied with caramel popcorn, puffed rice, berries and mint! The caramel popcorn was a unique idea and the french toast was thick and soft but it was a little dry towards the end.
Chicken and waffles – coming with seasonal berries, melted cheese, maple almond and mixed berry coulis, this was a combo to beckon with! The fried chicken was so thick and juicy and the waffles were so thick and crunchy! The melted cheese was a good addition giving that melting sensation! The best part about this was how filling it was hence making it my favorite dish of the day!
Raindrop cakes – we had ordered the rose and Japanese green tea flavored raindrop cakes! My preference was the green tea one as you could taste the matcha sauce and once all is mixed up together, it became such a delicious combo! You can feel the freshness and lightness of the cake plus it was fun to eat too!
Freak shakes – we had ordered the black sesame and matcha matcha freak shakes which were both full of yumminess! Each flavor had a uniqueness – for example the matcha flavor was strong and thick making it really fun to drink! The black sesame was pretty strong and sweet making my sweet tooth really happy!
Overall, we had a fun time at the Grand Lafayette and were very impressed! We would love to try their dinner menu next!
Lafayette has recently relocated to Prahran, in an extremely spacious, modern and bright location.
The menu leans towards Taiwanese and Japanese fusion, which is a good change-up from the other caf options in the area. Interestingly, they also offer a Japanese all-you-can-eat dinner, however Im only here for brunch.
I start with a strong latte, with beans by 5 Senses. Its nicely balanced, with a nutty and dark chocolate edge.
Chicken & Waffles the Belgian waffles are very good: not too sweet and not overly dense. The fried chicken is very crunchy and crisp with loads of batter-wings and the meat is juicy. Its seasoned in a very distinctive Taiwanese style salt, which has a lemon-peppery-herby edge to it quite addictive. Traditionally chicken & waffles are served with syrup for the sweet component of the dish but this version comes with a berry compote and fresh berries. I know the edible flowers are just a bit of a garnish, but I think that trend has sailed – save some money and get rid of it.
Sauteed Mushrooms Very much a classic caf dish with sauted field muchrooms, spinach and bacon. Its served with a nicely poached egg and two toast soldiers. Nicely executed.
Raindrop cake A trend from circa 2015, but its still not that common in Melbourne and this is done pretty well. The clear jelly is lightly sweet and made with agar, which allows the raindrop to hold its shape very well, and also provide a firm jelly texture, which I love. The Tokyo Express is an homage to the Japanese original, served with brown sugar syrup and soybean powder, which gives it a nutty, malty flavour.
The berry yakult smoothie is impressive when it comes out (so you know its for the IG game) but half of it is topped with whipped cream, and the cone is also filled with whipped cream and topped with neon cereal rings. The other half of actual smoothie that I did have was fruity and refreshing, with a sweet yoghurt edge from the yakult. Dont baulk at it – its quite common in Asia to blend yakult and its actually quite a good combo. However I would have preferred the glass to be filled to the top and garnished with simple things like fresh berries.
So yes, Lafayette do seem to be targeting a certain audience, but I think for wider reach and longevity, save some money on the gimmicks like edible flowers and whipped cream waffle cone garnishes. Just focus on that Japanese/Taiwanese fusion and do it well – fortunately, the kitchen has that down pretty well.
Dropped by for the first time today. The cafe was spacious, great for a relaxed meal. We tried the signature fried chicken waffle which came with a decent amount of juicy meat, buttery waffle, and a variety of flavours from green tea, strawberries, to blueberry. Somehow the mix works well and blew me away! We also got the signature confit duck which had a crispy skin and was tender on the inside. We thoroughly enjoyed both of the mains. We also tried the raindrop cake which was a light jelly dessert. Definitely will be back for more!
4.5
I was lucky enough to be invited in to this very popular cafe located in the heart of Prahran.
I must say presentation does count here and now I know why it’s been rated highly everywhere, even for insta photos I was so blown away by their impeccable presentation and taste on food.
Ordered some different dishes that you don’t get or find easy, hence why I love their concept.
Got the fried eggplant bao, black Soba noodles and fried chicken with waffles. Fried chicken and waffles with a sweet sauce actually go together so so well. I thought this was so strange at first but it was the best thing ever.
My plus one mentioned with the Soba noodle dish they need more veggies just felt like she was just eating noodles it didn’t have much with it. We also opted for the frozen sphere ball drinks which is cleverly designed and seriously so refreshing and nourishing which is accompanied by organic coconut water.
I will definitely be back everything about this place is just simply amazing and well applied.
Thanks for inviting me in.
Grand Lafayette 5/5
Food 5/5: the coffee is spot on and I cant think of a better way to start your morning than with the freshly squeezed detox juice! Ordered the salmon soba with Avo and the steak sandwich – both were delicious and very good helpings. The sandwich was incredibly saucy and juicy and the soba noodles were perfectly cooked and served with a soft boiled egg. There is a whole list of bao options which all sound incredible. We tried the chicken and eggplant ones and both were crazily good and the bao bun was so soft and melted in your mouth. To finish off we had the rose signature raindrop cake which looks ridiculously cool and is a light refreshing way to end the meal.
Ambiance 5/5: the fitout is incredibly stylish and there is so much space. Its well designed and very modern and is actually quite beautiful! Lots of whites and light colours with wooden tables and great vibes
Service 5/5: the staff are very lovely and attentive and the wait for food isnt long at all on a busy Saturday morning
Fun fact: the raindrop cake has almost zero calories!
Brunch: 4.5
Came here for brunch and ordered the Signature dishes: Chicken and Waffles, and Confit Duck.
The Chicken and Waffles was a huge dish and the chicken were so crunchy on the outside, flavourful on the inside. The waffles were also well done, when eaten with the chicken, it gives a tinge of sweetness to the salty dish.
It was paired with seasonal berries such as strawberries and blueberries, melted cheese, maple, almond and mixed berry coulis. However, the green crumbs tasted like matcha, but wasn’t noted on the menu, so not sure if it was or not.
Overall, this dish was really really delicious. I enjoyed it.
The confit duck was slow cooked for 48 hours and there was a whole duck leg served with black rice, onion, chorizo, broccolini and pumpkin toast. It was very flavourful and also really tasty. The sauce on the side was a bit sour.
For the drinks, we got the Golden Turmeric Latte. First time trying this, and thought it tasted like curry haha. Not my favourite drink.
Also got the Iced Caramocha which consists of coffee, caramel and chocolate, with a lot of candied popcorn and cream on top. The popcorn tasted really nice when dipped into the drink. However, there were too much and a lot fell off as they clustered together which was a shame. The coffee tasted like vietnamese coffee, a bit bitter, watery taste and then it gradually got better as the cream and popcorn was mixed in.
Thank you for inviting us. We really enjoyed it.
23 dec update – we came back for dinner buffet at 5.30pm with family seeing we enjoyed the brunch so much and were excited about the different jap food options. However we were pretty disappointed. This was probably a 3 out of 5. We were not notified of the timr limit of 1.5hrs when we booked and it was my partner’s birthday. We brought in a cake and there were no notifications that a cake would have a $12 extra fee.
We felt really rushed in the food and I only liked the kaarage chicken which was crunchy and flavourful. The bao had soo little meat in each, and either very salty sauce or sour sauce. The baked scallops were really sour and i saw a transparent piece which looked undercooked.