Sandwich Sandwich is the stuff of Bristol legend: there’s a very good reason why they won a Gold Award in the “Best Indendepent Sandwich Retailer UK” category at The Sammies National Awards in 2019.
They use fresh, locally-sourced ingredients. They have a menu of house sandwiches – or you can choose your own fillings. They sell the most incredible soft-boiled Scotch eggs.
And, of course, their sandwiches are enormous. Like, needing to dislocate your jaw-type enormous. And they’re an absolute steal price-wise, too.
I do have one bugbear, though. In all of the five locations listed on their website, seating is pretty limited. I don’t live or work in town, so if I’m out for lunch, I’ll generally want to go somewhere I can sit down and eat it.
The fact that I said “the five locations listed on their website” is important. Why? Because there’s one Sandwich Sandwich premises where you can order from the regular menu (including their Scotch eggs, sausage rolls and brownies), there’s barely any queuing time, and there’s plenty of seating.
That location is Spectrum Bristol.
The five-storey office building on Bond Street, right opposite Cabot Circus, is home to a branch of Sandwich Sandwich that I only found out about through Google Maps…and a Google review on the listing which confirmed that this particular sandwich bar isn’t solely for the use of Spectrum Bristol workers.
We did turn up at 11.30 to beat the queue. It did feel weird walking past the front desk without saying a word. Nobody batted an eyelid as we walked past, though, and we were served straight away.
As in other Sandwich Sandwich locations, you’ll be faced with a chiller filled with all manner of possible sandwich fillings and an array of sauces, and piled high with pies, flapjacks, Scotch eggs, sausage rolls and brownies. As in their other locations, you can either choose your own combination of fillings, or go for one of their tried and tested combinations. And, if there’s a menu item you normally have at another of their shops that isn’t written on the menu here (like their all-day breakfast sandwich), they’ll happily still make it for you, as long as they have the ingredients.
After deliberating (and salivating) over the menu for a bit, I decided to stick with a tried and tested favourite: their chicken Kiev sandwich (£6.95). It wasn’t quite the same as the chicken Kiev sandwiches I’ve had at other Sandwich Sandwich shops: there was no sign of the pulled bacon, and the cucumber was missing. What there was, though, was a mountain of herby cream cheese and caramelised red onion liberally applied to both sides of the bread (I always choose granary over white) rather than just one, a ridiculous amount of tender breaded chicken, and enough lettuce to surely count as one of my five-a-day.
As ever, it was a masterpiece: a sandwich designed to be Instagrammed with its perfect layers and careful cutting. There was plenty of garlic to give it that real Kiev vibe, and, as usual, it was absolutely enormous. I ate half of it for lunch (almost dislocating my jaw in the process), and saved the other half to take home.
Given the quality of the ingredients, the huge number of potential filling combinations, the taste of their sandwiches and, of course, their size, Sandwich Sandwich sandwiches are an absolute steal for the price. It’s easy to see why they’re still going strong as a Bristol breakfast and lunch institution – and with the promise of frozen cheesecake brownie sandwiches to come this summer, they’re still innovating all the time.
Spectrum Bristol may not be listed on their website as one of their locations, but if you’re looking to enjoy one of their epic sandwiches without the crowds, don’t be shy about walking into a random office building to get your Sandwich Sandwich fix.