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There was a time when a sandwich in Delhi meant two slices of white bread, a generous dash of butter, and a layer of tomatoes, cheese or just the humble mint chutney. It was packed into school tiffins, picnic baskets and for train journeys. Now the capital is sinking its teeth into something new – the gourmet sandwich. In the past year alone, a flurry of chic sandwich outlets and delis have set up shop in Delhi, redefining what a quick bite can be in a city that long swore by chola bhatura or a chicken roll. From Florentine style sandwiches to the softest Japanese bread to the classic French Croque Monsieur, you can get it all here. But why is this suddenly happening? We find out.
Waking up to the sandwich
Compared to Delhi, Mumbai has had a longer love affair with sandwiches if we take into account local versions like the vada pav and the popular Bombay sandwich. But in the capital, the experience was largely limited to the club sandwich thanks to the British legacy. An upmarket clientele happily devoured those three slices of toasted bread with mayonnaise, tomatoes, ham, egg and lettuce, at hotels and clubs sitting by a pool or ordered for room service.
But after overseas travel became the trend, they began to savour sandwiches like the Banh Mi in Vietnam, Croque Monsieur in France, the Katsu sandwich in Japan and the American range like the classic BLT, the Cuban and Pastrami. As taste buds became more adventurous, they wanted the same experience back home.
To satiate those cravings, a new wave of sandwich makers have risen to the occasion, dishing out sandwiches made with shokupan (Japanese milk bread), Italian schiacciata, Vietnamese pâté, French béchamel cream, Korean kimchi and condiments made in-house.
Tiny shops, big flavour
Dedicated sandwich shops like Kona, Dumbo Deli, Shokupan - The Sandwich Shop, SAVAGE, Pete’s Deli, Lexi’s Gourmet Sandwiches and cafes like Espressos AnyDay and Monique are doing brisk business. Most of these spaces are tiny, while others are delivery only models. But one thing is common – they love experimenting and are not shy to be different.
A couple of months ago, Radhika Khandelwal opened Kona, a sandwich shop in Greater Kailash, offering Asian-inspired sandwiches with house-made pickles and punchy condiments. Think fluffy Japanese-style egg salad tucked into soft shokupan slices. In the tiny space with seating for just four, what matters is not the size but the flavour. Sandwiches like ‘Fry me to the Moon,’ a crispy chicken with house-fermented kimchi and ‘Stand Banh-Miiiii’, made with 14 hour slow-roasted pork, house pâté, and pickled daikon on a crusty baguette, are the most popular ones.
“I think Delhi cannot get enough of chicken. When you are selling something as basic as a sandwich you have to do it right. There’s no scope for hit and miss,” said Khandelwal. “We have 14 items on the menu and every weekend we drop a new sandwich,” she adds.
Despite the small size of many of these sandwich shops, the crowds outside are swelling as they slather the bread with different global flavours.
At Dumbo Deli, which opened recently, people are lining up for a taste of Italy. Their Florentine-style sandwiches come on schiacciata – a thinner, crispier cousin of focaccia, and all the cheese and meats are imported from Italy’s Parma region while the balsamic comes from the farm of Massimo Bottura. The Rs.1000 Tuscan Truffle has fresh truffle shavings inside.
Owner Prateek Gupta is overwhelmed by the response. “On the first day we got sold out in one and a half hours. Even now we open at 12.30 and sell out in a couple of hours,” he shares. Among their bestsellers is Amalfi – a vegetarian sandwich with pesto, rocket leaves, sun dried tomatoes and bocconcini. Another hot favourite is Florence, that comes with pistachio cream, chicken mortadella and lettuce. He was inspired after seeing the 2 km-long queue outside the famous sandwich shop, All’Antico Vinaio, in Florence. He says the trick lies in getting the bread right. “This sandwich is really light because of the thin, crisp bread. We did not want it to be too bready and wanted more taste of the filling than the bread itself,” says Gupta.
In fact the bread has in some ways become the hero. It varies from the soft Japanese shokupan to the crisp Italian schiacciata, from the French brioche and baguette to the fermented sourdough.
A young clientele
The embrace of the sandwich is also driven by the city’s new clientele -- working millennials and Gen Z. It fits their lifestyle: fast, but still indulgent.
That is why when Espressos AnyDay opened as a breakfast and brunch spot, in Gurugram, the city of young professionals, it found people couldn’t get enough of the sandos. “I was sceptical in the beginning because these sandos look big but then I noticed people eating a full one. Till July we had already sold 10,000,” says Chef Tarannum Sehgal.
The response prompted her to add three more sandwiches to the menu. The Fried Chicken and Tamago are the hot sellers. I particularly loved the Four Cheese Chilli Melt served with hot sauce. Sehgal has even introduced the legendary Anthony Bourdain sandwich but given it a twist by adding kimchi to it.
At Monique, a French patisserie and cafe, you can have a classic Croque Monsieur that one may have missed in Paris. It’s made with proper béchamel cream. “We serve it with chips so people can make a full meal out of it,” says co-owner and chef Maxime Montay. They have cold and baked and will soon add grilled ones including a Duck and Brie.
Maxime feels that people have a comfort factor with sandwiches – it can be an easy to grab snack or an indulgent meal. But until recently good gourmet sandwiches were missing in the market. “I always found the Indian sandwiches very rich, creamy and full of mayonnaise.” This gap is now being bridged.
Others agree. After giving Delhi some juicy burgers at Chard, Hanisha Singh and Jamsheed Bhote have ventured into the sandwich space. SAVAGE in Hauz Khas offers a range of interesting sandwiches including an eggplant one. “For young working professionals who eat lunch on the go there’s nothing easier than a sandwich. We didn’t have good options or places only for sandwiches, but that has changed,” says Hanisha. Sold on artisanal bread, layered with gourmet ingredients, costing as much as four digits, and still selling out, the sandwich is definitely having its luxe moment in the Indian capital city.