THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
103 Talbot Road, London W11 2AT
There were two reasons I was keen to visit the Secret Sandwich Shop, close to the tourist attractions of Portobello Road. Firstly it is literally a stone’s throw away from my first apartment in London when the fashionable edginess of Notting Hill was not beyond the reach of ordinary mortals. And secondly I love sandwiches.
I also prefer the maximalist (American) to the minimalist (British) approach to sandwich filling. On this score, things looked very promising and I was also excited by the prospect of Japanese shokupan or ‘milk bread’. But on arrival, that promise began to fade. The Secret Sandwich Shop was a bar and nightclub in the 1960s and it doesn’t appear to have changed very much since then. It’s small and rather dark with lots of shiny black plastic, splashes of primary color, loud music, and staff who looked a little surprised at the appearance of customers who wanted a table.
In fact it is still a bar and nightclub after 10.30pm and becomes a sandwich shop from 8 in the morning. While the dual identity might be a good way of extracting value from an asset, it doesn’t make for a very satisfying daytime customer experience.
On offer are different sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We were in time for the breakfast menu. But despite being the only customers we waited 25 minutes for a Full English (sausage, fried egg, baked beans, black pudding, bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo and brown sauce all for £13) and a Bondi Breakfast (fried egg, avocado, pickled chillies, cheese, spinach, tomato and mayo for £11). Equally extravagant combinations catering for carnivores and vegetarians are available for lunch and dinner.
The hot drinks machine had broken down so we contented ourselves with fresh orange juice (£4). The sandwiches were delivered to the table wrapped in paper on a tray with two bottles of juice. The ingredients were freshly cooked and plentiful and the sandwiches were all you could ask for from this food type. The Bondi was particularly fine – generous amounts of avocado, perfectly cooked egg, crunchy vegetables and a well-judged chilli tang.
It was a tasty but not very restful experience due to the constant coming and going of food delivery people. Suddenly the obvious hit us – and also explained the lengthy delay. The Secret Sandwich Shop is set up first and foremost as a take-away outlet. Although you can sit down, it’s not the best way to experience what is on offer. And quite frankly, being so very hefty, the sandwiches are difficult to eat with any vestige of decorum. Much better to consume them at home with forgiving friends and family.
The whole experience was something of a walk down memory lane for me. When I lived almost next door with a group of untidy student friends who were far too busy to shop for food or cook, my 21 year old self would have loved the Secret Sandwich Shop. My older self wishes it well.