I tried Harrods’ £28 sandwich to see if it was really worth around £3 per BITE
SOME would say the humble sandwich is the backbone of British lunches, and usually an affordable food choice.
That was until Harrods decided to push the boat out and create a wagyu steak sandwich that will set you back a whopping £28 – yes, you heard right.
Forget your £4 meal deals that also include a drink and snack as well as a butty of your choice – Harrods’ choice is possibly the UK’s dearest sandwich.
Fabulous decided to put this “elite” lunchtime offering to the test to see if it’s really worth the eye-watering price tag.
We set off to Knightbridge and plunged ourselves into the depths of the world-famous department.
After getting lost a number of times among the sea of designer bags and glittering jewellery, we eventually wound up in the Harrods’ Food Hall.
Given the hype of their expensive sandwich, we were worried the lunchtime crowd would have swept the counter bare and we’d be too late to try it for ourselves.
However, when we arrived there were still numerous sandwiches on display, and we wondered if this was an indication of the price or the taste – or perhaps Harrods always keeps its supplies well-stocked.
Either way, we took our sandwich to the self-service checkout to pay the painfully-large price tag.
But then came the fun part – the tasting.
As well as containing the prime meat — usually imported from Japan — the snack also features other pricey ingredients.
It has porcini and truffle butter, gold mustard mayonnaise, mushrooms, rocket and braised onions.
Truffle is one of the most expensive ingredients going, costing between 65p and £1 for a single gram.
First up was the dilemma of how to actually eat the sandwich, which had two large slabs of sourdough on either side of the ingredients.
I decided to chop it in half, and this was harder than I expected given the thickness of the fresh bread, which is made in Harrods itself.
Many people will know the pain of taking the first bite of a sandwich and getting just bread and no filling, but thankfully this was not the case here.
The wagyu was filled right to the edge, as it should be for that price, and was cooked medium rare as I like it.
Alongside the meat you could really taste a harmony of flavours, including the “gold” mustard mayonnaise (dijon not real gold), and beer-braised onions.
Add to that the portobello mushrooms and truffle butter and you have a truly decadent experience.
The sandwich – at nearly £30 – was obviously an indulgent treat and while it was delicious, it was a little too much on the rich side to eat frequently, even if you could afford it.
And it was rather oily which was off-putting.
Unlike a bog-standard supermarket ham and cheese sandwich, I won’t be forgetting the taste in a while.
But would I buy it again? I wouldn’t steak a claim on it.