The first reference of a club sandwich was made in former The Evening World newspaper in New York on November 18, 1889. It read: "Have you tried a Union Club sandwich yet? Two toasted pieces of Graham bread, with a layer of turkey or chicken and ham between them, served warm.”
Since then, the club sandwich has evolved. These days it is mostly a triple-decker creation, with sliced white bread lightly toasted and filled with turkey or chicken, bacon, lettuce and tomato, and almost always some form of egg. The club is a famous but oft-misunderstood sandwich. Countless people make it but few make it right, or well. In London, here are eight versions worth the money.
The English Rose Cafe
This version is vaguely similar to the club served at Les Deux Magots, the famous and possibly overrated Parisian café, but doesn’t feature egg and comes with crisps rather than fries. It would be better with egg and with fries, as is the case with almost every warm (rather than deli) sandwich. That said, it’s a strong example of a well-made café club, with plenty of chicken, bacon, lettuce and tomato between traditional toasted white bread and plenty of mayonnaise. But it’s the price that renders the sandwich worthy of inclusion above all else: at £11, it’s good value.
4 Lower Grosvenor Place, SW1W 0EJ, theenglishrosecafe.co.uk
Cafe Mondo
A neo-club sandwich, this is a messy, hyper-modern version of a classic, crafted without elegance but with precision all the same. The chicken used here is breaded to be a cutlet, while the lettuce and tomato are ungainly but big and full of flavour. The bacon is crisp, while the mayonnaise is spruced up with fragrant dill. In lieu of thin, inexpensive sliced white bread, here it’s thick-cut sourdough, spongy and soft, which just about holds up against the generosity of the ingredients. While new-age, in essence, this club goes back to the original, which wasn’t a triple decker and featured no egg.
42 Peckham Road, SE5 8PX, @cafe_mondo_se5
Claridge’s
The club sandwich at Claridge’s comes on an oblong tray, possibly for the purposes of symmetry. Here it’s sliced into two rectangles rather than quarters, with a portion of salad on one side and crisps on the other. Presentation aside, the sandwich is roundly true to its modern form: roast chicken breast is paired with sliced boiled egg, crisp bacon, lettuce and tomato, the ingredients generous, precise and flavourful. The bread is lightly toasted, but the mayonnaise is used quite sparingly. Some might wish to add more pepper. The £40 price tag is hefty but entirely unsurprising given its locale, which is beautiful and wherein service is impeccable.
Brook Street, W1K 4HR, claridges.co.uk
Park Hyatt Riverside
The most interesting thing about this club is the preparation of eggs, which are cooked to a thin, spring onion-flecked omelette and slipped between everything else in a central position. Also important here is the size — the sandwich, served as two rectangles, is tall, mostly down to the generosity of chicken, which is plump and not too dry, though they don’t skimp on the bacon, salad or mayonnaise either. This club also includes Comte, indulgent, which would be overkill were the eggs not served as an omelette. Pleasing above all else might be the thinness of the bread — here it’s as it should be, a helpful and resourceful carrier, though not unsturdy. £21.
7 Nine Elms Lane, Nine Elms, SW8 5PH , hyatt.com
Bluebird City
The club here is constructed in delicate white bread lightly scored on a grill, crusts removed. Here there are only two quarters rather than four, while sliced avocado has been added, which might not suit all tastes. That said, customers can request no avocado, so it’s not at all disastrous. Instead of boiled eggs, chopped or sliced, here it’s made with a fried one (also the case at Vintry & Mercer, a five-star hotel popular with liverymen round the corner). Chips here are notably good. It’s almost a dream room service club. A wise use of £18 in the City of London.
South Place Hotel, 3 South Place, EC2M 2AF, bluebirdcity.com
Pan Pacific
This is an exceptional club as it delivers so beautifully on a textural front — fillings are sliced or chopped finely so that they mix well. The boiled egg works dutifully, effortlessly with the lettuce and tomatoes, while the chicken and bacon bring a warm, chargrilled flavour that bounces off the toasted bread, which is well buttered. Another thing concerns is the composition: not only are the ingredients partly mixed together, the two sections of the sandwich — the compartments either side of the middle layer of bread — feature everything: meat, egg and salad. And so it’s good value, not least because you get four triangles for £22.
80 Houndsditch, EC3A 7AB, panpacific.com
Polo Bar
This club is far removed from the norm and some would argue it doesn’t constitute being one, but it’s something different, it’s fun, and it’s here, so calm down. The Polo Bar is one of London’s many British-Italian diners, decades old and it still has a 24-hour licence. Anyone who’s stayed for too long at another of the capital’s all-night venues, Duck & Waffle — five minutes up the road — might avail themselves of one of these to sober up. It’s a breakfast club, so plump sausages replace poultry and caramelised onions are added for lubrication. Otherwise, the recipe holds fast, although the bread is thick white bloomer and the egg is fried.
176 Bishopsgate, EC2M 4NQ, polobar.co.uk
Pret
The high street chain calls this its “Classic super club”, though it’s not really classic at all. That said, while Pret has mostly lost its way in recent years, this sandwich remains a relatively strong option and at circa £5.99, isn’t too bad price-wise for those who need something quick at an airport or train station. Here the offering is clean and simple: a two-decker sandwich of chicken, crisp bacon — “beechwood smoked”, though could it be a flavouring? We dare not say — plenty of sliced lettuce and tomatoes. Pret has become known for its signature “malty” bread and it’s used here. Recently, Pret seems to have largely stopped underfilling its sandwiches, and when this one is properly put together, it’s not bad.
Across London, pret.co.uk
Club sandwiches to try:
- The Chesterfield, Mayfair: the club here looks similar to the one at Claridge’s and has been highly rated by others. £16.
- The Langham: a refined, understated take, here it’s made with smoked turkey and sliced ham rather than bacon, and with egg mayonnaise alongside the salad. £28.
- Sandwich Sandwich, across London: a relatively new option at the viral Bristol-born sandwich shop, here the club is made with roast chicken, thick-cut bacon, egg mayo, cucumber, tomato and rocket. £12.50.
- The Connaught, Mayfair: part of the same hotel group as Claridge’s, the club is made with chicken and turkey bacon, and is £3 less at £37.
