What: A deluxe sandwich shop, which has taken over the former Maitre Choux on the corner of Dean Street and Old Compton Street. Billing itself as ‘London’s premier sandwich brand’, Crunch serves a range of hot butties that are served toasted in the brand’s housemade brioche-inspired bread.
Who: Crunch was founded by friends Sacha Yonan and Michael Medovnikov, who came up with the concept during the Covid lockdown. The pair subsequently joined forces with chef Joni Francisco, who trained under Alexis Gauthier at Gauthier Soho and Nuno Mendes at Chiltern Firehouse. Crunch launched as a pop-up in Hackney in 2022 before opening a kiosk at Old Spitalfields Market that, according to the press notes, currently sells upwards of 15,000 sandwiches a month.
The food: Crunch’s Soho menu features a rotating range of sandwiches including staples from the Spitalfields site. Options on the launch menu include the patty melt (£11) featuring truffle beef patties with red Leicester cheese, crispy onion marmalade and black truffle mayonnaise; katsu sando (£12) featuring deep-fried pork, Japanese apple and raspberry jam, shredded hispi cabbage and nori and shichimi togarashi mayonnaise; and the umami ‘shroomwich’ (£11) with fried oyster mushrooms, miso marinated vegetables and nori and shichimi togarashi mayonnaise. Alongside this there’s a range of sides including a thousand-layer potato (£5) that’s deep fried and served with a side of Bloody Mary ketchup; and a dessert of deep-fried French toast (£6) topped with sweet apple and mini chocolate chunks and served with a side of dulce de leche. A breakfast menu is also being developed by the team and is expected to launch in the coming months.
To drink: With its first permanent site, Crunch is able to serve drinks for the first time. Options include a range of cocktails and beers, alongside soft drinks including a home brewed ice tea.
The vibe: Designed primarily for the grab-and-go market, Crunch holds space for 16 covers including four seats at a bar overlooking the open kitchen. Interiors have been designed by KIDZ Studio and also feature a natural wood counter, stainless steel surfaces, white tiles, and modern pendant lighting.
And another thing: Cunch’s tagline is ‘sandwich [up]rising’, which features on the signage of its new London location and is even used as the URL for its website. The group describes its concept as ‘a contemporary hack to a traditional snack’ that ‘could rescue us from the bland and boring’. It’s one of a number of brands in the capital looking to make dough in the elevated sarnie space. Others include Sandwich Sandwich, the Bristol-based operator that now has two sites in the capital and plans for plenty more in the future; and the Italian-American inspired Dom’s Subs, which now has three sites across London. Then there’s overseas operators including Milanese sandwich shop De Santis, which launched its first London site last year in the crypt of Mercato Metropolitano in Mayfair; and US founded chain Which Wich, which is to open a second London site later this year amid plans for a wider UK expansion push. It’s safe to say London’s sandwich game is on the ascendancy right now. A sandwich uprising indeed!
60 Dean Street, London W1D 6AW // https://www.sandwichuprising.com/