Season of the ’wich: How gourmet sandwiches set off a flavour revolution
Are we in the middle of a sandwich revolution? Whether carbs are trendy again is debatable. But specialty sandwich shops are popping up across India. Suddenly, we all have that one friend who’s into “brioche buns”, pandemic-era sourdough is now easier to find, there’s shokupan (Japanese milk bread) on café menus, we’re learning that schiacciata is a Tuscan flatbread (not a kind of nerve pain). Even glazed doughnuts are coming filled with gourmet ingredients.
Obviously, these aren’t the white triangles from the lunchboxes Mum would pack on busy days. Not when prices for some sandwiches cross over into the four digits. And not when some fillings include fruit, ice cream, Onam Sadya favourites and Kerala chicken stew. Sandwich-making is trendy business, but lots can go wrong between two slices of bread – including the bread. See how some places are figuring it out.
Heroes, and a few villainsSando Club, Bengaluru
Jassil Jamaludhin’s gourmet sandwich brand was born out of his weekend supper club. “After a few editions, we picked a niche,” he says. “Sandwiches seemed underserved. And compared to burgers and pizzas, they allow for more experimentation.” He and Carl Pinto opened an 18-seater diner at Bengaluru’s Ashok Nagar six months ago.
They thought it would attract the young crowd. But everyone started lining up. And Jamaludhin has figured out why. Each of their sandwiches has a defining flavour that “low key slaps you in the face”. Their bestsellers include a Tiger Sando: Panko-fried prawns and citrus slaw on shokupan, with a soy-cured egg served on the side; and Grind on my Thai: Fried chicken and som tam slaw, with a green curry mayo. In the Mary’s Lamb, tangy vindaloo provides the punch. There’s also a ros omelette parotta sandwich with a syringe of green jalapeño gastrique (“Because we’re a bit bougie like that,” says one of their chefs in an Instagram video).
But the menu, on the whole, tries to offer something for everyone. “Like the Indian thali, we’ve tried to hit all the taste buds,” Jamaludhin says. This means dropping paneer from the ingredients (because “vegetarians deserve more”) and offering falafel, fried eggplant, chunky tzatziki and oyster mushrooms.
Getting India to take sandwiches seriously is taking time. “People don’t have a mental benchmark for what a gourmet sandwich should taste like and cost,” says Pinto. In their pursuit of adventure, they’ve occasionally bitten off more than they could chew. A slow-cooked buffalo sandwich with pickled guava and dragonfruit which was too flavourful to land. Their Onam Sadya sandwich, with beetroot pachadi, cabbage thoran, fried banana slices and kachumbar salad in potato buns, was polarising but popular. The everyday challenge is trying to determine “what is a banger and what is too much.”
Gourmet, and a little gangstaSuperdogs, Gurugram and Chennai
Indians are familiar with sandwiches. But hotdogs? They’re still seen as distinctly American. Perhaps giving them a gourmet glow-up might help, believes Utkarsh Priyadarshi, founder of Superdogs. In five years, the brand has opened three outlets across Gurugram (including a year-old diner) and Chennai. And by glow-up, they go the whole dog.
Brioche buns are baked fresh, with nothing stored beyond two days. Condiments and fillings are made in-house, using fresh produce and quality meats. “Sausages are considered unhealthy, mainly because people don’t know what goes into them,” says Priyadarshi. “Ours are handmade, using only chicken breast and natural casing. No preservatives or artificial flavouring.” The chilli dog contains chicken chilli that has been cooked in beer for four hours, and a cheese sauce – not quite the stuff of American sportsfield menus. The Seattle hotdog comes with cream cheese and toasted jalapeños. Even the vegetarian dogs are gourmet: Mushroom and green lentils, sweet potato and quinoa.
“Nobody wakes up in the morning thinking about hotdogs,” admits Priyadarshi. So, they had to make their offerings as visible as possible, selling at flea markets and music festivals before delivery services started. Sticking to non-Indian flavours (rather than the halfway familiar butter chicken hot dogs) puts their battle steeper uphill. But they’re leaning in a little bit. There are Superburgers on the menu, and they’re also aiming for the after-party crowd, grilling dogs and smashing burgers until 3am. It’s still gourmet, just more convenient. And there appears to be a shift. Superdogs sold over 5,000 hotdogs at the diner alone in December.
As with any new food brand, being trendy is half the battle won. Superdogs’s past successes include a Tuscan dog with pesto, burrata, sun-dried tomatoes and balsamic reduction. They’re planning a birria hotdog next. Not every idea lands — Priyadarshi acknowledges as much in Superdogs’ Instagram series “Will it Hotdog?”. He rated a spaghetti carbonara inspired-hotdog (bacon, egg, parmesan) a 5/10. Too much mayo and the bacon was too crispy. “I’m going to put pineapple on a hotdog and piss some people off,” says Priyadarshi. “We want to be boisterous and ever changing.”
Classic, and cleared outDumbo Deli, Delhi
It’s tough for a new sandwich brand to try something new. But it’s tougher for a new brand that gives them an elegant edge. Dumbo Deli, three months old, is all about chic slim six-by-six-inch schiacciatas, or Florentine sandwiches, sold from noon until they sell out. And they sell out as early as 3pm.
“We wanted to do something simple, but refined,” says owner Prateek Gupta, who is also behind Delhi’s Café Dali and Vinci. The sandwiches that move the fastest include Bella (burrata foam, romaine lettuce, pistachio crema, basil pesto and confit heirloom tomatoes) Viola (Parma ham and cream of nduja) and Tuscan Truffle (mushroom fricassee, rocket leaves, truffle pecorino crema and truffle shavings). It’s all priced between ₹600 and ₹1,000 (for the Tuscan Truffle). It’s not all Italian. Dumbo Deli serves matcha lattes, for which they mill leaves every three days.
Already, Gupta says, the sandwich business is shaking up industry myths. Most chefs say that the preference for chicken dominates. “But the popularity of our Parma ham sandwich says otherwise.” And while India associates gourmet sandwiches with young professionals, Gupta sees them all, including “60-year-olds who come by for a coffee and a sandwich, or moms picking up a post-school snack for their kids.”
There’s a hard layer to soft sandwiches. Gupta, like everyone else in the business, says that positioning bread and fillings as a gourmet food with matching prices is challenging. “Twenty people will love them, but 20 will also hate them because they expect something magical at this price.” Not everyone appreciates the subtle flavours of Tuscany. Some customers find the Tuscan Truffle sandwich, which costs ₹1,000, to be underwhelming. “In general, sandwich flavours such as onion, tomato and cheese still do well in India. And people are strict about what they like. Even changing lettuce to arugula may not be received well.”
Meanwhile on Insta: Chetna Makan’s sandwich series is packing in the views
In April 2024, author and food writer Chetna Makan filmed herself making a “good looking paneer sandwich” at her home in Kent, England, and posted it on Instagram (@ChetnaMakan). She went on to make a few others, starting her series Between the Slices. “It blew up,” she recalls. “People couldn’t get enough. It wasn’t just views, but so much engagement.”
The series recently completed 100 episodes, covering familiar flavours such as chicken tikka and prawn and mayo, to more adventurous chickpea patties rolled in mixed seeds in focaccia. One episode, about a yoghurt and crunchy veggie white bread sandwich, pan fried with mustard seeds has seven million views. Makan’s account now has 7.2 lakh followers.
Even she is amazed at how much attention people pay to sandwich videos. “I see a lot of sandwich content on social media. It’s nice to watch, but many of them are over-the-top. I wouldn’t want to make them.” Her secret sauce is that the recipes are simple, calling for everyday ingredients and leftovers, often meant to be eaten over the kitchen counter. “I don’t just slap things together to cause a sensation or make a viral reel,” says Makan. “I may sometimes burn the bread a bit while grilling the sandwich. The series is casual, it doesn’t have to be perfect.”
She’s not run out of ideas. Makan started Season 2 in October 2025, with combos ranging from harissa chicken and mango, to chickpea flour and grilled cheese. A good sandwich, she believes, needs some protein, a flavourful sauce for moisture, and an element of crunch – pickle, cabbage or salad. “Social media may have played a part in promoting or exaggerating the love of sandwiches. But they’re so versatile and convenient. What’s not to like?”
