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20th Dec 2016

The Camden Street Sambo Challenge

emmakenneally

Camden Street… So many sandwiches, so little time. We work not too far from Camden Street and it’s our first port of call whenever we’re in need of a tasty sambo. The surrounding streets (mainly Harcourt Street and Hatch Street) are so buzzing with office workers that there are tonnes of places to choose from. We decided to check out the top sandwich spots in and around Camden Street and rank them for your convenience. We decided to go for a chicken sandwich and soup combo in each spot and see how they would fare. I ought to note we do like all of these places and visit them all regularly, we’re just rating them all on what we got on one particular day when we ranked them all alongside one another.

1. Dough Boys

Dough Boys is the new kid on the block but we were so impressed with them we had to put them at the top of the pile. Despite being the least appetising looking (the sambo looked a bit limp and grey), it tasted incredible. The bread was lovely and fresh and the chipotle sauce that the chicken came had all of our mouths watering!

The soup was Thai onion soup and was surprisingly good. It had a lovely, rich flavour from the coconut milk and came with a hot chilli smack in the face. We were definitely fans and with customer service this good, you can’t go far wrong here.

Cost – The soup was €3 and the sambo was €5.

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2. Green Bench

I’m biased because Green Bench is my favourite lunch spot, but they do a great job of mixing up their menu every day with fresh and tasty options that feel indulgent despite being very nutritious.

Their sandwiches are definitely for the more adventurous Joe with our toasted chicken sambo being filled with tabbouleh, hummus, yoghurt mayo, grilled veg, feta and rocket. Their fillings are not what you would usually expect in a deli but are always surprisingly good. While it may not suit the meat and two veg man, we’re massive fans.

The butternut squash and sage soup was really nice, it tasted great and was nice and thick. The sandwich was so filling though, we probably could have done without the soup.

Cost – €7 for the two which seems a fair price considering the feed you receive in return.

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3. Listons

Listons is a fantastic deli and their chicken club sandwich didn’t disappoint. Their fresh crusty bread is always incredible and their meats are always delicious. Our only critique is that the sandwich probably could have done with a bit more filling, but we did hoover up every last crumb.

The soup was a nice and hearty cauliflower and cheese soup, and it tasted absolutely delicious. There was a nice hit of cheese from it without being overpowering.

Cost – €8.25 for the two was a bit pricey but if you left the soup behind the sandwich on it’s own would cost €5 which isn’t too bad.

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4. Sister Sadie

I personally loved Sister Sadie’s poached chicken sandwich as it came in a lemony, spicy harissa mayo that was bursting with their signature Moroccan flavours within a soft bread roll. The only downside here was that it was a little too bready, we would have liked some more fillings and salad to fill it up and add a little crunch.

We were disappointed with the mushroom soup, it was a little bland despite the tasty blue cheese topping. Overall we do love this place though, we just think the soup wasn’t having a good day that day.

Cost – at €6.95 it was the best value of the bunch.

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5. Pig & Heifer

Despite the men in the office being huge Pig and Heifer fans we weren’t that impressed when we paid them a visit last week for a chicken and chorizo sambo. The tomato bread tasted incredible but was doughy in the middle like it was a bit undercooked. The fillings were very tasty though.

The vegetable soup tasted like plastic (sounds like a weird description but we all tasted it and felt it had a bizarre taste of plastic to it), it wasn’t very warm and had a watery consistency. We think they should stick to the sambos which they usually excel at. Overall this is a great spot for a good feed and generous portions but it was definitely having an off day when we visited.

Cost – €6.50 sambo and €2.75 soup seemed a bit pricey, but they’re known for their huge portions so it’s hard to complain about the price.

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6. Mortons

I wasn’t impressed at all, I thought it was like a posh version of a Centra sandwich and the bread was a very basic sliced pan too.However, the others in the office thought I was being excessively harsh and liked knowing there was somewhere nearby doing simple but tasty classics. It was generously packed with cheese, chicken and lots of salad fillings so eating here definitely will fill you up until dinner.

The soup was a good minestrone with nice, chunky veg and a great flavour. This is the perfect place for a simple sambo.

Cost – €8.75 for the two.

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