If your favourite version of sambo is filled with stuffing, brie, and a hint of cranberry sauce, then you’re in luck.
While Christmas dinner is a one, maybe two day affair, the Christmas sambo can be enjoyed for the majority of November, and well into December. No longer are they something you only get to enjoy at 10pm on Christmas evening, or for the days leading up to New Years; Dublin cafés have heard the call in recent years to include the Christmas sambo on their winter menu, giving us weeks to enjoy all the brie.
Tír Deli
Location: Hatch Street
Tír Deli are back this year with their Christmas tree mayo, a truly unique condiment that they make using some authentic fresh spruce that they source from the Dublin Mountains.
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147 Deli
Location: Parnell Street
It’s no surprise that the 147 Deli Christmas offering would be impressive. They’ve got honey glazed ham, turkey, bacon fat sprouts, crispy bacon crumb, brie cheese, sage and hazelnut stuffing, cranberry sauce, all served with a side of chicken wing gravy.
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Mister Magpie
Locations: Ballsbridge
You will only find this festive delight at Mister Magpie’s Ballsbridge location, being served from 12pm until sold out Monday to Friday. It contains roasted turkey crown, home-baked ham, homemade stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce, herby mayo, brie, all sealed together by two slices of Firehouse sourdough.
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Pickles
Location: Kimmage
If you’re living in the Dublin 12 area, you can grab a festive Christmas sambo from Pickles, based on Sundrive Road.
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Timber Trove Café
Location: Rathfarnham
The Christmas menu is back at Timber Trove Café and they’ve got mince pies, Christmas cupcakes, and of course an absolutely stacked Christmas sambo special for the season that’s in it.
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Hen’s Teeth
Location: Blackpitts
You can get all sorts of Christmassy items at Hen’s Teeth with their Festive Lunch menu, including a baked ham and turkey crown sambo. They keep it simple, just adding stuffing, cranberry, and brie to the sandwich, and it will set you back €11. This menu is available between the 9th and 11th December and the 16th and 18th December.
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Poulet Bonne Femme
Multiple Locations
Poulet Bonne Femme opts out of turkey and goes for free range Irish chicken in their Christmas sandwich instead, combined with honey roast ham, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and a little bit of mustard.
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Grove Road
Location: Grove Road
The Christmas sandwich from Grove Road skips on the brie, choosing cheddar instead, and also adds caramelised onions, an addition we have yet to see on any of the other festive sambo offerings. As a big fan of caramelised onions, I approve of their inclusion here.
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South Bank Café
Location: Harold’s Cross
You can pick up a Christmas sandwich from South Bank Café from now until the 23rd December, both in-store or for takeaway.
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Urbanity
Location: Smithfield
Urbanity is currently switching up their Christmas sandwich every week, using different chefs to create their own spin on the classic sambo. In its second week they have the Pigs in Blanket sandwich, stuffed with sausage rolls (yes, you read that right), carrot and parsnip crisps, thyme mayo, cranberry ketchup, and more. They also have a veggie offering for the entire month.
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Greenville Deli
Locations: Inchicore & Rathmines
While they have the more traditional (meat-filled) Christmas sambo on offer, Greenville Deli also serves a vegan version for all the plant-based foodies out there. In this sandwich you’ll find roasted sweet potato, green lentils with nutmeg cinnamon, cloves, and a ton of vegan stuffing. You can find the Greenville Deli Christmas sambos in their own cafés, as well as Blackberry, Grounded, and a select few more spots around Dublin.
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Gerard’s Deli
Location: Sir Rogerson’s Quay
For all those working out by Sir Rogerson’s Quay, you can get your Christmas sambo fix at Gerard’s Deli (and it’s a goodie). This rendition is stacked high, absolutely exploding with fillings such as baked ham, crispy onions, Gerard’s very own stuffing, and cranberry mayo.
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Hole in the Wall
Location: Phoenix Park
The team at the Ho Ho Ho Hole in the wall have already rolled out their Christmas sambo spesh on the menu, which gives Stephen’s Day leftover sambo levels of density. There’s just the right amount of cranberry sauce to turkey and ham ratio, with lightly seasoned stuffing squashed on top, all served up on some nicely toasted bread with some hunky dorys on the side.
Leroys
Location: Merrion Cricket Club
Sorry but that looks like a seriously sexy sandwich (who knew sandwiches could be sexy). Leroys brings together roast turkey, smoked ham, bacon, cranberry jam, chestnut and sprout slaw, pickled beets, and of course a good helping of brie and stuffing. One of the best Christmas sambos in Dublin.
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Puck Lane
Location: Whitehall
Puck Lane are serving their Christmas sambo to Dublin 9 dwellers with the option of either gravy or gravy mayo (if you’re feeling a bit rogue). They also promise a lot of festive decorations including Christmas cups in-store for anyone thinking of popping in.
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Meltdown
Location: Montague Street & Leeson Street
The Happy Cheesemas sambo is back with Meltdown for the festive season. Filled with all the classics you’d expect, crispy bacon, roast turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, creamy brie, as well as cheddar and mayo. It’ll come as no surprise given their stellar reputation that Meltdown houses one of the best Christmas sarnies about.
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Goats Gruff
Location: Strawberry Beds
Served between 11am and 3pm on the daily, you can pair your Christmas sambo with garlic dip at Goats Gruff. As with their pizza, this sambo is wood-fired to give it that delicious crispiness and to ensure the brie is melted to absolute perfection.
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Grounded
Location: Clonskeagh
We appreciate how on the ball Grounded were bringing back their Christmas sambo. The café sources their sambos from Greenville Deli, so also does a vegan rendition of this classic, much appreciated for all the plant-based individuals out there.
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Surge
Location: Clontarf
Another spot sourcing their Christmas sambos from Greenville Deli is Surge Coffee in Clontarf, providing the festive goodness in the Dublin 3 area too.
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Póg
Multiple Locations
Just look at all that brie. We’re already sold on Póg’s take on the traditional Christmas sandwich simply from this photograph, and luckily it’s available at all five of their Dublin locations, making it easy for Dublin locals to get their hands on one this festive season.
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Griolladh
Locations: Arnott’s, Thomas Street, Malahide
Of course Griolladh have answered the call to make a Christmas sambo which is essentially just a Christmas dinner in sambo, fittingly named the Crambo to fit in with their regular range.
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Ebb & Flow
Location: Camden Street
Ebb & Flow are keeping it simple with their Christmas sambo, with a turkey, brie, cranberry combination finished off with garlic mayo and stuffing. Delish. Definitely a contender for your first Christmas sambo of the year if you’re in Dublin city centre.
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So there you have it, a ton of Dublin cafés serving up the iconic and delicious Christmas sambo we all look forward to eating at the end of the year. No doubt more will pop up in the coming weeks as it gets closer to the big day.
Header images via Instagram/urbanitydub & /groveroad
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