When it comes to determining the hipster level of your brunch spot, bread is an excellent litmus test. One point for garlic ciabatta, two for seeded rye, three for a brioche bun, and, of course, five gold stars for a slice of artisan sourdough toast, the trendiest of baked goods in the bread basket.
What doesn’t even make it on the scale is sliced white bread. In fact, it’s a sure fire way to guarantee you will never appear on Instagram or a Time Out top ten list ever again.
However, all might be about to change because - whisper it - white bread might be making a return. According to a new report in The Telegraph, the coolest new restaurant trend for 2018 involves sandwiches made with sliced white bread. We imagine the bread bashing bloggers are horrified at the thought.
Specifically, it’s the ‘sando’ (the Japanese and Australian slang word for “sandwich”) that’s gaining traction. Essentially it's a sandwich made with cheap white bread and served without crusts. Yep, forget all those rules you learned as a child about eating your crusts for curly hair.
One restaurant pioneering the trend is Neptune, a seafood restaurant in London’s Russell Square. The restaurant's owner and head chef Brett Redman is bringing back a much-loved childhood classic, the fish finger sandwich. The most popular variety? A sardine katsu sando - a straight-forward combo of breaded sardine fillet, iceberg lettuce and a generous serving of mayo in two thick slices of white bread (crusts off).
“They are the opposite of MasterChef-style dishes comprising of 35 different things that require you to see a therapist for stress after you’ve cooked. They’re all about simplicity,” he told The Telegraph.
Neptune aren’t the only one with the likes of Milk, a popular brunch location in Balham, and Nanban, a Japanese soul restaurant in Brixton Market, also serving up sandos. Best of all, these white bread sandwiches couldn’t be easier or cheaper to replicate at home.
If past food trends are anything to go by, we reckon this one will also spread like wildfire. RIP sourdough, it was fun while it lasted.