Given the origins of focaccia, there are no prizes for guessing why the sandwich shops fluffing up Melbourne’s focaccia scene are putting Italian fillings front and centre.

But while six-month-old Collingwood focaccia bar The Continental – by the same team as next-door bar Gum – definitely has a bit of la dolce vita about it, Spain is the main game. “That was our whole point of difference,” says co-owner Miles Brooks.

In a refurbed Turkish kebab shop on Johnston Street, the mostly made-to-order sangers star Spanish imports such as jamon and manchego. And, most excitingly for Sandwich watch (a column dedicated to the essential sandwiches you need to know about), Melbourne’s favourite fish in a white anchovy focaccia that strays from the pack.

It’s essentially a tapas sandwich

Every element required for a good tapas bar order is ticked off in this creation – except the ice-cold pint of Estrella. There’s something carby (a wad of focaccia from Brunswick bakery Iris), something fishy (marinated white anchovy fillets), something cheesy (a liberal dollop of whipped ricotta), something briny (capers), something fresh (red onion and herbaceous verde sauce) and something leafy (a pile of rocket).

But it’s all about the optional add-on (which, let’s face it, isn’t actually optional)

The above ingredients make for an enviable lunch. But there’s one thing missing: an almighty crunch. So, in what Brooks calls “a fun play on fish’n’chips”, you can add a handful of crisps to your sandwich for an extra $2.

And what a difference it makes. Usually, it’s Spanish brand Bonilla a la Vista (those chips in a tin). But the day Sandwich watch visits, it’s the even crisper, even more delicious Chappy’s sea salt chips, kettle-cooked in Melbourne. Brooks says you can request them specifically – and you should. Hearing the golden-brown wish chips shatter as you smoosh the gapingly full sanger down to a size you can get your gob around is but a sign of the crunch time to come.

And how about that verde sauce?

“It’s a mix between pesto and chimichurri,” says Brooks. “And because we want to be zero-waste as much as possible, we use yesterday’s bread as a thickener, instead of pine nuts.” A vibrant vegan feature on a number of The Continental’s sandwiches, it’s a whiz-up of basil and parsley galore with a glug of red wine vinegar and a gentle hit of chilli and garlic. In other words: a superb bedfellow for the white anchovies, which have a lighter, brighter flavour profile than their umami-bomb tinned counterparts.

How do I get one?

The white anchovy focaccia ($20 with crisps, $18 without) is available to dine in or take away at The Continental, 171 Johnston Street, Collingwood, from 10am to 3pm Tuesday to Saturday. You can order online for pickup or local delivery.

This is the latest instalment of Sandwich Watch, a column dedicated to the Melbourne sandwiches you need to know about.

If there’s a sandwich you’re dying to tell us about, please get in touch here: