Sandoitchi, Darlinghurst, Sydney: Why everyone is losing it over this sandwich

No Japan plans any time soon? These chunkster sandos will transport you straight to Tokyo.

This sandwich is absolutely worth crossing town for. Image: Alex Carlton

Just look at the chunk on this sando.

Fluffy white bread packed tight with a huge wedge of crisp chicken katsu, pickled slaw and two types of creamy dressing (yuzu miso ranch and tonkotsu mayo). It’s thicker than a Married At First Sight contestant, and way more delicious.

It is of course the mighty chicken katsu sando from the widely-loved Sandoitchi in Sydney’s Darlinghurst and in a move that is looking promising for the 2024 sando forecast, it’s expanding from its home base in the inner city to Chatswood on the lower north shore early this year. There’s never been a better reason to cross the Bridge.

Image: Alex Carlton

Let’s talk about the savagery of this sando. First thing you need to know is that you may not have enough jaw-hinge to get the whole thing in without a bit of pre-bite tweaking. I need two hands to lift it up and then I have to give it a good squish to flatten its surface area before it can get anywhere near my mouth. Historically, I can only get through one half of the sandwich before defeat, but it lasts pretty well for a later-day snack, or you can share it with someone else.

 

 

 

 

 

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The beauty of this baby is in the balance. It’s the softness of the bread, the thick, generous cut of the protein, the rich gloop of the dressings and then the tart pickle on the vegetable that cuts through all the fat. If I had one complaint it’s possibly that the slice of American cheese is a touch overkill but when your biggest issue with a food is that they’ve added too many layers of delicious then you’re probably doing ok.

The chicken is my preference but the classic is the pork katsu sando is their signature, and is also excellent.

But perhaps the one I’m most obsessed with is the wagyu katsu sando which reminds me of the one prepared by Chef and DJ Vanne Kuwahara at his edgy yakiniku bar Yoroniku Ebisu in Tokyo. Chef Vanne makes his with the finest wagyu chateaubriand and a special demi-glace secret sauce and slices it to perfection with a long, slim knife before presenting it to enthralled customers with a twist of his wrists. This one doesn’t come with any performance art and it has a few more fusses and frills in the form of cabbage and sweet and sour miso sauce but it still rates pretty high up the flavour charts.

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The other winners at Sandoitchi include the prawn sando, which is exquisite in its perfect simplicity: just a fried prawn patty the size of a small fist, a scattering of sweetcorn, mayo and mustard. Don’t sleep on the strawberry sandwich which is a work of art on looks alone; the cross section of bisected fruit is arranged in ruby-red patterns like a kaleidoscope. You wouldn’t think you need a ‘dessert sandwich’ of strawberries and cream after eating a sando the size of a baby’s head but you’d be surprised how easily you’ll find room.

Rumour is the Chatswood Sandoitchi is arriving in Februrary 2024 but until then you’ll need to get to the original Darlinghurst location to stock up. Don’t sweat it, one of those football-sized sandos is probably going to safely see you all the way through the next two months.

Originally published as Sandoitchi, Darlinghurst, Sydney: Why everyone is losing it over this sandwich