Activity toast
There’s nothing more wholesome than a homemade vegetable filling – potato, green peas and cauliflower mashed together – packed neatly between two slices and grilled to golden perfection. Swastik’s Activity Toast isn’t meant for excesses, so skip the tempting cheese add-on and actually taste the flavourful filling. Just a dash of Swastik’s fiery-red garlic chutney on the side and the Activity Toast will shoot to the top of the sandwich charts. It’s perfect for a quick bite during a wedding shopping spree or at the end of a regular grocery round in the bustling Santa Cruz market. “Isko khaate hi aadmi active ho jaata hai,” a salesman at the roadside stall explained in a deadpan voice that suggested he could do with one himself.
Swastik Sandwizza for R35

Bhelpuri sandwich
Bhelpuri in a sandwich – only in Mumbai can you get away with it. At Food For Thought, the café inside Kitab Khana in Fort, the potato-mix, which would usually be served with a couple of puris mixed with puffed rice, chopped onions, tomatoes and three kinds of sauces, finds itself sandwiched between two slices of bread. The bhelpuri sandwich is very tangy, with generous amounts of onion and lime. It’s substantial enough to encourage you to skip lunch and tasty enough to make you return for another serving. If you prefer savoury to tangy, also try the excellent vada pao sandwich, which has so much garlic in it that it must be good for your health.
Food for Thought R150.

BLT guacamole
American Express Bakery’s salami guacamole sandwich is on shelves twice a week – Wednesdays and Fridays at 5pm – and vanishes much before the end of the day. Until it makes a daily appearance on the bakery’s shelves, this crusty rye-bread number is worth the weekly vigil. The deceptively slim combination packs in strips of chicken salami and bacon with lettuce and diced tomatoes. But it’s their tangy guacamole paste that really does the trick, seeping through layers of veggies, meat and wholesome bread.
American Express Bakery R50.

Cheddar and pickle
When they say pickle, they don’t mean achaar, gherkins or crunchy beets like the ones tucked into Lebanese shawarmas. Instead Kala Ghoda Café’s sandwich pairs sweet and slightly tart applechutney with thick slices of salty cheddar cheese. Ask the server to keep the lettuce but skip the sliced tomatoes (makes things unnecessarily mushy) and resist the offer to grill the sandwich. As lovely as molten cheese is, this one tastes far better cold. They also do a simple but spunky number called the rasta sandwich: a plain two-egg omelette topped with lemony kachumber of tomatoes, onions, cucumber, green chillies and lots of coriander in soft ciabatta bread.
Kala Ghoda Café R150.

Chip butty
Some foods, like tandoori chicken, pork ribs and crab curry, are meant to be messy. But even the sauciest ribs couldn’t come close to just how disgusting Theobroma’s chip butty is. Their version of the British chip butty – a French fry-andketchup sandwich – transforms the snack into an artery-clogging indulgence. The butty comprises thick finger chips and a fried egg with either pieces of chicken or a slice of crisp-fried bacon, in a bun smeared with mayonnaise and cheese. They sell over 600 butties every month.
Theobroma R160