The Slamwich Club, Hanley
The Slamwich Club in Stoke-on-Trent has a new fan in Moorlands Eater. Not that they need me. Since opening in May this year they’ve quickly become one of Hanley’s favourite bars and restaurants. On my first visit I found out exactly why.
THE CULTURAL QUARTER
I have to say that, since moving to the Staffordshire Moorlands around five years ago, I haven’t spent a great deal of time in Stoke-on-Trent. But I think the development of the Cultural Quarter, with its theatres, galleries and independent shops, bars and restaurants makes it a much more attractive proposition. I’d previously lived in Leicester for twenty-five years and saw the growth of that city’s Cultural Quarter, based around the Curve theatre, greatly improve a rather unloved section of the city centre.
The Slamwich Club is part of Stoke-on-Trent’s revival, with owners Stephanie Franklin and Nicole Williamson completely renovating a once run-down unit on Piccadilly.
THE SLAMWICH CLUB
The Slamwich Club’s menu is based on a seemingly mundane premise. Grilled sandwiches. Yes, that’s right. Sandwiches. On paper at least, The Slamwich Club is a sandwich bar. But, as I found on my first visit, it’s so much more than that.
Named after the card game Slamwich where players have to build sandwiches before they get eaten by a thief or ‘muncher’, Slamwiches are out-sized affairs with quality ingredients. They range from simple Easy Cheesy to High Steaks: flat iron steak, Stilton or Cheddar, caramelised red onions, grilled tomatoes, rocket, horseradish mayo AND a side of peppercorn or Stilton sauce. But whichever sandwich you choose, stuffed to the gills with good things, I doubt you’ll go away hungry.
From the couple of examples above, you can see that, like me, the women at The Slamwich Club love a good pun. So you’ll also find the likes of Now You Caesar, Now You Don’t (chicken Caesar salad, of course), Tartare For Now (caper battered cod, rosti, minted pea puree and a certain mayo-based dressing). Vegans aren’t left out either with the delicious-sounding Happea Chick (falafel, grilled red pepper, hummus and more).
And talking of delicious…
DELI-CIOUS
After toying with the idea of Butter Me Up with its buttermilk fried chicken, streaky bacon, chilli-spiked smashed avocado, onion, lettuce and honey sriracha mayo, I settled on the Deli-Cious (£9.95). I love a good deli sandwich so this slamwich, stuffed with turkey, pastrami and ham plus sauerkraut, frickles (that’s fried pickles to you), Emmenthal cheese and mustard mayo, sounded right up my alley.
A sunny, albeit slightly chilly day, we decided to eat outside nevertheless. Our slamwiches arrived on paper covered trays, with no cutlery other than a big serrated knife. As we’d also ordered fries loaded with lots of good things (of which, more later) forks seemed sensible. Also, I could see this was going to be a messy affair but there were no napkins. No one else outside seemed to have cutlery or napkins either, so maybe it’s some weird policy rather than an oversight? Anyway, other half went indoors to fetch both.
My Deli-Cious slamwich was fab. Plenty of thinly sliced, tasty meat and cheese, with the sauerkraut and fried pickles providing satisfying crunch. I loved the mustard mayo too. Just enough to make the sandwich nice and moist, but not smother the other ingredients.
Although sandwiches are at the heart of the menu, bread really isn’t a big deal at The Slamwich Club. As it’s all about the fillings, you won’t find a range of fancy sourdoughs and what-not. Apart from gluten-free and a ‘slimwich’ option, the bread is simple: white, sliced and grilled. Which is fine by me. I’m perfectly happy with the concept of bread merely as a convenient method of transporting those tasty fillings from the tray and into my mouth.
I have to admit though, that the pedant in me is niggled by the bread being described as ‘bloomer’. Bloomer bread is free-standing, i.e. not baked in a tin, and consequently it’s not as thick at the ends as it is in the middle. However, the sandwiches here are obviously made using a tin loaf. And that makes perfect sense because the uniformity of size you get from slices of tin loaf is precisely what you need to make slamwiches. So, pun-loving ladies, please take down your bloomers. References to bloomer bread, I mean. Obviously.
In contrast to my jaw-stretching, chockablock sandwich, other half went for the simplest one on the menu, the Easy Cheesy (£5.95). Mature Cheddar, Red Leicester, Mozzarella and Emmenthal and no embellishments. How very restrained! He even asked for it to come without its accompanying sweet chilli mayo dip. Nevertheless, he enjoyed it very much.
WHO ATE ALL THE FRIES?
Neither of us were restrained in our choice of fries, though. For just ninety-five pence, we could’ve added standard fries (or salad) to our sandwich. But the Who Ate All The Fries section of the menu presented a rather tempting list we just couldn’t say no to.
Besides Straight Up Fries, there’s Sweet Potato Fries, Posh Fries (truffle oil, Parmesan, spring onion, parsley) and Chilli Fries (chilli, Cheddar, avocado, sour cream, spicy tomato salsa).
After a serious bit of consultation, we decided to share a portion of Slammin’ House Fries (£4.95). This was a mix of regular potato and sweet potato fries, generously sprinkled with little pieces of crispy bacon, Parmesan, crunchy slivers of crouton and drizzled with garlic mayonnaise. A tangle of shredded spring onion topped the whole lot.
I loved them. Despite having a much larger sandwich than my other half, I’m sorry to say I think I ate rather more than my fair share of the fries. Not usually a massive fan of sweet potato fries as they’re rarely crispy enough, I thought this combination perfect. And all the tasty bells and whistles dotted here and there, plus the garlicky mayo, meant this bowl was so much better than any heap of fries really has any right to be.
LOTS TO DISCOVER
At first glance, you might think the menu at The Slamwich Club is a little restrictive. However, get down into the detail and there’s lots to choose from.
Take the fries, for example. Yes, there’s a number of options listed. But there’s actually a mind-boggling number of combinations you can dream up once consider all the possible extras. There’s nearly a dozen dips or Slamdunks such as Coriander & Lime Sriracha Mayo, Chilli Jam, BBQ, Stilton or Peppercorn sauce. You can then add to those almost twenty toppings including hummus, fried egg, crispy onion, vegan cheese or pulled pork.
Wanting a quick lunch, we didn’t really consider the list of Sides & Salads either. Besides simple Garden Salad and various slaws, there’s Italian Salad or Chef’s Salad with chicken and bacon, plus flavoured rice, nachos, chicken strips and popcorn shrimp. Just Beet It is an intriguing sounding beetroot loaf, served with mint yogurt. And how can any self-confessed greedy person not love a place that considers Slammin’ Steak – flat iron steak in garlic butter on a bed of rocket – a mere side dish?
As if all that wasn’t enough, there’s also a brunch menu. For those who really don’t want a sandwich, there’s dishes like chilli, fish and chips and fried chicken. It’s also licensed.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
If you assumed The Slamwich Club is just another sandwich bar, think again. Yes, you can have a simple grilled cheese sandwich. But I found their menu to be pretty extensive, and in a rather sneaky way.
At first look it all seems straightforward. Grilled sandwiches. Fries. Salads and such. However, putting all the different elements together, there’s some real feasts to be had.
I think it’s particularly suitable for a group. That way you can order lots of different options to share and find your favourites. Or maybe I’m just greedy.
Don’t forget that The Slamwich Club is a bar as well, with the usual stock of beers, cocktails etc. It also holds regular music events.
The team are currently working on the upstairs space to accommodate more events and private bookings. They’re planning to use it as overflow seating at busier times too. And once even more people find out just how good The Slamwich Club is, I think they’re going to need it.
Highly recommended.