The Daily Observer London Desk: Reporter- Sarah Marshal
Harrods is selling a takeaway beef sandwich for £28 – making it one of the most expensive sarnies in Britain.
The Wagyu Steak sandwich contains Wagyu beef, most likely to have been imported from Japan, with porcini, gold mustard mayonnaise, mushrooms, rocket, braised onions and truffle butter.
Truffle, which is one of the most expensive ingredients worldwide, typically costs between 65p and £1 per gram – perhaps explaining the high price tag of the sandwich.
In comparison, a roast beef and horseradish mayo sarnie from M&S costs £4, meaning customers could buy seven of them for the same amount as the Harrods offering.
The Wagyu Steak is available to purchase from the food hall at Harrods’ flagship store in Knightsbridge, west London.
Harrods is selling a takeaway beef sandwich for £28 – making it one of the most expensive sarnies in Britain
Food shoppers can also purchase Wagyu Katso ‘Sandos’ (Japanese for sandwich) for the same price.
These sarnies are filled with deep-fried Wagyu ribeye, measuring approximately four by three inches, along with mushroom ketchup, BBQ sauce and white cabbage.
It comes after Pret a Manger found itself in the firing line for selling a £7.15 baguette.
The Posh Cheddar and Pickle Baguette contains mature cheddar, chunky pickle, roasted tomatoes, sliced red onion, free-range mayo and mustard cress, wrapped in stone-baked bread.
Customers reacted with dismay on social media as the eye-watering ‘dine in’ price for the chain’s ‘posh’ sandwich was snapped at a London tube station branch.
The baguette costs £5.95 at transport hub stations to take away – and, when coupled with a £1.75 bag of crisps and a £5 green smoothie for a full lunch, costs £12.70.
To eat it in store, the chain then levies a £1.20 VAT charge on the sandwich – taking its price up to £7.15, and the total deal to £13.90.
The price of the sub falls by more than 20 per cent to £5.72, including VAT, for those signed up to the £30-a-month Club Pret membership who want to eat in.
Pret a Manger recently found itself in the firing line for selling a £7.15 cheese and pickle baguette
Sophie Gallagher was ‘fully tipped over the edge’ by the price tag and argued that she was not in an airport or major travel hub.
Her tweet went viral on X, formerly Twitter, with more than 1.4million views and 320 comments.
She wrote: ‘What the f*** is happening here.’ Before adding: ‘I want it to own a country estate for that money.’
Many quipped about its ‘posh’ name tag, while others simply said she should have gone to Greggs instead.
A Pret spokesman said: ‘Prices of our products are typically higher at train stations or transport hubs, due to higher operational costs, and like all food-to-go retailers, dine in prices are subject to 20 per cent VAT, as is the case with the price quoted here for our Posh Cheddar Baguette.
‘The vast majority (87 per cent) of our sales in the UK are for takeaway, so most customers are not subject to the additional 20 per cent VAT.
‘Like all businesses, we are facing intense cost pressures, which we are trying to absorb as much as possible. We continue to offer great value for high-quality, freshly made food and organic coffees, alongside a dedicated value range of sandwiches, Made Simple.
‘We also recently doubled the Club Pret discount to help customers save even more, so subscribers now enjoy 20 per cent off everything in shop and up to five barista prepared drinks per day for £30 per month.’
