Kofi Kade, Glasgow

Friends, I have a confession to make – I have strayed so far from the light of the packed lunch. There’s really nothing like a handmade sandwich, prepared with care and attention then wrapped up and popped away in semi-secret for you to discover later. ‘Cheese *and* ham; I like both of those!’, and so on and so forth. So news of a new sandwich place in the Southside, with a pretty unique take on the classic sarnie, has drawn us down the train line for a midweek lunch trip. We’re off to Kofi Kade, there are school kids everywhere, and it looks like it might absolutely chuck it down any moment.

Kofi Kade is a simple space, in that there’s a counter to order your sandwich, a bench to sit on while you wait for your sandwich, and room behind the counter for your sandwich to be made. On the other hand, it looks and smells great in here – the forest green and mustard yellow on the walls is a delight, and it’s always fun to try and plan your order based on a combination of aroma and general snooping about. And it’s busy: for a Thursday lunchtime at a spot that opened four weeks before our visit, there’s a steady stream of folk popping their head in the door, some of whom are already working their way around the menu board. That board features six sandwiches, each named for a Sri Lankan city, with artwork around the shop reminding you of that fact while you impatiently wait for your lunch.

Nowhere to sit at the moment though, so once we have our sandwiches we’re off on an adventure. After a wrong turn brings us to the haunted Cathkin Park football pitch and one extremely funky tree, we manage to intrepidly explore our way to the rose gardens by Queen’s Park. It’s not exactly Stand By Me, but we do have to dodge two of the loudest and most active puppies we’ve seen in a while – shout out to the women training them not to run after the nice people with their sandwiches.

As for those sandwiches, they’re loaded with Sri Lankan flavours but still very much in the form of your classic, ‘cut it in half and serve it with a bag of crisps’ sandwich. The Kandy (£8.50) is a take on the classic combo of steak and cheese, but with South Asian elements at the fore. We say ‘the fore’, but the earthy, spicy marinade has really worked its way into the meat, and every bite brings it right to the front. The bread is excellent, with strong crusty edges and a satisfying give when you really chomp down on it, at which point you’ll get more of that spicy goodness. The pomegranate seeds laced through the salad, the gooey, stringy cheese holding everything together, that marinade popping its head up again; it all works brilliantly, and it’s an absolute unit.

The Arugam Bay (£8) is another one to file in the ‘exciting veggie options’ column – it’s basically an aubergine pickle curry toastie. Soft, squidgy aubergine with a sweet edge and a powerful garlicky hit, plus the gooey cheese and sweet pomegranate from before. It’s zingy, it’s savoury, and it all coheres together both culinarily and physically (ie, it tastes great and none of it goes on our laps or shoes).

They’re many miles from the kind of sandwich you’d find in your lunchbox, but Kofi Kade brings that sense of joy back to lunchtimes. Exciting flavours, lovely people, nice surprises and the rain stays off throughout our lunch – the spirit of childlike wonder remains undefeated.

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Kofi Kade, 636 Cathcart Rd, Glasgow, G42 8AA
Wed-Sun 10am-4pm
@kofikade on Instagram