I don’t love Sandoitchi so much.

Think of the best sandwich you’ve ever had. Ask the same of the next person. What comes to mind first? The looks, or the taste? Dallas-founded Sandoitchi, in my opinion, rides the “Instagrammable” wave with clean cut corners and stackable sandwich halves. I could’ve told you this before trying, but I wanted to give it a shot. I have a hard time welcoming many pop-ups (or permanent restaurants, for that matter) into Austin, as the copy/paste format from cities elsewhere doesn’t flow with the city’s culture.

The four options for the week of January 25th ranged from $9 to $15. I gave a 20% tip to the subtotal.

Brands like Sandoitchi change Austin for the worse. The quote known by most long-term Austinites, “Don’t Dallas my Austin" was the first thing that came to mind when I showed up. There was absolutely no personality behind the brand. They amped up the music for the waiting line, but the employees did nothing to make it a standout experience. I felt like another transaction, exactly the thing that so many Austinites are fighting to prevent.

To top that, let’s discuss the packaging and signage. The “I love you so much” wall at Jo’s on South Congress, one that most Austinites once embraced and now promptly avoid, now represents the influx of tourists taking to Austin’s streets and using them to advertise their whereabouts, rather than experience the culture that made this city so iconic. To advertise its ignorance, Sandoitchi modified the graphic to say “I love sando so much.” I don’t love sando so much. (I do love Jo’s.)

I’ll give them credit for their efficiency. I showed up, gave my order number, and was promptly handed my bag after about two minutes of waiting.

Now diving into the actual sandwiches. Dry bread served as my introduction to my first bite. The egg salad sandwich was the only one with decently moist bread. With 3/4 of the crust removed, it was clear that the sandwiches were made for the photographs. Think of the finger sandwiches served at parties, but larger and equally temperature insensitive.

hot menchi truffle chicken katsu | 5/10 | Decent. The thought was there. The truffle wasn’t. It was semi-warm. The bread was dry. Added that they chose a location without seating options, should I want to try the sandwich on-the-spot.

egg salad | 4/10 | Mediocre. The bread was moist, but bland. If bread were an influencer who said “yes” to every promotional opportunity, it would be simple bread, crust cut off and left to dry before being served. Egg salad is egg salad. It’s easy to make, and even easier to make interesting. Very little thought put into this aside from the soft-boiled egg cut and added to the middle for photos.

ebi katsu | 3/10 | Bland and a waste of a meal. It felt like a last-minute addition to the menu, a blander copy of the above katsu sandwich.

fruit and cream | 1/10 | No matter how hard it is for someone (that might be you) to cook a decent dish, Chantilly cream is something I completely have faith in you to make. It’s heavy whipping cream whipped with sugar and vanilla, then left to cool in the fridge. Stick it in a sandwich, and it should taste like whipped cream on bread. They did just that, added fruit to the middle (again, clearly just for the photos), no fruit throughout the inside of the sandwich, and gave it a big fat “I love sando so much” sticker to round out the meal.

I won’t be back, and I hope they won’t be back to visit.