Centre The Bakery, Tokyo, Japan

The walk from my hotel to Tokyo Station was 40 minutes through Ginza. It is a gorgeous walk, and when the weather is 70 degrees and sunny, it is extremely pleasant… more of a stroll, one might say.

I was curious if there would be a club sandwich along my route. The ride from Tokyo to Osaka is only 2.5 hours by bullet train (over 6 by car), and dining during the trip is de riguer. Google maps works extremely well in Japan, and I reviewed overly-Japanese restaurants and cafes that may or may not actually have a club sandwich on the menu, as I searched for my pitstop.

I decided on Centre The Bakery. It was open at 11am, it was along my route, it had over 4 stars, and a photo of the menu stated “club sandwich.” Worth a shot, I thought, as I meandered through Ginza around the crowds of quietly polite Japanese.

Shocked… that’s the only emotion I could find upon arriving at the restaurant. My jaw hung low, my eyes opened wide. There was a line of 50 people snaking out the door and around the street just to sit down! Meanwhile, the bakery adjacent was selling bread so fast, I’m sure it was hard for the bakers to keep up.

The smell of insanely delicious baked bread overwhelmed me with joy. Both pungent and light at the same time, it wafted through the air each time the door opened. I was just in such shock that I stumbled upon this location all by myself with no recommendation, and visibly so, apparently – one of the waitresses asked me something in Japanese, trying to help, and my response “takeway?” revealed the ability for me to skip the line and order what I wanted without waiting behind the others. Perfect, as I didn’t have time to sit down anyway.

I placed my order for the club sandwich – by far the most expensive item on the menu – and waited outside in the lovely fall weather. As I watched the line get longer, I realized there was a clear divide between the restaurant and the bakery: the tourists waited in line to sit down, while the locals walked into the shop adjacent to the main store, to pick up their perfectly baked loaves of white fluffy bread stacked high.

To say I was excited would be an understatement, and my expectations began to rise as I patiently sat on the bench outside. In 5 minutes, my meal was handed to me with a deep bow, and I decided in that moment I needed to dive right in… there was no sense in waiting to enjoy this meal on the train, I wanted this club sandwich in all of its warm and baked glory, now.

Insanely delicious. Moist, buttery, juicy, flavorful chicken thighs that resembled a healthy pork belly immediately engaged my tastebuds. This was the first time I had experienced chicken thighs in a club sandwich, and it was like a total revelation for me – how could any chef opt for breast when thighs existed?! The bread, just wow: fluffy, crispy, subtle, just perfect for this club sandwich. The creaminess of the egg and the plumpness of the tomato added lovely layers to the meal, which was balanced nicely by the sauce, a garlic tarragon tartar creation of some sort that wasn’t listed anywhere on the menu.

The line waiting watched me devour my club sandwich in pure joy.

I loved the boxing of it, well plated within tight quarters. Cut in three pieces – the way my own mother used to prepare my tuna fish sandwiches – it did leave the center piece a bit vulnerable to poor holdability, creating a few challenging and messy bites down. I didn’t mind in the moment though, as I lapped up every morsel of this delicious club sandwich, including the pickles and well-fried potato chips.

This was an awesome moment, and I felt proud to have stumbled upon Center The Bakery. Another excellent club sandwich in Japan!