Battle of the Christmas sandwiches: Pret a Manger vs Starbucks

The Independent lifestyle team put the high street giants’ festive offerings to the test

(iStock/The Independent)

Christmas might still seem like an age away for customers, but for retailers, the holiday season began months ago.

By early November brands have launched their festive adverts, are playing Christmas music in store and filling the shelves with seasonal sweaters, socks and - something we can all get on board with – sandwiches.

Christmas sandwiches have acquired cult status in recent years, with fans waiting months for the festive food items from chains like Costa and M&S.

This year, we pitted two of the most popular companies – Pret a Manger and Starbucks – against one another, to see which fared best in terms of taste, texture and overall festive-ness.

Read on for our thoughts.

Pret A Manger

Vegan Christmas flatbread, from £4.35

(Pret A Manger)

This sandwich was tested by Emma Snaith, audience editor

“I like the cranberry port sauce – it really cuts through the sweet potato falafel and definitely adds some Christmassy vibes. There is a good amount of filling and the butternut squash is nicely cooked.

“But the bread really lets it down, and that’s a big part of the sandwich experience. It falls apart too easily and makes it hard to eat. Plus I think flatbread lends itself better to toasted sandwiches.

“I also can’t really taste the vegan Christmas pesto. So other than the cranberry port sauce there’s not much to distinguish it from an ordinary falafel wrap.”

Rating: 3/5

Vegan Christmas nut roast sandwich, from £3.99 

(Pret A Manger)

This sandwich was tested by Olivia Petter, senior lifestyle writer

“I love the combination of flavours and textures in this sandwich. The spices are very festive. Paired with the butternut squash, the malted bread and the crunchy nuts and stuffing, it’s a joy to consume.”

Rating: 4/5

Christmas lunch sandwich, from £3.99

(Pret)

This sandwich was tested by Ben Kelly, deputy head of audience

“The meaty Christmas sandwich is as ever, a full meal between two slices. Generous amounts of turkey, and more than enough cranberry to keep it moist.”

Rating: 5/5

Christmas lunch baguette, from £3.99

(pret)

This sandwich was tested by Laura Hampson, deputy lifestyle editor

“It’s official: Every sandwich needs to have a layer of crispy onions added to it. The onions added to Pret’s Christmas lunch baguette only elevate its tasty fillings - turkey, cranberry, rocket, pork stuffing and port sauce. You can’t get much better than this when it comes to festive fare.”

Rating: 4/5

Stuffing Mac & Cheese, from £5.85

(Pret A Manger)

This sandwich was tested by Lucy Thackray, deputy travel editor

“First impressions: the Pret Christmas stuffing mac & cheese is making me wonder why I haven’t been eating stuffing-infused mac & cheese every winter day of my entire life.”

Rating: 5/5

Final Score: 21/25

Starbucks

The Very Merry Beyond Meat^® Sandwich, prices from £4.49

The Very Merry Beyond Meat Sandwich (Starbucks)

This sandwich was tested by Harriet Hall, lifestyle editor

As a big-time fan of Beyond Meat burgers (the texture, so meaty! The taste, so tasty!), I had high hopes for this bad boy. It is a relief that the high street is finally catching up when it comes to vegetarian and vegan offerings after having endured endless mushroom or spinach and feta disasters for so many years.

Sadly, Starbucks appears to have forgotten that presentation is a rather vital part of food preparation. The Very Merry Sandwich looked utterly despondent when I unwrapped it, with the burger having slipped around and the vegan cheese appearing plastic and bleak. Aesthetically, a lot was left to be desired here.

But on to the taste. It’s festive! I was into it. Meaty and moreish, the sandwich was working for me on the flavour front. The vegan cheese was a great dupe for the real deal and the cranberry chutney was that injection of sweetness that Christmas food does best. Curiously, the Dijon mustard mayo seemed to have curdled and left a claggyness in the mouth that was quite displeasing.

And as for the fresh tomato I was promised – not a tom in sight! What place does a tomato have on the Christmas dinner table, anyway? Absolutely no place. All in all, not a total disaster - the burger carried it - so I can only hope this is a stepping stone to next year.

Rating: 3/5

Blitzen’s Blue Cheese & Chutney Toastie, prices from £2.99

Blitzen’s Blue Cheese & Chutney Toastie (Starbucks)

This sandwich was tested by Kate Ng, lifestyle reporter.

“A deliciously rich yet well-rounded toastie packed with sharp Blue Stilton® cheese, grated mozzarella soft cheese, cheddar, and Emmental. Filled to the brim with melting cheesy goodness, this toastie is slathered with a lip-smacking tangy apple chutney and topped with cranberries for the ultimate Christmas taste-sensation.

This toastie is like if a cheese board made love to a sandwich, which is a cheese lover’s dream come true. Truth be told, I am not a huge fan of Stilton - however, its inclusion in this sandwich is not overpowering and the sweetness of the apple chutney and cranberries balances out the saltiness of all that cheese.

“Some people might find there is a touch too much sweetness though, Starbucks may find that scaling back the chutney just a little bit will provide a better balance of flavours. Eat it while it’s hot to make the most of this quite-decent cheese toastie, as the bread goes hard and the cheese claggy when cold.”

Rating: 3.5/5

A Toastie to be Thankful for, prices from £4.49

A Toastie to be Thankful for (Starbucks)

This sandwich was tested by Laura Hampson, deputy lifestyle editor

“After a few bites of this toastie I started to consider whether or not I needed to take a lateral flow test - there’s hardly any taste to it. All the elements of Christmas are there, the ham hock, sliced turkey, leek hash, cranberry and even the humble sprout - but the taste just didn’t match up. Not even the melted cheddar and cranberry jewels perched on top could bolster it in my Christmas sandwich rankings.”

Rating: 2/5

Turkee & Trimmings Toastie, prices from £4.25

Turkee & Trimmings Toastie (Starbucks)

This sandwich was tested by Helen Coffey, travel editor

“This soya ‘turkey’ sandwich promised all the trimmings - but the overall flavour profile was simply cranberry, cranberry and more cranberry. Where was the advertised potato, leek, cabbage and sprout hash shred? Or the coconut oil alternative to mozzarella?

“They may have been in the sandwich but they certainly weren’t on my tastebuds, which only registered bland fake turkey (furkey?) countered by the sharpness of the aforementioned cranberry sauce. The toasted sourdough was nice enough - and interestingly, though it was served hot, it actually tasted better once cold.

“Overall, for something that claimed to provide ‘a whole Christmas dinner al desko’, it was something of a disappointment.”

Rating: 2/5

Chocolate & Orange S’mores Toastie, prices from £2.99

Chocolate & Orange S’mores Toastie (Starbucks)

This sandwich was tested by Aisha Rimi, editorial intern

“If you have a sweet tooth, then this is a perfect pick for you. But to be honest, it was even a little too rich for a sweet lover like me. Sadly the bread was a little over-toasted for my liking, making it hard to bite into. The sweet orange and raisins in the bread definitely overpowered the chocolate taste. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a marshmallow in sight.”

Rating: 2/5

Final score: 12.5/25      

And the winner is.... Pret A Manger!

It was high scores all round for Pret A Manger in the Christmas sandwich taste test. With two full scores, it looks like their dishes are a complete hit in The Independent staff room. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Starbucks, with none of its items achieving higher than a three-and-a-half rating.