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Our man Andy Gilpin goes in search of the perfect sarnie and finds one for a sum so princely that millionaires only could have it for their lunch every day. But does it live up to the hype?
Andy Gilpin tries £40 sandwich at Four Seasons in Sharm El Sheikh
Sandwiches have really upped their game this Millennium. It wasn’t long ago that a Subway meatball marinara was deemed the height of sarnie chic.
But with the rise of Instagram, now you need to see and be seen eating the humble butty and that means pushing the boat out a little at lunch. We can’t always have the same meal deal – Southern Fried Chicken wrap, Eat Natural protein bar and orange Lucozade being the only correct answer here – we have to go big.
Sometime you need to pay £40 for a sandwich. This is not a typo. Pounds. Forty of them. Well 2,650 Egyptian pounds, but you get the idea.
We were at the world famous Four Seasons resort at Sharm El Sheikh for some winter sun. Think White Lotus but with less debauchery, dead bodies and more attentive staff.
It was our last day and we wanted to end with a bang. How about the Waha Lobster Roll, sir? Brioche (we’ll get to that later), lemon mayonnaise, celery and caviar. Together at last for the princely (or should that be Pharoah-ly) sum of £41.39.
Now we all know when on holiday money doesn’t mean much. Especially when you can’t quite work out 0.16 Egyptian pounds to our trusty Sterling. It’s always best to dive in and think about the credit card bill later.
Worry not, for that price you get a garden salad too, but you could have had French fries, roasted baby potatoes, ratatouille, or couscous with farm veg, raisins and nuts.
Rayan, our waiter, gave us a knowing wink as we ordered. We were big time. He knew it, we suspected it. Finally we’d made it.
When the chef had actually made it, we examined like it was the Mona Lisa, not quite wanting to start.
Let’s take it step by step. The brioche bread was a revolution. It was bun-like without being a bun. Cut down the middle it was one piece for all the filling, meaning you weren’t going to lose any of it between two slices. I can safely say its structural integrity lasted for the whole sitting as we worked out whether to eat it or frame it.
This integrity is just as well as a) it’s expensive and b) it looked pretty sloppy.
It was toasted around the edges to give it a little crisp bite, but not so much that it was more or less toast.
Inside there was a good helping of prime cut lobster in a lemon mayonnaise sauce. Not too overpowering, but with enough kick to keep you interested. The lobster was top notch, fishy but not too fishy and with the satisfying crunch and texture rich people, purveyors of £40 sandwiches and Homer Simpson love (watch the lobster episode, it’s a classic).
On top was the real pièce to resistance. Finely cut celery (yeah, we can skip that one) and a nice dollop of caviar. You don’t get that as a option in Subway, God knows I’ve asked.
It came all together for a blinding mix of tastes in a familiar setting to us all – the humble sandwich. Forget your prime cut streak – this is where it’s at. It was filling, if albeit with a tad too much mayonnaise and the caviar was a nice touch.
I asked Rayan if everyone had this. He said no, the steak was the preferred option, but there were a few guests who had this every day. Imagine the sheer opulence!
They started it back in August 2024 for ‘luxury, freshness and a light refreshing appeal to seafood lovers. It’s also definitely instagrammable. They make about five per day and the main ingredient is poached Canadian lobster.
Was it worth it? Well it’s hard to say yes to that question, but it’s surely worth the price to be able to tell everyone you once ate a sandwich for £40.
Sometimes you just have to let everyone know you’ve pushed the boat out.
