The Two Minute Review: Sando Paradiso

Ronan Doyle
Oct 14
2 min read

What’s the story with Sando Paradiso?

The suspenseful month between tease and soft-launch, built expectation and appetite for Sando Paradiso, Hen’s Teeth’s first return to full food service since Killian Walsh packed his bags for Bastible. Shokupan is at the heart of this more casual concept, with seven stuffed sandos showcasing the thick and fluffy appeal of Japanese milk bread.

What’s on the menu?

Come hungry - between brick-thick slices and fillings that don’t hold back, you won’t want to be popping in here "just" peckish. Katsu chicken (€12) has taken an early lead as their best-seller, and we weren't far into the first bite before clocking why. Thick fillets of breaded breast sit among rocket and rainbow slaw, with Kewpie mayo and tonkatsu sauce bringing duelling sweet and tangy flavours. Swaddled up in the bread this is chewy, chunky goodness - that crisp panko crunch is all we missed.

White pud weirdly isn’t listed on the veggie breakfast (€12) ingredients, so it arrives in like a shock MVP – on blind taste test we’d struggle to tell it from the genuine article. Playing off the big flavours of smoked vegan bacon and sharp tomato relish, this is a candidate for the best breakfast sandwich around for non-meat eaters. Slightly flat veggie sausages are bulked up with a hash brown and some tofu scramble that will see you through to dinner.

Given the soaring cost of seafood, it’s no shock that the Glenmar-sourced fish finger sando (€14) is the priciest, but the mid contents of this one left us feeling short-changed. The fish was generous enough, if more fillet than fingers, but the ratio of crumb crunch to flaky fish felt all off in parts (and a far cry from what was teased). A too-scant spread of mayo left things on the dry side, and absent that rich base, the acidic kick of pink pickled onions and capers felt over-assertive.

Sides have the air of an afterthought, with the seaweed fries' (€6) seasoning so subtle as to seem almost absent – promised crispy onions were omitted entirely. We wound up wishing the wasabi mayo was too, with the dull heat of processed paste too evident. An inspired chilli crisp ketchup (€2.50) is all that helped us get through them - we’ll be mixing this up at home.

Karaage chicken (€7) came out dry and near-squeaky to the bite - better brining, shorter cooking, or thicker thigh pieces would have gone a long way to improve things. Who could have expected cauliflower (€7) to save the day? Given the same soy-ginger marinade, the al dente florets were all that the chicken was not - tender and juicy to the last, lush bite.

Why should we go?

Veggie options and excellent coffee from Groundstate will be preaching to the Hen’s Teeth choir, but whether the wider sando selection can evolve to become an essential destination is still up in the air. Since Smartbear packed up for Bray (and now appears to have disappeared completely) we’ve been hoping to see shokupan back in Dublin city - here’s hoping this high-potential spot and specials to come can level up to fill the gap.