Marla’s in Hull may call itself a sandwich shop, but its whopping big breakfasts are definitely the best thing since sliced bread,

Next, some back story. Hull lass Sarah Cutler met her southern-born ex in Thailand, they moved to Hull, worked in various eateries in the city and eventually decided to open their own place. The first iteration of Marla’s Sandwich Shop appeared in Paragon Arcade in 2018 and supplied an eager lunchtime crowd with huge, intriguing, unusual, tasty, highly-instagrammable sandwiches to much success until 2021, when they decided to swap the town centre for the more scholarly environs of Princes Ave.

Around this time, Sarah’s ex became her ex and moved back down south, but she charged headlong into opening in the current premises; a small, former bike shop on the sunny side of the street. The surroundings are charming, the staff are obliging, the vibe is relaxed, and the menu is chock full of very tempting breakfast, brunch and lunch options. Marla’s feels like the sort of place you’d stop in for a drink during your morning constitutional only to stay for a bite to eat and eventually find most of your day dissolving into your freshly-ground coffee.

Let’s get the sandwiches out of the way first, so we can concentrate on other things. The halloumi sarnie comes in perfectly thick fresh white bread and includes pesto, tomato chilli jam and leaves of some sort. It’s ace. Also ace is the bacon, egg and halloumi; more halloumi, rashers, house curry ketchup and runny fried egg that soaks oozily into the bread. The curry ketchup is a cunning addition. You feel like it shouldn’t be there but you’re so glad it is.

There are also grilled sandwiches. House beet Reuben and kimchi grilled cheese. Both vegan, so I’ve no idea what they’re like. They’re probably brilliant but I want proper meat in my Reuben, thanks.

There are quite a few vegan and veggie options, actually, so the plant-friendly are well served. Carnivores, though, may want to cast their eye toward the bubble & squeak. In a bowl, you get potato and pea bubble, roast tomato, fried egg, tender-stem broccoli (which was most unexpected but very welcome) and a sausage pattie. Not your usual bubble & squeak, then, but all the better for it. You start off cautiously cutting through various bits of the food to try and taste each individual ingredient but end up surrendering to deliciousness and just forking up mouthfuls of glorious mashed up grub. It’s not dignified but you won’t care, you’ll just want it in your belly.

We must now address the Marla’s Breakfast, the closest they come (and it isn’t particularly close) to a full English. We can – and many people do – discuss all day what individual ingredients legitimately constitute a cooked breakfast. Some don’t think baked beans have a place on the plate, others feel that hash browns are a neophyte aberration. Personally, I consider mushrooms a crime punishable by flogging. The debate seethes constantly on. I’ll wager you’d find no-one, though, who would argue olives are an acceptable addition. Well, I’m here to tell you they very much are. In fact, I’d go as far as to say they’re a complete revelation. I appreciate that this statement may cause much consternation. Please, hear me out.

The Marla’s Breakfast comes as a sort of line of delicious food. Mounted on a toasted flatbread are bacon, halloumi, grilled peppers and shallots, dill cream cheese, chimichurri, a fried egg and the aforementioned olives. Three of them. Green. Mounted atop. Like a statement of intent, or a warning. Hard to tell which.

Now, this dish will either make you question what constitutes a breakfast or you’ll just crumble and succumb. Try the latter and I guarantee you’ll be amazed. It all just works. There’s a beautiful balance of the traditional and the experimental that intrigues and satisfies in equal measure. The controversial olives provide a savoury/salty hit that works against the sweeter cheesy elements but also elevates the taste of the bacon. Honestly. This is cooked breakfast entirely re-invented.

The sweeter of tooth may wish to indulge in the French toast, which is presented with so much French fancy it might as well be Versailles. At the bottom is cinnamon-coated French toast but you’ll have to take my word for that as it’s virtually invisible under the layers of Greek yogurt, strawberry jam, slices of apple and other fruit, pumpkin seeds and edible fresh flowers. Even Louis XIV would have found it unnecessarily ostentatious. It is, obviously, completely gorgeous.

I was absolutely knocked out by Marla’s. Is it the cheapest place you’ll ever eat? No. But the value is in the ingredients and the size of the dishes. You get plenty of great food for a bit more than you’d usually spend at that time of day. This is typical of the economic climate foisted upon us. They’ve started venturing into night-time, themed, small-plate events – which are proving hugely successful – and the Sunday dinners are apparently superb. So you might find those options better match your budget expectations.

Sarah and her merry little band of crew are doing wonderful things and Marla’s is now firmly lodged as my first choice for breakfast-to-lunch dining. For the sake of my ever-expanding waistline, though, I may have to start planning my morning constitutionals along routes that don’t take me past their front door.

Maria’s, 53 Princes Avenue, Hull, HU5 3QY.