Silver’s sandwich: The viral Yorkshire-made sandwich which is worth waiting for

In fact, people from near and far will queue for hours to buy a freshly made Silver’s sandwich. What’s the secret to the success of this sandwich shop which opened late last year?

“You’ve got your normal sandwiches and then something a bit different” said owner Chris Smith.

“Everything is made from scratch, even the condiments are home made.

“I’m a sucker for punishment,”

He even fitted the interior of Silver’s himself in an industrial style with exposed brick using YouTube videos to learn new skills.

Chris, 41, has been in the hospitality industry for more than two decades.

He said: “I’ve been forever following food trends, I'm obsessed.

“They had a good run in America first, so I knew Sandwiches were then going to be massive in the UK.”

Chris said this business is quite literally his baby, named after his five-year-old daughter Silver.

He said: “After a challenging time for the industry, I wanted to get my love back for it.”

Chris has certainly put his love and experience into every layer of the business down to the home made pickles and hand cut vegetables into chunks which make up his special giardiniera sauce.

“[We use] lots of different cauliflower, celery, peppers.

“We chop about 40 kg of vegetables for this each week and ferment it in salt for 24 hours.

“We then wash excess salt off and mix with olives, fennel, seeds and capers.

“An Italian and American garden.”

This special sauce is only one part of a sandwich. The menu is intentionally stripped back to allow such precision on each component of the sandwiches.

“The Everything Sandwich is our best seller. It’s a breakfast sandwich with freshly-made sausage patty, streaky bacon and soft scrambled egg. We use a new cold pan each time to make the eggs soft, there’s a science in it. Plus we make our own spiced mayo ketchup.”

While Silver’s has the finesse of an upmarket restaurant, when it comes to the ingredients this breakfast butty only sets you back £5.95.

“I can keep costs down because there’s no VAT on Sandwiches,” said Chris, who has still been shocked by the popularity of his latest venture.

It seems however that a break away from the chain stores nearby is what was needed and that people still appreciate locally sourced goods.

The lunchtime menu includes Salt Beef Brisket, with the Brisket cured for 10-14 days and then slow cooked for five hours. Silver’s then make their own pickles with dill, swiss cheeses and mustard to go inside the sandwich which costs £7.

“It’s a process. We can’t make enough of the Salt Beef,” says Chris. Even the bread is home-made by a local bakery he said he took ages to source.

Another popular sandwich which keeps people returning on a weekend and queuing is their homemade meatballs with marinara sauce.

“I don’t want it to be a business with lots of stores, I just want to keep it a community place people can come to,” said Chris.

He said that he started out thinking it would just attract local people so they didn’t have to travel further afar for food but now it’s people coming from so-called trendy foodie suburbs that are heading to Bramley.

Chris added: “Bramley needs something like this. It’s nice and steady during the week and then Saturday and Sunday are super popular with sometimes a 100 hundred deep queue.”

The attraction for Sunday is the special sandwich which changes each month.

“It’s kind of like a cheese burger in a sub roll, but it’s not a cheese burger,” said Chris.

It’s a steak burger chopped up on the grill, served with Monterey Jack cheese, shallots and more. This large sandwich is served inside a ‘Hoagie roll’ made by micro bakery Fat Pigeon Bakery.

“The USP is the dipping pot,” said Chris.

This Sunday special costs £11.95 including the Cheese Whizz dipping pot. It’s a collaboration with 2PK and £1 from each sandwich sold goes to Fat Pigeon Bakery.

The staff team has now grown from four people to six and the future looks delicious for the Leeds food entrepreneur.

“We may open one or two branches but nothing big. Although I may have to call a cocktail bar after my other daughter Topaz,” jokes Chris.

Chris has also got an exciting collaboration underway locally with another foodie business which will be opening soon.

Silver’s is open 9am-2pm Tuesday - Sunday on 268 Stanningley Road, Bramley, Leeds Ls133bs.