The emergence of the toasted cheese sandwich maker not long afterwards put the oozing carb-fest firmly on the global map. Jamie Oliver did us an extra favour in 2014, when he described an out-of-this world gourmet version in his cookbook, Comfort Food.
Now it seems that every café, pub and restaurant worth its salt has a toastie on the menu.
Here, we’ve truffled out the finest cheese toasties in the land.
The Cheeseshed At Nettlebed Creamery
‘Cheese toasties are a magnificent thing,’ says Rose Grimond, founder of the Nettlebed Creamery. ‘Underestimate them at your peril.’ She began to sell toasties as a way to use up the offcuts from the artisanal cheeses she makes. She launched them during lockdown, could barely keep up with demand and hasn’t looked back. Now, she tells The Good Web Guide, she sells up to 1,200 cheese toasties a week.
The Newt
The Newt – the glorious hotel and estate in Somerset – sponsored this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show for the second time. To celebrate, they joined forces with Vanity Fair and threw a huge party for the great and the good amid the grounds of the Royal Hospital. With live music and cocktails aplenty, the joint was jumping. And the canape du choix on that happy, sunny evening? Truffled cheese-toastie fingers, of course.
Another Brother
This friendly neighbourhood coffee shop, with branches in Putney and Shepherd’s Bush, doesn’t mess around. Excellent coffee and cheery greetings are assured – and dogs even get their own water bowls. In addition to perfect pastries and great breakfasts, Another Brother also has a whole menu of cheese toasties. We fancy the one called The Northerner, with its Yorkshire rarebit mix of cheddar and Red Leicester, English mustard and chives.
La Fromagerie
Few places offer recovery from a hard morning’s shopping in Marylebone Hight Street like the bustling café at La Fromagerie does. Their cheese toastie – made of either farmhouse cheese and vine tomatoes or farmhouse cheese and roast ham – is unforgettable.
Westcombe Dairy
A walk in the hills near Bruton, with a rest stop for a cheese toastie at the shop at Westcombe Dairy, is one of life’s great pleasures. One of their simple cheese toasties, made on an ancient woodfired stove, will keep you going all afternoon. Exquisite pint of Somerset cider optional.
The Cheesy Toasty Shack
In his rave review of this charming seaside vendor in St Andrews, Jay Rayner said: ‘These are serious items, built to keep you going as the winds blow and the sea crashes. The bread is cut thick. It’s bronzed and a little oily outside, with a deep filling… An absolute gem.’
By Becky Ladenburg
June 2023
