Quick shout out to Agit in Sandyford, purely because they do a proper chicken katsu sando which is one of my favourite lunches in Newcastle.
I’ve chatted to many people recently that don’t know it exists. The location undersells it. Wretham Place might be familiar to students on their way to the NU Business school, but if you haven’t been through that particular part of town you may be a little sceptical. It’s an odd street. You might walk past and think it’s just another bubble tea shop. And sure, they do boba, and it’s sound. Disclaimer: I’m not the world’s biggest bubble tea fan, at all really.
Wander a little further up the street and you’ll find Big River Bakery. More on that to follow later. But make the trip and check out this weird little part of town. You’ll also find Chinese bakery Master Chow. Neighbouring cafe/bar Neet seems to have closed very quickly, as did microbar Pickled Toad. It’s probably one of those streets that’s ripe for a little disruption, if you had a quirky product. Like Agit…
It has eight things on the menu. Eight-ish seats. If this was a restaurant, you might be underwhelmed. Barebones, I think you could call it. You can still just about see the remnants of the former Kimchi Planet here. Who are still going, btw — I’m fond of their Fat Koreanz street food venture, too.
But what you need to order here, and Agit’s real raison d’être, is the katsu sando. You might think, given the relatively small kitchen footprint, that it’d be pre-made, cold, a bit shabby. It’s not. This is as good a sandwich as you’ll find in town, and it’s £7. Catch them on a slow day and they put it on for a mere fiver. Check their Insta page just in case.
It’s hot, crunchy, sweet, salty, and messy to eat. Always juicy, it’s one of those things you eat and think about for the rest of your day. A great sandwich, that I’m surprised isn’t being sold in more places across the city. Some of the chains are doing bang-average chicken burgers with basically the same/less chicken and people go wild. Crazy.
If you’re all good for katsu, the Korean beef toastie (£7) is another good one, rammed with cheese. There’s a riff on a certain breakfast bao, too. Not quite as good, but also not a million miles off. My other favourite is the strawberry sando. I don’t know why people went crazy when M&S started doing them (pretty grim, tbh). These are fresh and simple. Grab a couple of dishes and you won’t eat all day.
Friendly and speedy service too, so if you’ve ever walked past without realising, or never knew Wretham Place existed, go get your katsu sando. Eat well for under a tenner, check out Big River Bakery while you’re there, and you are welcome.
Location: 24 Wretham Place, Shieldfield, NE2 1XU
Contact: instagram.com/agitnewcastle/
Opening: Mon–Fri 8:00–20:00, Sat/Sun 10:00–18:00 (check before you go)
