Pret a not so pretty

First up; the decline of the metropolitan sandwich store Pret a Manger.

I never thought it would come to this. The snazzy 42 second lunch-stop – well known for its bulging sarnies and manhattan lattes – is finally losing its charm. Whereas I once regarded the maroon and chrome interior as stylish and comfortable, I now find myself resenting its relative confinity and lack of limb space. Struggling over a square-inch of dining support does not a relaxing 30-minute lunch break make. I am woeful. The space no longer inspires, the punchy New York jazz tunes and perky employees fail to lift me from my city ennui and the extra charge to sit in seems more and more like a cruel joke. But it doesn’t stop there. The biggest crime of all is quite simple, but bad. The food is getting stale.  

I had noticed this on various recent trips to Pret. At first, however, I was persuaded to be forgiving. Like an indulgent mother to her winsome child, I could allow the odd slip up, the odd flaw. The rocket and crayfish ensemble with lemoney mayonnaise was consistently virtuous and tantalising, even if the bread was not as soft as once I remembered. Still, this did not overly concern me at the time. More recently however, it got worse. Being a fan of seafood sandwiches (another reason why I favoured Pret in the first place, since it offered flavours other than tinned tuna and sweetcorn which makes me want to cry), I opted for a recently new addition: flaky salmon, sliced egg and a vinegary mayo with rocket.  This time not only was the bread equally as uninspiring, but the salmon flakes themselves were agonisingly dry. I crumpled into my stool as I forced down the tough remains. The final betrayal came when I opened my bag of sea salt crisps and took a hopeful bite – only to find myself chewing a crisp more flexible than Darcy Bussell. That’s right my friends, those crisps were oldy mouldy. And when you’ve paid a fiver for dry fish and bendy crisps, you ain’t a happy little worker.

 I think it may be a long time until I am once more forced to spend my hard earned pennies in Pret, but when you remember the chain is owned by the evil capitalist execs who inflict us with McDonalds, suddenly the revolt seems a whole lot easier to muster. In the meantime, anyone know where I can get a tasty panini?