Campbell is coming up lately...wait a minute, it's always been on the up and up. People rarely think of downtown Campbell as a street with great eats, healthy farmers market, and lively nightlife yet everyone who knows its charms are instantly wooed. It's more modern than your quaint small town, and much quieter than your average large city, and it has all the elements of a good day or night out. In fact, Campbell has quickly become one of my favorite areas to hang out.
I have been mostly pleased with all my dining adventures in downtown Campbell and am always excited to try new things here. Spread Campbell is fairly new, offering gourmet deli sandwiches and an assortment of meades, ales, ciders, beers, and wines. You can have your pick of blondes, *wink*. The manager of Spread is also the operating manager of
Liquid Bread Gastropub, where I loved the food so much despite the prices. To this day, I'm still trying to find where I can buy and cook a squab just like they did at Liquid Bread. With the same management, they are already off on a good start.
This review covers two different visits to Spread.
On my last visit here, my ladies and I split a bottle of Buzzerkeley sparkling ale. It was like almost like a carbonated version of a Widmer hef. Light and nice.
($10) Gandolfini plus alfalfa sprouts - salame, proscuitto, mortadella, burrata, EVOO, olive spread on focaccia bread
I have a love-love-sometimes-hate relationship with proscuitto because I love it so much I sometimes eat too much and then I hate it for a few months. I was coming off another love-love spout when I decided to order the Gandolfini. The sandwich was ok. Every ingredient in itself was good quality but it lacked a veggie balance. The olive spread is salty, the cured meats are salty, I even ordered extra sprouts and with that it was still too salty.
($9 if vegetarian) Da Garden vegetarian sandwich + turkey - The regular sandwich has roasted zucchini, yellow squash, tomato, bell pepper, spicy hummus, garlic herb aioli, and sprouts on wheat. My friend added turkey to her veggie sandwich. She seemed pleased enough with this sandwich.
($6) Grilled cheese - melted cheddar and muenster cheeses between toasted sourdough. Is that bacon I see?!
Friend number 2 spent a long time deciding on this winning combo that made me quite jealous. Look at that melty cheese in that perfect bread.
($4.5) Mac and cheese - cheddar, swiss, jack cheese
This was good mac and cheese. Much better than I've had at other places. It comes piping hot in a dainty skillet with a hand knitted pot holder.
($11) Pho Sho - Slow roasted top sirloin cooked in Vietnamese spices, pepper jack cheese, mung beans sprouts, caramelized onion jam, basil, and onions on a sweet bun
This was the sandwich that drew me to Spread. My friend posted a photo and I thought, no way is this tasty. Pho does not belong in any form except as a noodle soup. I was wrong. This is very tasty and does taste like a sandwich version of pho. The sirloin has the pho broth flavor while the bean sprouts, onion jam, basil, and what I suspect to be hoisin and sriracha sauces on the bread round out the pho effect. The pepper jack cheese takes backstage and adds just an element of fusion to make this not an entirely Asian sandwich. I actually liked this sandwich a lot! Would definitely get it again.
($14) Charcuterie - Toasted sugary walnuts, mustard spread, crusty baguette slices, 3 different cheese of which I can only recognize brie, dried berries, 3 types of cured meats, and a small fluff of sprouts.
We enjoyed a platter just enough for two on the outside patio with their beautiful blue couches. Drinks on this day were a fantastic Polycot ale with fruity notes and an unsweetened tea.
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
For service, you order at the counter, take your number, and they deliver to your table. Drinks are self service from their liquor fridge.
For pricing, overall it is medium-high for a meal of sandwiches. If you read the ingredients in the sandwiches, their pricing makes sense and I think the pricier sandwiches are worth it. For example, the top sirloin and the flavors imparted into the meat must have taken some work and that sandwich is ok at $11. Plus it tastes good. The menu has some range so it can be a cheaper meal if you order the lower priced items. Campbell is not known for a quick and cheap bite anyway.
For ambiance, sit outside if the weather is good. Those couches are beautiful and you can people watch. And luck you, the South Bay weather is almost always good! If you sit inside, the space is open and bright, with high tables and bar stools set against a white tile back splash.
Spread Campbell is a place where you can drink in the day time, outside in public. That's why you should go here.
Spread Campbell Deli Bottles on Yelp
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These are the last few days to enter the raffle for $10 giftcards to try Kincao healthy lunch delivery service, also in Campbell!
This guy stood in line since 5AM for an 11AM opening. He won the first of the coupons. Apparently he already had Capriotti's at another location and also downloaded their royalty app.
