The viral 7-Eleven Japanese-Style Egg Salad Sandwich makes its debut in America. And in my mouth.

I’m not sure how I got here. Did I think that 2025 would wrap up with me reviewing an egg salad sandwich? Never. Absolutely not.

I’ve never eaten an egg salad sandwich in my life.

But then 7-Eleven had to go and introduce its Japanese-Style Egg Salad Sandwich in the chain’s American stores. Which is how, while wondering what has become of my life, I swung by 7-Eleven this week to buy one of the prepackaged sandwiches that had become a viral sensation on social media.

“The egg salad sandwich has long been a favorite item in 7-Eleven stores across Japan, and we’re excited to introduce a version for customers in the U.S. inspired by its beloved flavor,” Brandon Brown, senior vice President of fresh foods at 7-Eleven, said in a statement. “Fans across the country can now enjoy the new Japanese-Style Egg Salad Sandwich and experience a take on one of our most popular international offerings that has captured hearts and appetites around the world.”

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a meal that was cooked ... um, produced by 7-Eleven. When I was a kid, we’d ride our bikes outside of our neighborhood and cross the slightly busy main road to visit 7-Eleven. Back then the menu was definitely a Slurpee, probably some candy and maybe one of those hot dogs that had sat on the rollers way too long if it was a holiday like July 11. (You know, 7-Eleven Day.) But I’ve never eaten a sandwich sold by the chain. And, once again, I’ve never eaten an egg salad sandwich.

But people were psyched to learn that 7-Eleven was bringing this popular sandwich to America, with buzz growing around its pending release ever since Stephen Dacus, chief executive of 7-Eleven parent company Seven & I Holdings, had told The New York Times back in September that “we’re launching the egg sandwiches” as part of an expansion of the chain’s food offerings in America.

Should I have kept that streak alive? Or was the beloved “tamago sando” worth ending my four decades of egg salad sandwich protestation?

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What it costs

I’m not sure if the price varies depending on your location, but my 7-Eleven had the Japanese-Style Egg Salad Sandwich priced at $5.29. Is that a good price for an egg salad sandwich?

My thoughts

It’s not often that I go into a review feeling nervous, but the Japanese-Style Egg Salad Sandwich was new ground for me. I’m a lifelong devotee of tuna salad sandwiches, a genre of sandwich that has its critics, so it’s weird that I’ve taken such a hard stance against the egg salad sandwich.

An egg salad sandwich has never done anything wrong to me. Maybe they didn’t deserve my scorn. It was time to find out.

7-Eleven’s Japanese-Style Egg Salad Sandwich is neatly packaged, with the chain’s logo prominently featured on the label. The bright yellow egg salad shines through the window on the package. (I’ve seen some versions of the Japanese-Style Egg Salad Sandwich packed in a clear plastic shell, a difference that I’m guessing comes down to which distributor stocks your local 7-Eleven.) It’s hard to miss this one on the shelf of 7-Eleven’s sandwich section.

The packaging peels open, revealing two halves of a sandwich presses together between cardboard backing. The chain promotes the Japanese-Style Egg Salad Sandwich as being “made with soft and fluffy milk bread and rich and creamy egg salad crafted with Kewpie Mayonnaise.” The combination of the milk bread and egg salad result in a very soft sandwich, and I was careful removing it from the layers of packaging.

I tentatively took my first bite — ever! — of an egg salad sandwich. Then I took another bite. And another. Before I knew it, the triangular half of my Japanese-Style Egg Salad was gone.

While I don’t have a history of egg salad sandwich consumption to compare this one to, I thought it was a good sandwich. Nothing to run around waving my arms like Kermit over, but I could’ve definitely seen myself eating the second half of the sandwich had I not been doing the taste test for this review at 8:30 p.m. on a weeknight.

The milk bread is incredibly soft, softer than the standard white bread many of us probably grew up with. The egg salad was, as promised, creamy. With each bite, the egg salad disappeared into the milk bread, making the sandwich a pleasant eating experience.

Snack score

🍪🍪🍪 (3 out of 5 cookies)

Look, it’s an egg salad sandwich wrapped in plastic and sold at a gas station. The Japanese-Style Egg Salad Sandwich definitely gets points for opening my eyes to the potential of this kind of sandwich, but I’m not going to add 7-Eleven to my rotation of possible lunch stops. I might go back and eat the second half of my sandwich once I’m done writing this review, though ...