Pret a Manger

If Pret were an American chain, it may not have caused a lot of fuss. But there’s just something so damn British about this place—the attractive, stainless-steel design; the cheeky blurbs on every bag, carton and bottle—that you can’t help but think it’s somehow more special than, say, Au Bon Pain. Truth is, the chains are somewhat similar, but Pret gets points for using better ingredients (Ronnybrook yogurt, Niman Ranch ham) and packaging them with more style.