37 editor-picked sandwich spots across 19 cities.
A guide to sandwich restaurants worth a trip, by city. We list operators, signature dishes, and the rooms locals book first.
Fred's Meat and Bread at Krog Street Market in Atlanta opened 2014 with chef Todd Ginsberg's burger and sandwich counter. Located in Inman Park.
Signature: Cheeseburger, Cuban sandwich, Fried chicken sandwich
Order: The double cheeseburger or the Cubano sandwich.
Tip: Counter ordering; pickup at the window. The Bocado burger across town is the spiritual prequel; both run by Ginsberg.
Victory Sandwich Bar in Inman Park, Atlanta runs $4 mini sandwiches and the Jack and Coke slushy out of a Bernina Avenue bungalow since 2010.
Signature: Sliders, Jack and Coke slushy
Order: Three mini sandwiches and a frozen Jack and Coke.
Tip: Cash and card. The patio is dog-friendly. Decatur and Inman Park locations stay latest.
Sandwich Sandwich stacks Bristol's most argued-over lunch on Baldwin Street, a family deli founded in 2012 that won Time Out's national Sammie Slam.
Try: Stacked deli sandwich
Tip: Queue before noon or after 14:00; the Queens Road shop runs the same boards for the university end of town.
Bruno's Market & Deli grocers the village from 6th and Junipero in Carmel, its oakwood barbecue and deli turning out tri-tip and rib sandwiches.
Try: Oakwood barbecue tri-tip sandwich
Tip: The tri-tip sandwich and the oakwood barbecue counter make this the beach-picnic supply stop; it opens at 07:00 daily.
5th Avenue Deli has built Carmel beach picnics since 1991, boxing sandwiches from Harris Ranch tri-tip to falafel a short walk from the sand.
Try: Harris Ranch tri-tip sandwich or a picnic box
Tip: Order a named picnic box; the 5th Avenue Deli Picnic starts at $17.50 and the Deluxe at $25.99 covers two on Carmel Beach.
Greg's Sandwich Works bakes its own bread for shop and truck sandwiches in Chattanooga, a family operation trading daily from E Brainerd Road.
Try: Hot sandwiches on house-baked bread
Tip: The E Brainerd shop runs weekday lunches 11:00 to 17:00; the truck's roaming schedule posts on StreetFoodFinder.
Greg's Sandwich Works stacks fresh-baked bread with homemade soups and sides on E Brainerd Road in Chattanooga, shop-counter prices for scratch food.
Try: Hot sandwich with a homemade side
Tip: The E Brainerd shop runs weekday lunches 11:00 to 17:00; the truck's roaming schedule posts on StreetFoodFinder.
Ankar's Hoagies has stacked steamed hoagies and gyros for Chattanooga since 1979, a family-run counter institution still working Brainerd Road daily.
Order: The classic hoagie, steamed, with the works.
Tip: Brainerd closes at 16:00 Monday and Tuesday but runs to 20:00 the rest of the week; the Hixson Pike shop keeps longer evening hours.
Cheba Hut toasts its counterculture subs on Taft Hill Road in Fort Collins until 02:00 on weekends, with billiards, a full bar and Kool-Aid on tap.
Signature: White Widow sub, Goo Ball
Order: A toasted White Widow with a Kool-Aid cottonmouth cure
Tip: The chain's headquarters sits in Fort Collins; the westside hut adds billiards and stays open latest. Order a White Widow toasted.
Cheba Hut toasts its counterculture subs on Taft Hill Road in Fort Collins until 02:00 on weekends, with billiards, a full bar and Kool-Aid on tap.
Try: Toasted subs till late
Tip: The chain's headquarters sits in Fort Collins; the westside hut adds billiards and stays open latest. Order a White Widow toasted.
Cheba Hut toasts its counterculture subs on Taft Hill Road in Fort Collins until 02:00 on weekends, with billiards, a full bar and Kool-Aid on tap.
Try: Toasted subs till late
Tip: The chain's headquarters sits in Fort Collins; the westside hut adds billiards and stays open latest. Order a White Widow toasted.
Goose the Market in Old Northside, Indianapolis is a butcher and charcuterie shop with a sandwich counter and an Italianate wine cellar downstairs.
Signature: The Batali sandwich, Smoked ham
Order: The Batali sandwich, a side of charcuterie, an Italian red downstairs.
Tip: Smugglers Cove wine bar runs in the basement evenings. No reservations.
Costaud on Place du Vieux Marché aux Chevaux in Lille runs to 01:00 from Thursday to Saturday, shared plates replacing the daytime sandwich card.
Try: Sandwich Costaud
Tip: Evenings turn to sharing plates. The sandwich card is a daytime thing.
Costaud on Place du Vieux Marché aux Chevaux in Lille builds sandwiches to order by day and turns to shared plates at night, across three floors.
Why locals love it: Three floors of a 19th-century building on a small square off the main Vieux-Lille circuit, sandwiches by day and shared plates at night.
Tip: The square it sits on is one street off the tourist route, which is why it stays a local room.
Costaud on Place du Vieux Marché aux Chevaux in Lille builds sandwiches to order by day and turns to shared plates at night, across three floors.
Try: Sandwich Costaud
Tip: The garlic and cheese bread at 9.50 euros is the order to add if you are two.
Les Freres Barioz in Lyon's 3e runs an Italian-style sandwich counter on Rue Duguesclin, with focaccia panini and rotating daily fillings from house.
Signature: Italian-style sandwiches, Focaccia
Order: The mortadella-and-pistachio focaccia, plus a Tarocco orange juice.
Tip: Lunch only; counter closes at 14:30. Cash and card.
Kombu on Rue Léon Jamin in Nantes toasts €11 sandwiches from local producers at lunch, then turns to shared plates and natural wine at night.
Try: Toasted premium sandwiches
Tip: Founders Léo and Maximilien source through the Kiosque Paysan network; the evening tapas card is a different register from lunch.
Bercail, little sister to Broussaille, builds €8 sandwiches on organic sourdough on Rue des Olivettes in Nantes, with seasonal daily specials.
Try: Organic sourdough sandwiches
Tip: The sunny terrace is the draw in fine weather; sandwiches sell out before the posted close on busy Saturdays.
Moloss builds proper casse-dalle sandwiches near Feydeau in Nantes at €9.50 apiece, or €11.50 to €15 once you add the sides that make it a full lunch.
Signature: Casse-dalle sandwiches
Tip: Only Thursday and Friday get an evening service; the rest of the week the shutters come down at half two.
Turkey and the Wolf in New Orleans is Mason Hereford's daytime sandwich room on Jackson Avenue, a Michelin recognised lunch counter with the collard green.
Signature: Collard green melt, Fried bologna sandwich
Order: The collard green melt with cheddar on cushy rye.
Tip: Lunch only, daytime hours Wednesday to Monday. Closed Tuesday; lines start before noon.
Cochon Butcher in New Orleans is the Donald Link sandwich counter and butcher case beside Cochon, with a muffuletta and Le Pig Mac that have outsold.
Signature: Muffuletta, Le Pig Mac
Order: The muffuletta with the house olive salad. Add the Le Pig Mac.
Tip: Lunchtime is queued; come at 11:00 or after 14:00. Same kitchen as Cochon, faster turn.
Can Trispol builds llonguets, the split Mallorcan roll, in a back street of Sa Gerreria in Palma, with seven or eight fillings and island wine by the glass.
Signature: Llonguet
Order: A llonguet with sobrassada, the most Mallorcan of the seven or eight fillings.
Tip: The room is tiny and the schedule moves with the season. Call ahead rather than turning up on spec.
Can Trispol builds llonguets, the split Mallorcan roll, in a back street of Sa Gerreria in Palma, with seven or eight fillings and island wine by the glass.
Try: Llonguet
Tip: Llonguets are built to order from seven or eight fillings. The room is tiny, so call ahead.
Can Trispol builds llonguets, the split Mallorcan roll, in a back street of Sa Gerreria in Palma, with seven or eight fillings and island wine by the glass.
Order: A llonguet with sobrassada, the most Mallorcan of the seven or eight fillings.
Why locals love it: Buried on a Sa Gerreria side street with a handful of tables, and it opens on a short, shifting weekly schedule.
Tip: The room is tiny and the schedule moves with the season. Call ahead rather than turning up on spec.
Worth Takeaway on Main Street in Mesa builds craft sandwiches from local product, nearly all made in house, in a small downtown storefront with a lunch line.
Signature: Craft sandwiches, Breakfast plates, House sauces
Order: Whatever sandwich is on special; the breakfast runs only 8 to 11am.
Tip: Counter ordering, limited seats; lunch peaks fast, so come early or off-peak.
Primanti Bros on 18th Street is the 1933 Strip District original in Pittsburgh. The sandwich with fries and vinegar slaw stacked inside the Italian bread.
Signature: Almost Famous sandwich, Capicola and cheese
Order: An Almost Famous sandwich with grilled meat, slaw and fries packed inside the bread.
Tip: This is the original location, open since 1933 and late into the night on weekends.
Rick Gencarelli's chef-driven sandwich shop on SE Hawthorne in Portland, founded as a 2010 food cart and four-time Willamette Week Best Sandwich winner.
Signature: Pork meatball banh mi, Dirty fries
Order: The dirty fries: cut fries with pork scraps and marinated peppers
Tip: Counter order. The chefwich rotates monthly and is a collaboration with a guest chef.
Hlollabatar has built hot Icelandic-style subs since 1986, a local sandwich chain whose loaded baguettes are a Reykjavik late-night and lunch standby.
Signature: Hot subs
Order: A loaded hot sub; the New York filling is the house favourite.
Tip: Branches dot the city and some open late. The original recipe has barely changed since the 1980s.
Garnett's Cafe on Park Avenue is the Fan neighborhood sandwich shop. Long-running daytime counter, made-to-order sandwiches and a strong salad menu.
Signature: Sandwiches, Salads
Garnett's Cafe on Park Avenue runs Richmond's neighborhood sandwich shop. Long-running breakfast and lunch counter on a quiet Fan residential block.
Order: Made-to-order sandwich.
Why locals love it: Hidden on a residential block in the Fan, a stop-in spot for VCU faculty and Park Avenue neighbors. Tourists rarely find it.
Tip: Sandwiches make Tuesday-Sunday from 8 am to 3 pm; the patio fills first.
Bread Head bakes a crackly focaccia-ciabatta hybrid daily for its Montana Avenue sandwich counter in Santa Monica, muffulettas and hot weekday specials.
Order: The Combo Grinder on the house focaccia
Tip: Founders Jordan Snyder and Alex Williams grew it from a Main Street pop-up; the Combo Grinder is the benchmark order.
Bread Head bakes a crackly focaccia-ciabatta hybrid daily for its Montana Avenue sandwich counter in Santa Monica, muffulettas and hot weekday specials.
Tip: Founders Jordan Snyder and Alex Williams grew it from a Main Street pop-up; the Combo Grinder is the benchmark order.
Worth the queue: Combo Grinder
A Benton Park sandwich counter, Blues City turns out New Orleans-style po-boys and muffulettas with live blues some afternoons, a lunch-only institution.
Order: The muffuletta or one of the New Orleans po-boys.
Tip: The muffuletta and po-boys are the orders; arrive before the lunch rush. Live blues plays some afternoons.
A St. Louis Hills deli, Mom's stacks the locally famous Mom's Special and made-to-order subs, reopened in 2025 to hour-long lines of devoted regulars.
Order: The Mom's Special with thousand-island dressing.
Tip: The Mom's Special is the order; the thousand-island dressing is the secret. Expect a line since the reopening.
Bub and Pop's is a Philadelphia-style hoagie shop by the NoMa-Gallaudet Metro in Washington DC, built on the Wagner family's South Philly recipes.
Signature: Italian hoagie, Reuben
Order: The Italian hoagie with hot peppers; the menu's most-ordered sandwich.
Tip: Lunch line stacks up at 12:30; order ahead via the website to skip the wait. Cash and card both accepted.
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