The Best Sandwich Spots in London

I love sandwiches. I’ve eaten more sandwiches than just about any other food over the course of my life and, as a result of all those years of hard graft, consider myself to be quite good at making them. Putting something tasty and edible between two slices of bread isn’t exactly rocket science but there’s an artistry to making the perfect sandwich that requires an understanding of textures, flavours, and how to make sure all those elements are balanced in harmony. Then again, I would say that when I’m making a sandwich every day, wouldn’t I?

We’ve got plenty of Mob’s Sexiest Sandwich Recipes on our website but if you can’t be bothered going through the rigamarole of buying all the ingredients, you should read on for my list of the best sandwich spots in London where you can have someone else go to all the trouble of constructing a sandwich for you. Now, before anyone goes and makes an official complaint, we haven’t included a lot of specific sandwich-type dishes like wraps in this list – falafel already has its own dedicated guide and the kebab will be getting its dues sometime soon – but have kept the focus on subs, sarnies, baps and anything in that genre of sandwich.

From freshly made bánh mì to weighty ham, egg, and chip-stuffed constructions that’ll dislocate your jaw, this list is full of some serious sandwiches. Happy eating.

Served on fluffy house-made hoagies that retain their integrity under a boatload of ingredients, the sandwiches at Bodega Rita’s are some of the best you’ll find in the city. With options ranging from aubergine parmigiana to a killer merguez sandwich laced with harissa mayo, you’ll definitely need to keep returning here regularly until you figure out which sarnie is your all-time favourite.

91 Cowcross Street, EC1M 6BH

With three outlets dotted across the city, Keu is your best option for a quick and reliable bánh mì in London. There’s a variety of different bánh mì available but I don’t think the original – packed with mortadella, chicken liver paté, spicy pork belly, and ham terrine – can be topped. The veggies they throw in there include a mix of house daikon, cucumber, spring onions, and fresh chilli. It’s one of the most well-rounded and eatable sandwiches going.

Various locations

Sam Sandwiches isn’t just an Algerian street food spot in Shepherd’s Bush Market, it’s a local institution. Whatever time of the day you visit, you’ll always find regulars (nearly always middle-aged men) queuing up for their fix. A single bite of one of Samir Ladoul’s sandwiches and you’ll instantly realise why they’re so popular. And why they’re more than worth the sometimes-considerable wait. You can choose to get your sandwich filled with a combination of chicken, merguez, liver, and minced meat – all are delicious and all of them come topped with chips, salad, and a liberal amount of mayo on each side of the bread. It’s the sort of sandwich you’ll inhale far too quickly and daydream about in the office multiple times a week. And, yes, I’m speaking from personal experience here.

9 Shepherd's Bush Market, W12 8DE

If big sandwiches are your bag then Max’s Sandwich Shop should be at the tip-top of your “where am I going to eat sandwiches in London next” list. This Crouch Hill spot is owned by the hilarious (and talented) Max Halley and has slickly made the transition from neighbourhood gem to national treasure thanks to its years of consistently excellent service. The ham, egg, and chips sandwich is Max’s most popular – and a real marvel of textures, temperatures, and flavours – but there isn’t a sandwich on the menu here that won’t leave you full and satisfied. Not one to take any celiacs to, mind.

19 Crouch Hill, Finsbury Park, N4 4AP

Made to order using a spread of high-quality ingredients, the sandwiches at Sons + Daughters are good. Really good. The egg salad sandwich comes complete with Burford Brown eggs, miso mayo, and truffle mayo. The mortadella sandwich is an interesting mix of Morty D, taleggio, smoked tomato relish, Thai basil, and cider vinaigrette. Yep, this is that sort of sandwich shop where the prawn sandwich comes with prawn crackers and the merguez sandwich comes with French fries. You should go.

Unit 119A, Lower Stable Street, Coal Drops Yard, Kings Cross, N1C 4DQ

With one joint in Hackney and another in Bevis Marks, Dom’s Subs has quickly made a name for itself as the go-to place for Italian-style subs in London. Served on their house-baked semolina subs, fillings range from spicy Thai ground chicken to quality cold cuts and roasted aubergine. They’re big, beautiful, and have a cross-section that’ll be on your Instagram feed in a flash.

Various locations

This small-batch coffee roastery and café has a food offering that’s so good that it puts most self-proclaimed “proper” restaurants to shame. There’s no messing with the dench merguez sandwich that comes stuffed with jammy eggs and a shatteringly crisp handful of matchstick fries for good measure. Even the bacon sandwich at Catalyst, a sandwich which is so often best when it’s made at home when you’re violently hungover, is taken to the next level with immaculately-sourced bacon and perfect fried eggs. The sandwiches here are extremely hard to beat.

48 Grays Inn Road, Chancery Lane, WC1X 8LT

A bánh mì, when it’s done right, might just be my favourite sandwich of all time. Hai Cafê does a lemongrass chicken and pork belly bánh mì that’s one of the better versions you’ll find in London. The bread is crisp, yet still fluffy, and the veggie selection of Vietnamese house-pickled carrots, crispy shallots, cucumber and crushed black sesame ties the whole thing together nicely. An ideal lunch situation if you find yourself in Clapton.

120b Lower Clapton Road, Lower Clapton, E5 0QR

Operating out of the Grove House Tavern in Camberwell and The White Horse Pub in Peckham, Mondo Sando specialises in big boy sandwiches rammed with everything from merguez and lamb fat onions to braised yuba tofu skin. The team at Mondo are generous with the mayo and I mean that as the highest of compliments.

26 Camberwell Grove, SE5 8RE

Considering its bready pedigree, The Dusty Knuckle serves some outrageously and unsurprisingly tasty sandwiches. Lovingly wedged between light and crispy focaccia, the fillings always vary with the seasons but previous creations like roasted chicken with pesto, crunchy greens, mustard mayo, and crispy chicken skin can easily claim to be one of the best sandwiches in London that I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating.

Abbot Street Car Park, E8 3DP

Hey, you. Yeah, you. Want to know a secret? Great. Well, you know the Secret Sandwich Shop in Notting Hill, right? Yeah. Turns out they do really nice sandwiches there. Yep, Secret Sandwich Shop might be one of the worst kept secrets in west London but I still think that as many people should know about it as humanly possible. The egg salad sandwich is the MVP in my eyes but you can’t go wrong with anything they’ve got on the menu.

103 Talbot Road, W11 2AT

The sophisticate's sandwich of choice, the smoked eel sanger at Quo Vadis is one of the most luxurious bread-related experiences to be had in the city. The bread is imported from Poilâne bakery in Paris, the horseradish cream gives it a sinus-clearing kick, and the blushing-pink red onions offer a lovely acid lift at the end of each bite. It’s a proper London rarity – a hyped dish that more than lives up to the hype.

26-29 Dean Street, W1D 3LL

The fish sando at Balham’s Milk is a thing of beauty and, if you’re lucky enough to get a table there at the weekend, you should absolutely order one. Expect a crisp panko-fried red snapper laid to rest on fluffy, sweet shokupan bread with homemade Japanese mayo, fukujinzuke pickle sand housemade tonkastu sauce. It’s texture, it’s flavour, and it’s very excellent.

18-20 Bedford Hill, SW12 9RG

There is no doubt in my mind that ​​Bánh Mì Hội An makes some of the very best bánh mì in London but there’s a lot of doubt in my mind about what their actual opening times are. Technically open from 12-3pm on every day that’s not a Saturday, Sunday or Monday, it’s a difficult place to get to if you don’t live in the area and/or have a job. The upside to that unpredictability is that, on the rare occasion that you do show up before they’ve run out of bread, you can grab yourself a bánh mì that’s heavy on the paté and excruciatingly satisfying to eat. Order two and save one for later. You’ll thank me later.

242 Graham Road, E8 1BP

It’s one of the most romantic restaurants in the city for dinner but, by day, 40 Maltby Street transforms into one of its most capable sandwich shops. Takeaway lunch options range from meaty sandwiches crammed with pork schnitzel, green peppers, and aioli to more refined, meat-free offerings like creamy egg mayo with roast tomato and watercress. The bread is always freshly baked and the seasonally-shifting ingredients guarantee that you’ll almost never have the exact same sandwich here twice. The chalkboard menu may be rewritten often but it’s always very, very good.

40 Maltby Street, SE1 3PA

A firm favourite of Mob founder, Ben Lebus, Big Jo is a bakery and restaurant in north London that produces some of the most consistently delicious bread in the game. It’s what they do with that bread, though, that’s earned them a spot in this list of the best sandwich spots in London. Making use of their sturdy, tangy sourdough as well as springy mattresses of focaccia, the sandwiches always have just the right amount of filling. A salve in a city where the ethos for most sandwich makers seems to be “more is more”.

324 Hornsey Road, Finsbury Park, N7 7HE

A firm favourite of Farringdon locals and cabbies, Scotti’s Snack Bar is understated and classic in all the right ways. It’s not been kitted out to look retro or trendy, it’s just a simple spot doing simple food that hasn’t ever changed its tune. And, God, I hope and pray that it never does. Scotti’s chicken escalope sandwich does what it says on the tin and eating it will provide you with exactly what you want. The egg and bacon rolls are worth your money, too.

38 Clerkenwell Green, EC1R 0DU

I once did an internship at an office that was just a couple of minutes’ walk from Paul Rothe & Son and I’d always pop in on my lunch break whenever I was feeling particularly stressed out and in need of a big, fat sandwich. The beauty of this deli is that you can basically get any sandwich you want. Roast beef with mango chutney? Weird, but sure, they’ll do it. Everything is heavily buttered and keenly priced so you can make this your go-to sandwich spot without breaking the bank.

35 Marylebone Lane, W1U 2NN

The vada pav is what a chip butty wishes it could be. Consisting of a deep-fried potato patty wedged into a soft white roll, the vada pav is spicy, comforting, and eats well. The best vada pav in London can be found at any of Shree Krishna Vada Pav’s various outlets in the city. The VPs here are cheap and delicious. Paired with three chutneys and given some green chilli for company, it’s an ideal sandwich for eating in-between meals and the best side dish you could ever ask for.

Various locations

Having been in business since 1961, this Italian deli is a proper staple. I Camisa & Son was, at one time in its history, the only place in London where you could find deep cuts of Italian charcuterie and it remains to this day an excellent place to pick up a sandwich rammed with lots of that deliciously fatty and salty meat. Every sandwich is made-to-order and contains a combination of Italian cheese and meat that’s hard to beat.

61 Old Compton Street, W1D 6HS

The vibe at Larry’s is one of the reasons you’ll want to pay it a visit. There’s always something lively pumping out of the sound system and everyone who eats there is regularly decked out in tasteful amounts of Carhartt. The lunchtime sandwiches are some of the best you’ll find in this area. At the time of writing, there’s a celeriac schnitzel number on the menu which comes with a handful of tart sauerkraut on bouncy focaccia. It’s a goodie.

Unit 5, 12-16 Blenheim Grove, SE15 4QL

On a sunny day, Italo Deli might be the most picture-perfect place to be in the whole of London. Located just off Bonnington Square Pleasure Garden, Frank Boxer’s unassuming little deli sells a range of high-quality produce and bakes (think Spanish anchovies and freshly made sourdough) as well as a smattering of other lunch options. The sandwiches are the reason Italo is on this list of the best sandwiches in London. Because they are – well and truly – some of the best sandwiches in London. The seasons influence which ingredients are used but there’s nearly always a quality vegetarian-friendly sandwich on the cards.

13 Bonnington Square, SW8 1TE

I’ve already waxed poetic about St. JOHN Bread and Wine for being one of the best British restaurants in London but they’re so bloody good at everything they do that they’ve also earned themselves a spot on this list of the best sandwich places in London. And that’s in spite of how they only sandwich actually do one sandwich: a simple bacon sarnie. Will it change your life? No. But it’s good bacon in good bread, and it’s hard to go wrong with that, isn’t it?

94-96 Commercial Street, E1 6LZ