The best sandwiches in London

For the first few weeks of lockdown, one of the benefits of working from home was being able to knock up our own lunches. Many, many weeks in and that joy has seriously palled. So here who's delivering more interesting sandwiches around London for you to order.

Weekly sandwich specials at 40 Maltby Street

40 Maltby St, London SE1 3PA

The takeaway sandwich menu at 40 Maltby Street changes every week. To give you an idea of what to expect, recent jaw-dropping specials have included a broadbean and potato rosti salad and an ox tongue, onion fritter and mustard sandwich.

Follow them on Instagram: @40maltbystreet.

Delivery: Collection-only

Photo: @marthadelacey

The Second City at Bodega’s Ritas

91 Cowcross Street, London EC1M 6BH

You can always expect some pretty spectacular sandwiches from the Ritas crowd, and those on offer at their newish Farringdon spot don't disappoint. This creative concoction features - deep breath - au jus dipped slow roast “Wrong Way” rubbed beef, provolone picante, iceberg lettuce, vinegar pepper relish, chilli-oregano pangrattato, mayo, American mustard and sports peppers on a house-baked hoagie.

Follow them on Instagram: @Bodega.Ritas.

Salt beef bagel - Beigel Bake

155 Brick Lane, London E1 6SB

A London classic if ever there was one, the salt beef bagel from beigel bake on Brick Lane comes with an almost obscene amount of pickles stuffed in it and a slathering of extremely strong mustard. 

Follow them on Instagram: @beigel_bake.

Delivery: Order online (6 miles radius)

Lobster cheese toastie - Bob's Lobster

Borough Market, 8 Southwark St, London SE1 1TL

If you're wandering around Borough Market, you should aim to avail of this seafood special which Bob's Lobster are selling from their van there on Monday to Saturday. They're also serving up their signature lobster and crayfish rolls too.

Follow them on Instagram: @bobs_lobster.

Delivery: Uber Eats

The Porky Pig at Bread & Truffle

376 Mentmore Terrace, London E8 3DG

Launched during the lockdown this East London sandwich firm has a pretty simple premise - take Italian street food and bring it to the London masses. It's all about stuffed foccacia sarnies - a Hot Dinners reader described it as 'one of the best sandwiches I've ever had'. The Porky Pig, for example, features cacio e pepe spread, Tuscan grilled sausage, guanciale, truffled Pecorino and chicory. Pick them up from their base in London Fields or order in.

Follow them on Instagram: @breadandtruffle.

Delivery: Delivery via UberEats

Steak sando at Chunky Buddha

Truman's Brewery, JuJu's Bar, Old Spitalfields Market

Chef Lee Chau Le used to work at Zuma but now has a loyal following for his stalls serving up what he describes as Asian comfort pub food. He also sells amazing looking baos and fried rice, but this steak sandwich is the one to go for. I mean, just LOOK at it.

Follow them on Instagram: @chunkybuddhagroupp.

Delivery: On Deliveroo

The Vegan Dom 2.0 at Dom’s Subs

2B Bevis Marks (collection only) 262 Hackney Road (collection and delivery)

A superb veggie option from the superlative sandwich slingers. This features roasted aubergines, a salad of green beans, bean sprouts, fresh mint and Thai basil along with salted black beans and a spicy prik tum vinegar dressing with vegan mayo. The icing on the cake? The sticky roasted cashews on top. 

Follow them on Instagram: @impeccablesandwiches.

Delivery: On their website

The Fairfax - Eggslut

Notting Hill/Fitzrovia

If soft eggs, cheese and a warm bun is what it takes to get you revved up of a morning, then Eggslut’s the Fairfax is what you need. The brioche bun is stuffed with free-range soft scrambled eggs, chives, caramelized onions, lots of melty cheddar cheese and sriracha mayo for added kick.

Follow them on Instagram @eggslutuk

Delivery: Via Deliveroo

Smorrebrod selection - Ekte

2-8 Bloomberg Arcade, London EC4N 8AR

City folk inspired by all that Nordic noir they’ve been binge-watching on Netflix can either pop down for one at lunch or get these open sandwiches delivered. Choose from meat options like Aged Beef from Glenarm estate, celeriac and horseradish remoulade, crispy onion & Watercress or vegan choices like New potato & smoked mayonnaise with capers, crispy shallot onion & mustard cress.

Follow them on Instagram @ektelondon.

Delivery. on Deliveroo

The reuben at Friends of Ours

61 Pitfield St, Hoxton, London N1 6BU

There's a strong sandwich offering at this Hoxton spot (the bavette steak and turkey club both look great too) but the one we particularly fancy is the classic reuben featuring 12-hour smoked NY pastrami made with housemade kimchi, sriracha & Swiss cheese.

Follow them on Instagram: @thefriendsofours.

Delivery: Order online

Lobster roll at Hideaway

100 Mount St, Mayfair, London W1K 2TG

Ollie Dabbous' Mayfair cafe is doing a roaring trade to those living and working in central London. But the one you really want is this lobster sub which - if you're feeling very extra - can come with Siberian caviar on top. 

Follow them on Instagram: @hideaway_london.

Delivery: Order online

Cheese toastie at Kappacasein

1 Stoney St, London SE1 9AA

One of London’s original street food heroes, Kappacasein has been serving up cheese toasties at Borough Market for years. This, their hero sarnie, packs a combo of Montgomery cheddar, Ogleshield, London raclette and Comte together with onions and leeks in between sourdough and then presses it down until it’s a thin, hotter than Hades, sliver of toastie heaven.

Follow them on Instagram: @kappacasein.

Smoky Aubergine Banh Mi - Keu Deli

Shoreditch, Soho, Liverpool Street

All the banh mi offerings at Keu are pretty strong, but for a veggie take, their Smoky Aubergine Banh Mi edges ahead - stuffed with grilled aubergine, mushrooms, scallion oil and organic tofu, it’s got everything a plant-forward sandwich lover could ask for.

Follow them on Instagram @keudelilondon.

Delivery: Via Deliveroo for Soho or Shoreditch and Liverpool Street

Jamon Iberico sandwich - Llerena

167 Upper Street, London  N1 1US

If this last year has made you badly miss your foodie trips to Spain, this Islington bocadillo should help ease the pain. Llerena import their Jamon Iberico themselves, so you're in for some excellent quality jamon - and chorizo or lomo versions are available too. It's on their delivery menu only, so pour yourself an ice-cold Estrella from the fridge, and make like you’re in Madrid.

Follow them on Instagram @llerena.ibericotapasbar

How to order: Via Deliveroo.

Ham eggs ‘n’ chips at Max’s Sandwich Shop

19 Crouch Hill, Finsbury Park, London N4 4AP

Not since John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich came up with an innovative snack to keep any time he spent away from the gaming tables to a minimum, has one man made such a contribution to London’s sandwich game. Everything on the menu at Max Halley’s legendary Crouch Hill restaurant is worth getting, but the shining star is his Ham egg ‘n’ chips - a winning mix of slow-cooked ham hock with shoestring fries and a fried egg served up with piccalilli malt vinegar and mustard mayo.

Follow them on Instagram: @lunchluncheon.

Max's reopens on Wednesday 21 July 2021

Corned beef hash sando at Panadera

83 Kentish Town Road, London NW1 8NY

One of the huge hits of lockdown, this epic sarnie from Filipino bakery Panadera in Kentish Town features homemade corned beef inside a crispy croquette, topped with butterhead lettuce, crispy onions along with garlic aioli and ketchup with calamansi.

Follow them on Instagram: @panaderabakery_.

The MLT by Plant the Seed

Check Instagram for market days - Stroud Green, Croydon, Enfield etc.

The vegan sarnies by Plant The Seed are flat-out amazing and their MLT is a superb example. It features smoky-maple 'bacon' marinated mushrooms with a spicy mayo, tomato slices and lettuce on sourdough. Cruelty-free but flavour loaded.

Follow them on Instagram: @plant__theseed.

Eel sandwich at Quo Vadis

26-29 Dean St, London W1D 3LL

It’s not often we apply the word iconic to a dish, but chef Jeremy Lee’s toasted eel sandwich at Quo Vadis in Soho is every bit as iconic as the building it’s served in. Fat layers of smoked eel sit between toasted sourdough, with horseradish and mustard providing additional levels of flavour.

Follow them on Instagram: @quovadissoho.

Egg salad sandwich at the Secret Sandwich Shop

103 Talbot Road, London W11 2AT

More of an open secret, this Notting Hill delivery service turned bricks and mortar operation takes its inspiration from Japan’s Wanpaku sandwich. Most of the sandwiches here are made using shokupan but this version uses dark rye bread and is stuffed with egg and watercress.

Follow them on Instagram: @secretsandwichshop.

Delivery: On their website

Photo: Felicity Spector

Wagyu sando at Taka

109 Marylebone High St, London W1U 4RX

This luxury sando at Taka’s Marylebone base is a bestseller for a reason. It’s made using Kagoshima A5 wagyu inside slices of Happy Sky’s Shokupan Bread with a slick of Tonkatsu sauce to give it a kick.

Follow them on Instagram: @takarestaurants.

Delivery: On Deliveroo

Guinness Pulled Beef soda farl at Whisht

49 Brixton Station Rd, London SW9 8PQ

These Irish sandwich slingers are turning heads with their soda farls. There’s a breakfast option and an enticing colcannon-based veggie version, but our pick is this epic beast filled with braised beef, pickled carrots, garlic mayo, hot sauce and - the piece de resistance - Tayto cheese & onion crisps.

Follow them on Instagram: @whishtirishsandwiches.

Delivery: On Deliveroo

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