There's no doubt about it, London's sandwich game is really strong right now. From classic contenders to inventive new genre-busters, there are an incredible number of options either to entice you away from your desk at lunchtime or to make a cross-city trip at the weekend. We've done our best to come up with the best selection of sarnies to try right now.
The kofte and aubergine sandwiches at Logma
Hackney - 81 Goldsmith’s Row, London E2 8QR
There’s a lot of love for everything on the menu at this Iraqi-Iranian cafe by Ziad Halub and Farsin Rabiee and they've recently expanded their offering to evening suppers, which are a must-book. But the dish most often referred to are their insanely good sandwiches. Both are in a sourdough pita, and you choose whether you want it absolutely rammed with kofte or roasted aubergine.
Follow them on Instagram: @logmaldn
The Pistacchiosa at La Finestra
Southfields - 270 Merton Rd, Longfield St, London SW18 5JN
There's a brand new menu available at this tiny focaccia window business in Southfields, but we have a real fondness for this OG option. It's a focaccia sandwich filled with mortadella, creamy burrata and pistachio pesto. And there’s something rather cute about having to ring the bell for your sandwich fix.
Follow them on Instagram: @lafinestra.london
Bacon and scallop roll at Billingsgate Market Cafe
Poplar - Billingsgate Market, Trafalgar Way, London E14 5ST
You’ve got a few years left to try one of East London’s most talked-about sandwiches before Billingsgate Market moves to its new site on the Royal Docks. Head to the workers’ cafe here, which serves up Full English and breakfast rolls with a seafood slant. This roll is what you’re after - it’s a classic crusty white roll filled with freshly fried bacon and scallops and nothing else. One thing to note, this is a very early morning option. If you can’t be doing with seeking out scran in the wee small hours of the morning, head to Terry’s Cafe in Southwark, which has its own take on this roll. It will cost you more, though.
The specials at Papo's Bagels
Hackney - Railway Arch 449, Amhurst Rd, London E8 2AJ
Obviously, London has a longstanding tradition of beigel bakeries, but if you're after an NYC-style bagel specifically, the options have become increasingly more interesting of late. Doing big numbers every week is Papo's Bagels, which is run by two New Yorkers. Obviously, they do the classics, like smoked salmon with schmear well, but their monthly specials are particularly inventive. At the time of writing, it was a team-up with a Cretan olive oil company of toasted open bagels topped with slices of fresh peach, mozzarella basil and EVOO.
Follow them on Instagram: @paposbagels
Steak sando from Chunky Buddha
Shoreditch - The Ringside Bar, 22 Kingsland Road, London E2 8DA
Chef Lee Chau Le (ex-Zuma) has been serving up this steak sandwich at various markets and pop-ups around town for a while now, but for the rest of 2026, you’ll find him in residency at this Shoreditch sports bar. The sandwich is packed with rib-eye steak cooked medium rare and dipped in a house dressing and then sandwiched with Asian slaw, cheese and crispy onion.
Follow them on Instagram: @chunkybuddhagroupp
The Tommy's Club at Tommy's Sandwiches
King's Cross - 201 King's Cross Rd, London WC1X 9DB
A relative newcomer to the scene, owner Tom Ady, an expat from Washington DC, founded this King's Cross sandwich shop because he couldn't find the tiger bread subs he was missing from home. They keep the menu pretty tight here, but probably the best one to try if you're coming down for the first time is their classic club made with turkey, ham and bacon along with Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, avocado, house mayo and honey mustard. It's a beast!
Follow them on Instagram: @tommyssandwiches
Michael’s chicken sandwich at Crunch
Soho - 60 Dean St, London W1D 6AW
This sandwich slinger entered the premier league when they moved from East London into the heart of Soho. They set out their pitch as creative brioche sandwiches, and they’ve even managed a vegan version. But it’s this chicken option we really rate with a southern fried chicken cutlet, shredded lettuce, pickle and homemade alioli.
Follow them on Instagram: @crunch.london
The Rogue at Rogue Sarnies
Bethnal Green - Arch 263 Poyser Street, London E2 9RF
Two ex-Galvin La Chapelle chefs are behind this Hackney space, which has a stellar reputation for excellent sarnies. All the bread is made in-house, and if you're going at lunch, the OG Cheesy is stuffed with three cheeses - Camembert, Cheddar and Grana Padano together with a secret Marmite glaze. That said, the breakfast sandwich options offer some of the best ways to start a day in London and the titular Rogue featuring sausage-stuffed pork belly, two fried St Ewe eggs, smoked cheddar and Sichuan chilli crack is hard to beat.
Follow them on Instagram: @rogue_sarnies
Corned beef hash sando at Panadera
Marylebone and Soho
There are many, many reasons to head to Filipino bakery Panadero, not least their extensive sando menu. This epic sarnie features homemade corned beef inside a crispy croquette, topped with butterhead lettuce, crispy onions along with garlic aioli and ketchup with calamansi. There are two branches, a grab-and-go spot just beside Selfridges and the larger bakery/cafe in the heart of Soho. Be warned, though, the queues in Soho at the weekend can be epic.
Follow them on Instagram: @panaderabakery_.
The A1 Beef Dip at Mondo to Go
Deptford - Arch 5 Deptford Market Yard, London SE8 4BX
The Mondo Sando team now have two brick-and-mortar spots, in Camberwell and Deptford (as well as their longstanding residency in South London's Grove House Tavern). The daytime menu is where the key sandwich offerings are; choose between going down the sandwich or sub route. Just weeks after opening, this Deptford special is already becoming a must-have. It's only available from Friday to Sunday and features rare roast beef dipped into master stock, topped with beef shin and onion jam, aioli, Provolone, pickled mustard greens, potato matchsticks and some Szechuan mala ‘numbin dust’.
Follow them on Instagram: @mondo.sandwiches
The Purgatorio at Dal Fiorentino
Hoxton, Fitzrovia, Brick Lane, Holborn, Notting Hill
Anywhere that attracts a perma-queue during the week has to be worthy of closer inspection and clearly on that basis alone Italian sandwich shop Dal Fiorentino is doing something right. The USP here is their bread, which they bake in-house. It's called schiacciata, which is a type of focaccia from Tuscany. Their classics are great, but to change things up, try the Purgatorio made with mortadella, stracciatella, truffle cream and grilled courgettes.
Follow them on Instagram: @dalfiorentino.london.
The salt beef baguette at Porterford Butchers
City - 72 Watling St, London EC4M 9EB
Within spitting distance of St Paul's, you'll find this popular City spot mainly by the length of its queue at lunchtime. A traditional butcher's, it does a very nice line in meaty baguettes, whether you're after a Philly Cheesesteak, BBQ brisket or meatball sub. But we love an old-school salt beef option and this slab, simply adorned with pickles and mustard, is the business.
Follow them on Instagram: @porterford_butchers.
The weekly special at Chatsworth Bakehouse
116 & 120a Anerley Rd, London SE19 2AN
Harder than getting hold of Glastonbury tickets is how several fans have described the weekly scrum to attain one of Chatsworth Bakehouse's weekly limited edition sandwich specials. To be in with a chance, you should know that they upload pre-order slots at 12.30pm on Mondays. If you miss out on that, prepare to join an epic queue at the weekend.
Follow them on Instagram: @chatsworthbakehouse
The Classic at Banh
592 Kingsland Rd, London E8 4AH
Right by Dalston Junction and run by a gang of Vietnamese friends, this banh mi cafe has slowly built up a stellar reputation for its baguettes and has recently had a shiny new makeover. The bread is baked in store every day, and whether you're after the classic stuffed with pork in every form - char siu, ham hock, belly pork and pork pate - or one of their delicious vegan alternatives, you're going to go home happy.
Follow them on Instagram: @banhslondon.bakery
Monthly specials at The Shoap
406 St John St, London EC1V 4ND
Where to start with the sandwich options at this Scottish spot at Angel? For breakfast, there are morning rolls with haggis or black pudding and they serve up a series of monthly special sarnies that are going to make you want to keep coming back. At the time of writing, they were just celebrating the return of The Big Mick, made with Angus beef, whisky burger sauce, onion & pickles on toast.
Follow them on Instagram: @auldhag_
The Sam's Special at Sam's Sandwiches
9 Shepherd's Bush Market, London W12 8DE
If your day hasn't been split into pre and post-Sam's, then you need to hightail it here right away. This Algerian kitchen shack is serving up some of the best (and biggest) sandwiches in town. If you're making the pilgrimage, this is the one to go for - featuring merguez, kofte, egg, salad and chips.
Follow them on Instagram: @sam_sandwiches1
Photo: @halal_girl
The new Roman-style sandwiches at Toklas
Temple - 9 Surrey St, London WC2R 2ND
Toklas has always been a standout place for sandwiches, but the arrival of baker Adam Sellar (ex-Harwood Arms and Elliot's) has brought some changes, not least the launch of a new Roman-style sandwich range made with a lighter, crisper flatbread. There are plenty of veggie options, but the Prosciutto cotto with scamorza and mustard mayo really is the business.
Follow them on Instagram: @toklas_bakery
Honey Truffle Parm at Black Pig
Borough Market
As the name suggests, porky sarnies are the real winners here. One of their best sellers, this is made using low roast free range pork shoulder, honey truffle mayo, fennel and apple slaw with 30-month aged Parmesan on toasted ciabatta. Oh, and you can buy that mayo to take home with you too.
Follow them on Instagram: @theblackpig_ldn
Egg mayo at Paul Rothe & Sons
Marylebone - 35 Marylebone Ln, London W1U 2NN
Sandwiches a speciality, says the sign on this 123-year-old Marylebone stalwart and they’re not wrong. This Insta-worthy deli serves up no-nonsense sandwiches on white, brown or wholemeal - with the occasional foray into rye. The egg mayo on white is our sarnie of choice here. It’s 100% one of those places that we all need to use it or we’ll lose it.
Follow them on Instagram: @paulrotheandson
The Chicken Parm by Dom’s Subs
Hackney - Rasputin's Bar, 171 Mare St, London E8 3RH
After a period of regrouping, which has meant the closure of their three standalone sandwich shops, you can now get the amazing Dom's Subs inside their Hackney bar (which is actually where they were making the bread anyway). There's a tight menu of three hot and three cold sandwiches, which should be on rotation, but on Wednesdays they go big with the Chicken Parm, which is perfect paired with one of their budget martinis.
Follow them on Instagram: @impeccablesandwiches.
Steak sarnie at The Beefsteaks
Bermondsey - Ropewalk, London SE1 2HQ
Keeping it simple but great is the name of the game at this market favourite. The Beefsteaks’ wonderful steak sarnies feature grass-fed, British bavette with watercress, onion marmalade and your choice of sauce. Catch them every weekend at Maltby Street Market.
Follow them on Instagram: @thebeefsteaks
The KFC sandwich at Fink's
Highbury & Hackney
The good news for sandwich lovers is that the always-changing menu at Fink's means you're never likely to get bored with their sandwich selection. The bad news is that means this sandwich only pops up irregularly. But trust us, if you see them flagging it on their socials it's your cue to make a dash to one of their various cafes. It's made with buttermilk Korean fried chicken, gochujang, cabbage, cucumber and kewpie mayo and it's heavenly.
Follow them on Instagram: @finks.london
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.
The Porky Pig at Bread & Truffle
Various London locations
Launched during the lockdown, this 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 features truffle cacio and pepe cream with Tuscan sausage, Pecorino cheese, red chicory and truffle oil.
Follow them on Instagram: @breadandtruffle.
Cheese toastie at Kappacasein
Borough Market
One of London’s original street food heroes, Kappacasein have 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.
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.
Smoked eel sandwich at Quo Vadis
26-29 Dean St, London W1D 3LL
It’s not often we apply this word 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. this is made with white Tokyo bread and is stuffed with egg and watercress and slicked with dijon and kewpie mayo.
Follow them on Instagram: @secretsandwichshop.
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