Okay, my most un-bookish post of the year 🙂
If you follow me on Insta, you’ll notice that the main thing I post there is my weekly ‘swim-and-sandwich’ outing. The swim is usually in one of a handful of local pools (occasionally it’s more exotic if I’m on holiday!), but the sandwiches are another story. I love a good sandwich, and it’s also a way of locking in lunch with a friend each week.
I have a few favourite sandwich places (Saul’s, Jolly Good, Hugo’s Deli and Stefanino Panino) but this year I have branched out (full list of all the places I visited in 2025 below). Reliables aside, there were standouts, so here are my top sandwiches for 2025:
01. I accept that the lamb, labneh, roasted carrot, onion and rocket ciabatta from Wild Life Bakery doesn’t look that exciting but it was thrilling. So, so tasty.
02. Crumbed fish, lettuce, nori tartare, and lime sandwich from Alba Thermal Springs (pictured at the top).
03. The cauliflower, kasundi, cheddar, pickles, dill & mint mayo focaccia from Juniper was a summer winner.
04. There are a couple of Saluministi Paninoteca sandwich bars in the CBD and you have to get in early for the full selection. Still thinking about our choices – prosciutto, straciatella, roast pumpkin and rocket focaccia AND calamari, gremolata, lemon tartare and rocket on a crusty roll.
05. Amazing roast beef roll with herby-horseradish mayo, pickles, fresh radish, Swiss, and rocket from Tyler’s Milkbar.
06. Hugo’s Deli usually does a special, and this winter their toasted sourdough with spanakopita, Swiss cheese, and a hint of honey was outstanding.
07. I’ve had the turkey club at Bowery to Williamsburg a few times and there’s good reason to keep returning to it.
08. It was as messy as hell to eat but the pulled beef (cooked in Dr Pepper BBQ sauce), jalapeño hot honey mayo, rocket, and cheddar toasted sandwich from Tim’s Toasties was immensely satisfying.
09. Perfect cotelleta at Paninoteca.
10. The club sandwich we had at Baguette Studios was delicious but it was the ‘dessert sandwich’ – a baguette with vanilla cream, pistachio crumb and honey – that had us talking.
The complete list of places visited in 2025:
- Levriero Italiano (Heidelberg)
- Open House (Clifton Hill)
- Rough Diamond (Warrnambool)
- Noto Panino (Mount Gambier, SA)
- Elka Bakery (Ivanhoe)
- Tim’s Toasties (Ballarat)
- Baguette Studios (North Melbourne)
- Ivy Lane (Camberwell)
- Tora Tora (Richmond)
- Tyler’s Milkbar (Preston)
- Hector’s Deli (Richmond)
- Ray’s (Hawthorn)
- Wild Life Bakery (Brunswick)
- Paninoteca (Coburg)
- Mile End Bagels (Richmond)
- Arthur’s Milkbar (Hawthorn)
- Shooter McGavin’s (Carlton)
- The Danish Club (Melbourne CBD)
- Kelso’s (Abbotsford)
- Egg Lab (Fitzroy)
- Toastface Grillah (Perth, WA)
- Alba (Rye)
- Barry’s Garage (Hawthorn)
- Matheson Cafe (Lake Matheson, NZ)
- Mr T Deli (Croydon)
- Standing Room (Fitzroy)
- Maker & Monger (Prahran)
- Bowery to Williamsburg (Melbourne CBD)
- Juniper (South Melbourne)
- Saluministi Paninoteca (Melbourne CBD)
- Marché Cafe (Hawthorn)
- Pigeon Whole Bakers (Hobart, TAS)
- Wursthaus Kitchen (Hobart, TAS)
- Warkop (Richmond)
- Miller’s Bread Kitchen (Dromana)
- Saul’s (Hawthorn)
- Jolly Good (Collingwood)
- Hugo’s Deli (Richmond)
- Stefanino Panino (Collingwood)
- Akimbo Bread (Northcote)