The 10 best sandwiches in Chicago

Chicago sandwiches go well past Italian beef. This list ranks 10 sandwich shops inside Chicago city limits by the sandwich each one is known for, from hand-carved corned beef and breaded steak in red gravy to butcher-shop Italian subs, the plantain jibarito, banh mi, tortas and a Filipino breakfast sandwich. The list is written for locals planning a lunch run and visitors willing to ride past downtown, since the counters spread from Beverly and Bronzeville to Uptown and Jefferson Park.

The ranking favors shops where the sandwich is the main event and has been made the same way for years, plus a few newer counters with strong recent reviews. Posted prices run from $9 for a 6-inch Italian sub on 103rd Street to $18.50 for a pastrami and corned beef sub on Lincoln Avenue. Several shops do not post prices online, so bring a little extra.

How we chose

The order weighs two things: how many years each shop has spent on a signature sandwich, and how much independent coverage that sandwich has drawn in 2025 and 2026 from outlets such as The Infatuation, What Now Chicago and WGN, along with named awards. Delis and markets that opened in the 1940s hold the top three spots, and counters that opened in the last few years sit lower until they build a longer record. Italian beef stands and hot dog stands are left out because they get their own coverage, starting with the Italian beef guide. Every shop is inside city limits.

Hours and prices below come from each business and change without notice. Call ahead if you are making a special trip.

Manny’s Cafeteria & Delicatessen

The hand-carved corned beef sandwich is the signature at Manny’s Cafeteria & Delicatessen, a cafeteria-style Jewish deli on South Jefferson Street run by the fourth generation of the Raskin family. The meat is piled high, and the Reuben is grilled with Swiss and sauerkraut, served with Thousand Island dressing and built on a choice of corned beef, pastrami, turkey pastrami or roasted turkey. With roots in 1942, Manny’s is the oldest business here, and that age puts the deli first. Grab a tray and order down the line. A potato pancake can be added to any sandwich for an extra charge.

Hours: Tue-Sat 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Sun 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; closed Mon

Address: 1141 S Jefferson St, Chicago, IL 60607

Why they made the list

• Brothers Jack and Charlie Raskin opened the family’s first deli in 1942, and Manny Raskin moved the cafeteria to 1141 S Jefferson St in 1964.
• Ken Raskin and his son, Dan, run the deli today.
• Barack Obama has eaten at Manny’s, and Gov. J.B. Pritzker came to the 80th anniversary in 2022.
• The Infatuation’s August 2026 sandwich guide steers first-timers to the Reuben made with corned beef and pastrami.

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Ricobene’s

One sandwich built the name of Ricobene’s, a Bridgeport counter that opened in 1946: the breaded steak. A breaded slab of steak goes onto French bread with red gravy, and The Infatuation’s 2026 sandwich guide describes the full build, with melted cheese and optional giardiniera. The menu lists two sizes, the Original King Size and a regular. Eight decades in business, plus a sandwich that still makes current best-of lists, earn the second spot. Late hours help too, with the doors open until at least midnight every day of the week.

Hours: Mon-Thu 9 a.m. to 12:30 a.m.; Fri 9 a.m. to 2 a.m.; Sat 10 a.m. to 2 a.m.; Sun 10 a.m. to midnight

Address: 252 W 26th St, Chicago, IL 60616

Why they made the list

• King Size Italian sandwiches come on French bread, while the shop’s other sandwiches come on garlic bread.
• The online menu does not list prices, so check the order page or call (312) 225-5555 before you go.
• The rest of the sandwich board runs from Italian sausage and meatball to eggplant parmesan and a breaded perch sandwich with American cheese.

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Paulina Meat Market

The subs at Paulina Meat Market come out of a working butcher shop, sausage kitchen and smokehouse on Lincoln Avenue in Lakeview. The Italian sub ($12.50) stacks mortadella, Genoa salami, hot capicola and provolone on a Turano French roll. The 1949 Sub ($13.50) leans on German-style deli meats: pork sultz, leberkase, gelbwurst and Hungarian salami with Gruyère. Seventy-seven years behind the counter, and The Infatuation calling the Italian a favorite, put Paulina third. Sandwich orders are pickup only, so place one online before heading over.

Hours: Mon-Fri 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sat 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed Sun

Address: 3501 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60657

Why they made the list

• Sigmund Lekan opened the market in 1949, and longtime manager Bill Begale took over from Lekan’s sons in 2006.
• The New York Sub ($18.50) swaps the French roll for rustic rye and fills it with pastrami, corned beef and Swiss.
• The market makes house sausages and smoked meats and stocks a section of Swedish groceries.
• Bill and Laurie Begale run the shop with their three children, Joe, Johnny and Jackie.

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Borinquen

Chicago’s jibarito swaps bread for flattened, fried green plantains, and Borinquen on Western Avenue in North Center claims to have invented the sandwich. A July 2025 Latino Reporter story traces it to Juan Luis Figueroa, who made a version at his father’s restaurant, and describes the classic build: a thin strip of marinated steak between two crispy plantain buns, with lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and American cheese. The same story calls the North Center restaurant the last Borinquen still standing. Fourth place goes to Borinquen as the source of a sandwich Chicago can call its own.

Hours: Check current hours before you go.

Address: 3811 N Western Ave, Chicago, IL 60618

Why they made the list

• Co-owner Gabriela Figueroa, Juan Luis Figueroa’s niece, runs the restaurant with her father, Latino Reporter reported.
• WGN’s Daytime Chicago featured Borinquen in October 2025 as the home of the original jibarito, with garlic oil among the fixings.
• Call (773) 442-8001 before a special trip to confirm hours.

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Tempesta Market

Father and son Agostino and Tony Fiasche, who also run Nduja Artisans Salumeria, opened Tempesta Market on Grand Avenue in West Town in 2017. The Dante ($17.75), No. 1 on the menu, layers hot sopressata, mortadella, Genoa salami, hot capicola, porchetta and provolone with hot giardiniera, ‘nduja aioli, lettuce and tomato on a baguette. The Infatuation’s 2026 guide puts the case plainly: “If you don’t think sandwiches are exciting, Tempesta Market will change your mind.” Nearly a decade of steady coverage lands Tempesta fifth. Plan on lunch, because weekday service ends at 4 p.m.

Hours: Mon-Fri 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sat-Sun 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Address: 1372 W Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60642

Why they made the list

• Hoodline reported in January 2018 that the Dante, the Beet Streets and the B. Franklin were on the opening menu, and all three are still sold.
• The Beet Streets ($15) is the meatless pick, with marinated beets, Marcona almond butter, apple, sprouts, pickled red onion and puffed quinoa on seeded rye.
• Online orders through the shop’s site cover pickup on Grand Avenue and local delivery.
• The name comes from the Italian for strong wind gusts, What Now Chicago reported.

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Kasama

At night, chefs Genie Kwon and Timothy Flores run a reservation-only Filipino tasting menu, but the daytime counter at Kasama in Ukrainian Village is where the sandwiches are sold. The Longanisa, Egg and Cheese ($12.55) puts griddled longanisa sausage, egg and cheese on a Martin’s potato roll. The Kasama Combo ($17.55) piles shaved pork adobo and longanisa with giardiniera, then dips the whole sandwich in pork adobo jus. Awards account for the sixth-place spot: the restaurant’s site lists a 2023 James Beard Award and two Michelin stars in 2025. Show up early, since the savory kitchen stops at 2 p.m.

Hours: Daytime counter Wed-Sun 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (savory kitchen until 2 p.m.); dinner Thu-Sun by reservation only

Address: 1001 N Winchester Ave, Chicago, IL 60622

Why they made the list

• A plain Egg and Cheese is $8.55, and the Hashbrown, Egg and Cheese is $10.55.
• The restaurant’s site also lists a 2025 spot on North America’s 50 Best Restaurants.
• Daytime service is counter service, and reservations are needed only for dinner.
• Whole pastries can be preordered through Tock for pickup.

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Calabria Imports

On 103rd Street in Beverly, Calabria Imports is a family Italian deli and grocery whose site says the shop has served the South Side for more than four decades. The menu’s headline sandwich is the Stenger ($10): meatballs, beef or sausage stuffed into mariano bread with garlic spread, provolone and house red sauce. The menu notes the Stenger appeared on WGN’s Chicago’s Best. A 6-inch Italian-style sub with ham, capicola, salami, mortadella, provolone and house dressing costs $9. Long roots and low prices put Calabria seventh, though the shop has drawn less recent citywide coverage than the six above.

Hours: Mon-Fri 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sat 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; closed Sun

Address: 1905 W 103rd St, Chicago, IL 60643

Why they made the list

• A 12-inch Italian-style sub is $13, and the Owner’s Special with Volpi salami, hot capicola and ham runs $10 for 6 inches or $16 for 12.
• The Mickey ($10) combines eggplant and breaded steak with melted mozzarella and red sauce.
• The deli also runs a food truck with a separate menu.
• Deli specials change weekly, and the carry-out menu says prices can change without notice.

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Nhu Lan Bakery

Banh mi is the specialty at Nhu Lan Bakery, which has an original shop at 2612 W Lawrence Ave in Lincoln Square and a second counter at Sheridan Road and Lawrence Avenue in Uptown. The Infatuation’s 2026 sandwich guide points to the Nhu Lan special with ham, head cheese and pâté, the No. 2 with sweet roast pork, and the house-made sweet mayo that goes on them, and puts most sandwiches under $10. As the one banh mi pick here, Nhu Lan takes eighth on low prices and steady recent coverage. The Vietnamese restaurant list goes deeper on the cuisine.

Hours: Check current hours before you go.

Address: 4810 N Sheridan Rd, Chicago, IL 60640

Why they made the list

• The Uptown shop at 4810 N Sheridan Rd takes online orders through the bakery’s site, and the Lawrence Avenue shop does not.
• The Uptown menu includes banh mi xa xiu chay, a vegetarian take on char siu pork.
• Each shop has a separate phone line: (773) 944-9288 in Uptown and (773) 878-9898 on Lawrence Avenue.

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Migos Fine Foods

Tortas on telera bread lead the menu at Migos Fine Foods, a counter from the team behind Frontier on the first floor of an outpatient center on Cottage Grove Avenue in Bronzeville. The Infatuation’s John Ringor named the lamb cheesesteak torta, with lamb, fried cheese, poblanos and harissa aioli, his favorite. A fried chicken torta gets Sweet Heat sauce, Slowpoke’s Beans, tomato and lettuce, and breakfast brings the Bird Bird, fried chicken with egg and melted cheddar on a biscuit. A short track record keeps Migos at ninth, despite a 2026 review in which Ringor wrote, “It’s worth speeding to Migos for, no medical emergency needed.”

Hours: Check current hours before you go.

Address: 4822 S Cottage Grove Ave, Chicago, IL 60615

Why they made the list

• What Now Chicago reported in March 2024 that Brian Jupiter and Azazi Morsi, chef de cuisine at Frontier, were opening the first Migos on Montrose Avenue in Portage Park.
• The Bird Bird comes with a hash brown on the side.
• Fried shrimp and lamb barbacoa tortas are also on the menu, according to The Infatuation.

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Cured & Crafted

Michael Barboza worked in restaurant kitchens and dining rooms, then spent a decade in education, before opening Cured & Crafted on Milwaukee Avenue in Jefferson Park in summer 2025 with proteins from Slagel Family Farms. The Infatuation’s review singles out the chopped cheese, calling it a great version of the New York bodega classic: seasoned beef, melted cheese, grilled onions, lettuce, tomato and dijonaise on a seeded roll. The lomo saltado sandwich packs steak, labneh, mayo, chimichurri and fries into a French roll. With the thinnest record here, one 2025 review and a spot on the outlet’s 2026 guide, the shop closes out the list at tenth.

Hours: Check current hours before you go.

Address: 5685 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60646

Why they made the list

• The Italian has griddled capicola, mortadella and pepperoni with provolone, dressing and spices, and The Infatuation’s reviewer suggests adding giardiniera.
• Sides include cheese curds with hatch chile ranch and a cabbage soup.
• What Now Chicago placed the shop in Gladstone Park, on the Jefferson Park stretch of Milwaukee Avenue.
• Call (773) 386-0171 to order ahead.

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Also worth knowing

For a second jibarito stop, Jibaritos y Más on Fullerton Avenue in Logan Square dates to 2016, according to the restaurant’s site. The Infatuation’s 2026 sandwich guide lists steak with grilled onions, blood sausage and roast pork among the fillings, each finished with a garlic spread, at around $10 a sandwich.

Closer to downtown, Rick Bayless runs Xoco on North Clark Street in River North, where the tortas include an ahogada with carnitas, black beans and pickled onions in a tomato-arbol broth, as The Infatuation’s 2026 guide describes it. The restaurant is closed Sundays and Mondays.

See a place we missed or a detail that has changed? Send us a correction.