Ask someone in our nation’s capital where to get the best sandwich in the city, and you’ll get a ten-minute dissertation. Everyone has their fave Ottawa sandwich spot. And everyone thinks their spot is the only one that matters. But honestly? Most of them are actually right.
Ottawa’s sandwich choices are greater than the city gets credit for. If they get it at all. Italian delis in Little Italy. Banh mi shops baking buns to order. A former food truck slinging Mexican tortas. A place inside a gas station that’s somehow better than half the sit-down restaurants in town. Here are 14 of the best sandwiches in Ottawa, from the spots everyone already knows to the ones many Ottawans probably don’t.
The Italian heavyweights
1. Di Rienzo’s
Signature Dish: Pick from 18 classic sandwiches, all $10 tax included. The pork, Swiss, and eggplant is a fan favourite. Hungarian salami with mozzarella and hot peppers if you want heat. Every sandwich comes on a big Italian bun stuffed to the point where holding it with one hand is a challenge.
Vibe Check: Little Italy institution on Beech Street. Family-run. The line at lunch is a feature, not a bug. They also sell fresh pasta, cannoli, and pizza slabs brought in from Montreal.
Address: 111 Beech St, Little Italy
Why It Made the Cut: Every list of the best sandwiches in Ottawa starts here. $10 flat, tax in, for a sandwich this big is borderline unreasonable. In a good way.
2. La Bottega Nicastro
Signature Dish: Genoa salami, mortadella, and house-pickled vegetables on a fresh baguette. Simple build, excellent ingredients. The kind of sandwich that reminds you good bread and good meat don’t need much else.
Vibe Check: Italian grocery store meets deli counter in the ByWard Market. Grab a sandwich, browse the olive oils and imported cheeses, pretend you’re in Rome for five minutes. Go midweek to avoid the Saturday crush.
Address: 64 George St, ByWard Market
Why It Made the Cut: The Market has a lot of noise. La Bottega is the signal. $8-$12 for a sandwich built with grocery-store-quality Italian ingredients, made fresh while you wait.
3. Sanguiccio Deli-Cafe
Signature Dish: The beef arrosto. Rich, slow-cooked, piled high. The Manny (prosciutto and arugula) is a close second. Ask for the house spicy eggplant sauce on whatever you order.
Vibe Check: Old-school Italian on Preston Street. The owner makes sandwiches personally. Everything is fresh, which means you’ll wait 20 minutes. Bring patience. It’s worth it.
Address: 183 Preston St, Little Italy
Why It Made the Cut: Two Italian delis in Little Italy and people will genuinely argue about which one is better. Di Rienzo’s has volume. Sanguiccio has the personal touch.
4. Roberto’s Corner
Signature Dish: Italian subs with generous, customizable toppings. Get it toasted. Cannoli for dessert. They also sell homemade frozen dinners if you want to take the experience home.
Vibe Check: Hidden inside a gas station in Gloucester. Yes, a gas station. The parking lot gives you no indication of what’s inside. Regulars know, and they prefer it that way.
Address: 1034 Pleasant Park Rd, Gloucester
Why It Made the Cut: The best-kept secret on this list. $10-$14 for a fully loaded Italian sub from a place most people would drive right past. Open seven days a week, which none of the other Italian spots can say.
5. Subito Sandwich
Signature Dish: Italian ham and turkey stacks on fresh bread. Large portions. They also do spicy samosas and cannoli, and the staff has been known to hand out free samples and cookies while you wait.
Vibe Check: Small shop on Gladstone Ave in Centretown. Cozy is a generous word for the space, but nobody comes here for the square footage. Pre-made sandwiches if you’re in a rush, custom builds if you’re not.
Address: 389 Gladstone Ave, Centretown
Why It Made the Cut: Free cookies with your sandwich. That’s it. That’s the reason. (The sandwiches are also genuinely great.)
Beyond the deli counter
6. District Deli
Signature Dish: Sandwiches named after local streets. The McCormick and the Wellington are the big sellers. Huge portions at $13.99 each. The board on the wall lists your options.
Vibe Check: Newer spot on Carruthers Ave in Hintonburg. The neighbourhood deli energy that Wellington West has been waiting for. Delivery through Uber Eats if you can’t make it in.
Address: 220 Carruthers Ave, Hintonburg
Why It Made the Cut: Naming your sandwiches after local streets is such an Ottawa move. The fact that they’re good is what brings people back.
7. Art-Is-In Bakery
Signature Dish: Breakfast sandwiches on house-baked sourdough. The Croque Madame. And the O-Towner, their take on a cronut that has nothing to do with sandwiches but you’re ordering one anyway.
Vibe Check: Warehouse-style bakery on City Centre Ave. Featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Weekend mornings get busy. Weekday afternoons are your best bet.
Address: 250 City Centre Ave, Unit 112, Centretown
Why It Made the Cut: A bakery that’s been on American food TV and still feels like a neighbourhood spot. The sourdough alone justifies the visit.
8. The SconeWitch
Signature Dish: Sandwiches built on fresh-baked scones. Cream cheese, cucumber, and cranberry mango chutney on a feta herb scone is the one people keep coming back for. Sweet and savoury options rotate.
Vibe Check: Three locations across the city: Elgin Street downtown, Beechwood in New Edinburgh, and Cyrville. The concept is uniquely Ottawa. You won’t find this in Toronto or Montreal.
Address: 150 Elgin St, Downtown (+ Beechwood and Cyrville locations)
Why It Made the Cut: A sandwich on a scone shouldn’t work this well. The fact that it’s an Ottawa original makes it even better.
9. Gooney’s
Signature Dish: The pernil. Slow-roasted pork that falls apart. Cuban sandwiches and arepas round out the menu. Strong vegetarian options if meat isn’t your thing.
Vibe Check: Latin American spot on Laurier Ave in Centretown. Eleven years in business. Fresh ingredients, friendly staff, fast service. $9-$15.
Address: 360 Laurier Ave W, Centretown
Why It Made the Cut: Eleven years in the same spot, still packed at lunch. The pernil alone is worth the trip.
10. Torta Boyz
Signature Dish: Carne asada torta. Grilled steak, fresh toppings, toasted roll. The al pastor torta with its sweet-and-savoury marinade is a close second. Loaded asada fries on the side.
Vibe Check: Started as a food truck, now a brick-and-mortar on Lebreton Street. They also pour tequila and mezcal, which is a bold choice for a sandwich shop and a correct one. Dinner-focused hours.
Address: 60A Lebreton St N
Why It Made the Cut: Nobody else in Ottawa is doing Mexican tortas at this level. The food truck origin story is a bonus. The mezcal list is a surprise.
The Value Plays
11. BanhMiYes
Signature Dish: BBQ pork banh mi. $6-$9. They bake every bun to order. You won’t appreciate that until you’ve had a banh mi on day-old bread somewhere else.
Vibe Check: Strip mall on Clyde Ave. Zero atmosphere. You’re not here for the decor. You’re here because a $7 sandwich has no right tasting this fresh.
Address: 1370 Clyde Ave
Why It Made the Cut: Best value on this entire list. A fresh-baked bun and quality pork for under $9 is hard to argue with.
12. Frank’s Catering and Baked Goods
Signature Dish: Sandwiches on fresh Portuguese buns. Also available on cheddar jalapeno buns, onion buns, or wraps. Grab a butter tart on the way out. Or three.
Vibe Check: Greenbank Road in the west end. Part bakery, part deli, part catering operation. Somehow they haven’t spread themselves thin.
Address: 283 Greenbank Rd
Why It Made the Cut: The Portuguese bun option puts Frank’s in a lane nobody else on this list occupies. The butter tarts seal the deal.
13. The Sandwich Stop
Signature Dish: Beef brisket with homemade sauce. Pulled pork is the other go-to. Check the daily specials board because the off-menu stuff is often the best thing they’ve got.
Vibe Check: East-end spot on St. Laurent Blvd. Take-out only, lunch hours only (11am-3pm, weekdays). If you blink, you’ll miss it. If you know, you know.
Address: 2285 St. Laurent Blvd, Building C #10
Why It Made the Cut: The east end’s best-kept sandwich secret. Limited hours, no dine-in, no weekend service. And people still line up. That tells you everything.
14. Sherwood Market & Deli
Signature Dish: Chicken-bacon-avocado on fresh bread. Grab it to go. Walk five minutes to the Rideau Canal. Sit on a bench. That’s peak Ottawa right there.
Vibe Check: Bank Street in the Glebe. Part market, part deli. Picnic-friendly packaging. Canal-adjacent location makes it the obvious warm-weather lunch move. $9-$13.
Address: 886 Bank St, Glebe
Why It Made the Cut: The sandwich is solid. But the real play is buying it and eating it by the canal on a sunny afternoon. Sherwood knows exactly what it is.
The Verdict
Italian delis, banh mi counters, Mexican tortas, slow-roasted pernil, Portuguese buns, scone builds, and a gas station deli that most people would drive right past. Fourteen spots, and honestly we could have kept going.
Go try one. Or argue with us about what we missed. Either way, don’t show up to Di Rienzo’s at noon on a Saturday unless you’ve got a great deal of time to kill.
