Sarnies, sammies, butties: whatever you call them, where is your favourite sandwich in Vancouver?

[grayelf]

I'm often frustrated by how hard it seems to be to find a tasty, quality sandwich with good bread and fillings when I'm out and about in Vancouver. I don't want to limit the conversation but let's not include banh mi or hamburgers here as those have their own threads. Otherwise, hot or cold, chain or independent, cheap or pricey, anything goes as long as it is worth the calories. Bonus points (from my perspective, anyway) if your choice is on the west side :-).

I'll start by mentioning Coco et Olive, where they do a mean French version of panini. And you can get a great Intelligentsia coffee to go with it. Not a cheap sandwich but good value for me.

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Coco ET Olive Fine Foods
3476W Broadway W, Vancouver, BC V6R2B3, CA

[KGill]

Another vote for La Grotta del Formaggio on Cmmercial Drive - excdellent selection of meats and add-ons, at a reasonable price. Great - now I'm hungry.

[amelieducroix]

Definitely not on the west side, but Galeria in Edgemont Village in North Van.

[waver]

Do the breakfast sandwiches at the Market Grill on Granville Island count? I try to pretend it doesn't exist but I really like the one with rondele cheese.

[fmed]

NIce one. I haven't had them, but I bet they're good. (I'm a fan of their burgers).

[grayelf]

The BELTCH at Market Grill (bacon, egg, lettuce, tomato, and cheese) was my go-to brekky at GIsle for years! I haven't tried the Rondele one -- maybe on the 23rd when we go to pick up the turkey. And speaking of poultry, can you expound on the chicken panini at Bosa Boundary, JEheartbreak? I love good panini with chicken (part of the allure of Coco et Olive for me is their awesome but elusive mexicain with chicken and spicyness)?

[grayelf]

And now we have:
Coco et Olive (try the mexicain if it hasn't been snapped up or anything with chicken)
Finch's (brie and grape especially)
Sciue
La Grotta
Las Tortas
Tartine (real bird sarnie)
So.Cial (with a value caveat)
Bosa's for BYOS
Safeway for Calif Dreamin' or Primo Italiano
Mix the Bakery on 10th nearish UBC (particularly tortilla sandwich; good housemade soups too)
Liberty on Main near 18th ('ware service issues)
tortas at Duffin's (oh how I miss the Main Street location)
Greedy Pig (a tad pricey but roast beef with foie gras terrine!)
souvlaki sandwich at Dockers
Cumin Lamb sandwich at Peaceful
Rob Feenie's calamari sandwich at Cactus Club ?Peking Duck Clubhouse
Prime Rib or veal sandwich at Cafe Roma (untried but sounding good)
Fish Sandwich at Go Fish
Terra Breads (at the two non-Granville Island locations)
Cafe Artigiano for their well balanced paninis
breakfast sarnies at Market Grill on GIsle (Rondele, BELTCH)

That is a good list but keep 'em coming... reveal your hidden sandwich loves here :-).

[waver]

Good to know about Mix. I buy their bread sometimes, but never tried the sandwiches. I wonder if they'd hold up well enough to take on a plane? Their bread seems quite sturdy.

[grayelf]

Since all their sandwiches come grilled, I'd say not so much. But you could ask if any of them worked ungrilled...

[peter.v]

When I worked in a cafe that used Mix bread for sandwiches, they were great freshly grilled, but reheated/not grilled and heated later they do not fare well at all.

[waver]

Ack, that makes sense. So the hunt is on for a great non-grilled sammie. Actually, we'll probably just fall back on good ole ham and cheese on Pane e Formaggio whole wheat (that's good ungrilled bread). Maybe a couple coconut buns for fun.

[lunchslut]

I am not a big fan of deli meats and love fresh flavours in my sandwich. My two favourite sandwich places are
1. Terra Breads (they serve sandwiches at the two non-Granville Island locations) cause they do a good job combining amazing breads and complimentary fresh ingredients
2. Cafe Artigiano for their well balanced paninis.

Both places do not offer options to customize your sandwiches but heck, if I wanted to make a custom sandwich, I would make it at home.

[ck1234]

Honestly, if I'm craving a sandwich, I go for the California Dreamin' or Primo Italiano, made to order at the Safeway Deli. Delicious IMHO.

[grayelf]

So far we have:
Coco et Olive
Finch's
Sciue
La Grotta
Las Tortas
Tartine (real bird sarnie)
So.Cial (with a value caveat)
Bosa's for BYOS
Safeway for Calif Dreamin' or Primo Italiano

I'll toss in a couple more:
Mix the Bakery on 10th nearish UBC (all pretty tasty but I particularly like the Spanish style tortilla sandwich; good housemade soups too)
Liberty on Main near 18th (service can be a bit whacky but the sandwiches are good)

There must be more (tell me there are more!)...

[vandan]

for great taste and value, the tortas @ duffin's are hard to beat

[vandan]

bahn mi @ tung hing

[fmed]

We are excluding banh mi in this list....but yes that's a good sandwich.

[fmed]

The Greedy Pig has good sandwiches (though a tad pricey). I haven't been in a while. Their roast beef with foie gras terrine is very good.

A couple of somewhat unusual ones:
The souvlaki sandwich at Dockers
The Cumin Lamb sandwich at Peaceful

[fmed]

The Rob Feenie's calamari sandwich from Feenie's is now available at Cactus Club....his Peking Duck Clubhouse may be available there too. I haven't had either of these in a very long time.

I haven't had the following, but they are all on my list:

-Prime Rib sandwich at Cafe Roma (you can special order a veal sandwich there too...see pic below...something that you can get quite easily in Toronto's Italian neighbourhoods, but seemingly non-existent here.)

-Fish Sandwich at Go Fish

[intemperategourmande]

I'll second the Go Fish sandwich - I'm especially fond of the scallop sandwich they make. So.cial used to be the best in Vancouver, but I also haven't been there in a while since prices increased.

[vandan]

i used to like going to the butcher shop at SO.Cial, sammies were great and good value but then they jacked up the price a fair bit so haven't been for a while

[vandan]

and also iin the build your own category ( as above) I always grab a sammie to go from Bosa's whenever i stop in

[fmed]

I do that too (at the Victoria Dr location). I walk in, grab a couple of buns at the front by the door, then had it over to the deli women to make a custom sandwich. No veggies, but that is fine by me.

[vandan]

i get meat, cheese and the olive tepanade

[JEheartbreak]

The also have excellent paninis @ the Bosa off of Boundary. Their chicken one is incredible.

[selena03]

I really enjoy Tartine's real bird sandwich. The bread is made fresh that morning in house and the turkey is roasted in house as well. I love the fresh quality of their ingredients.

[urbanchowlover]

I like Finch too.. their brie and pear is yummy

[twinkienic]

La Grotta del Formaggio - haven't been in a while but I recall liking the variety of meats and add-ons

Las Tortas - I am no judge of authenticity for Mexican tortas, but I enjoy the warm tasty mess of flavours

(How do I add a new link again?)

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La Grotta Del Formaggio
1791 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC V5N4A4, CA

[fmed]

I think you can add a new link if you clikc on "Edit" - then "Manage Your Links."

[fmed]

Finch's - I like how they take the time to pleat their meat.
Sciue - nice selection of Italian style sandwichs and similar (eg Roman Pizza)

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Sciue Italian Bakery Caffe
800 W Pender St, Vancouver, BC V6A, CA

Finch's Tea & Coffee House
353 W Pender St, Vancouver, BC V6B, CA