In a world full of towering, TikTok-ready sandwiches and frankly weird cheese-injected fillings, there is something heartwarmingly straightforward about the sliced white or wholemeal triangle sandwiches from Paul Rothe. The Marylebone deli has been around since 1900 and one can only assume that workers have relied on it for buttery bacon baps and coronation chicken-smeared lunches ever since.

There are half a dozen options on Bánh’s menu, and with each one you’re guaranteed perfect, crispy-shelled bánh mì with a fluffy and saucy interior. There’s likely to be a polite crowd at this Vietnamese cafe in Dalston come lunchtime: one person eyeing up the marinated pork shoulder, another craving the tofu curry bánh mì. The special is our favourite. It’s filled with char siu, pâté, a slice of pork belly roll, ham hock, a pork patty, and pork floss—a handful of pure, unadulterated oink.

Every sandwich from The Black Pig contains a small mound of juicy, tender, slow-roasted pork shoulder between springy bread. The doorstop-sized ciabatta sandwiches from the perma-busy Borough Market stall are a dry cleaner’s dream, but there’s balance (as well as generosity) to these creations. Our favourite extra fillings are in the Salsa Verde—the tangy, fresh apple and fennel slaw, creamy aioli, and herby salsa verde cut through the rich meat.

If you’ve never eaten a sandwich that felt more like a warm embrace, then you may not be able to understand our excitement about this spot inside Shepherd’s Bush Market. This kiosk is serving up Algerian street food in the form of sandwiches filled with your choice of lamb’s liver, merguez, marinated chicken, fish fillet, or minced meat. All the meats are cooked to order, and as well as the meaty filling, each sandwich is stuffed with chips, a fried egg, the perfect amount of salad, and harissa.

Rainbow Cookout’s jerk chicken sandwich is a carefully made labour of love. The meat from a freshly grilled leg methodically pulled off by Otis—the world’s most laconic and considered grill master—and its crisp blackened skin is carefully removed with Peking duck-like precision. It’s put between two thick wholemeal slices and topped with careful ladles of fragrant and spiced gravy with carrots, onions, and cabbage.

We’re all for a classic shish taouk, or a tahini-heavy beef shawarma—both of which you can get at this takeaway spot in Knightsbridge. But at Beit El Zaytoun On The Go, an offshoot of Beit El Zaytoun, one of our favourite Lebanese restaurants, you’re better going with the arguably more tasty subs like the Philly cheesesteak-inspired ‘Philadelphia’, or the cheese-drenched chicken fajita sub. It’s located right by Hyde Park so if the weather is looking good, it’s the ideal grab-and-go picnic.

The sandwiches at Chatsworth Bakehouse are only available to pre-order and sell out in under 60 seconds. It’s a faff but if you can get on board with the ruthless ordering system, this is an excellent sandwich. Thick, dimpled wedges of focaccia have golden, crispy crusts and hold weekly changing fillings. Previous sandwiches have included tuna with a creamy basil and garlic aioli, chilli artichokes, and tangy balsamic shallots.

A golden-fried schnitzel stands high on the podium in the pantheon of great sandwiches. And, if you’re after a handful, then a trip to Johnny Schnitzel is worth your while. The idyllic deli sits on a quiet corner between Islington and Clerkenwell, but nothing about these brutish focaccia sandwiches are particularly subtle. The bread is doughy and flecked with olives, the pounded meat crispy and tender, and a handful of mayo-slathered crunchy slaw the perfect foil for this KO of a sandwich.

There must be science behind why canapé and slider-sized bites are often so satisfying. Maybe it’s because they’re two, maybe three mouthfuls, and they’re gone. But it also relies on them being as delicious and as flavourful as the menu from Shree Krishna Vada Pav. The Maharashtrian mini-chain, with locations in Hounslow, Ilford, and Harrow, specialises in deep-fried bits in doughy white bread baps, alongside whacks of chilli and coconut chutneys.

You won’t know that you’ve needed a corned beef hash sando all your life until the moment you take your first bite of Panadera’s corned beef hash sando. It’s soft and crunchy, thanks to the deep fried corned beef patty, with lovely little chunks of potato flecked throughout. The sweet bread combined with a tart sauce, a wipe of mayo, and a bit of lettuce that’s there in spirit, combines to make a truly warming, generous double doorstop sandwich.