The humble sandwich is a global phenomenon. Nearly every culture has its own version: Mexico has the torta ahogada, Vietnam has the banh mi, Denmark has the smørrebrød, and New Orleans has the po' boy. Slap almost anything between some form of bread, and it instantly satisfies a craving.

But defining a sandwich is a slippery slope. Google claims it’s simply fillings between two slices of bread, but that explanation clearly doesn’t account for Shanghai’s massive food scene. With over 100,000 restaurants in the city – about 12,000 of which serve foreign cuisine – we estimate that at least half of those menus serve some variation of a sandwich. Conquering them all would take a lifetime (and a miracle metabolism).

After some hasty back-of-the-napkin math and some totally biased boundaries to save our sanity (and our waistlines), we’ve created a few completely arbitrary ground rules for narrowing down this list. Blindly trust at will.

Madre's Focaccia Golosa (RMB52) – truffle ham, provolone 

First, no open-face options.

Second, only real bread – no croissants, bagels, scones, or bing (apologies to the roujiamo).

Third, no wraps, pitas, or tortillas.

Finally, no buns, because we are firmly staying out of the "is a burger a sandwich?" debate.

Moofin's Egg & Sausage (RMB35) – a standout breakfast sando that is unfortunately eliminated from the list because of its English muffin bun (see rule #4)

These rules might upset some purists. We get it, it's fully subjective. But hey, it's our list.

Alma Luna – Thicc Cubano Sandwich (RMB88)

Helmed by celebrated mixologist and owner of Union Trading Company, Yao Lu, the city’s new rum-focused dram den, Alma Luna promises to bring the romance and rhythm of steamy Havana nights to the bustling streets of Shanghai. Step through the bar’s Xiangyang Lu doors, down a plant-lined hallway and into the glamorous, high-rolling, cha-cha-cha rhythm of Hotel Nacional de Cuba in 1950s Havana.

Aside from the laundry list of rum-laden drams and tiki-inspired sippers, if there’s only one plate that you order, it must be the self-proclaimed Thicc Cubano Sandwich (RMB88) – one that delivers on its hefty promise. Slow-roasted pork is layered with sliced ham, pickles, a lavish smear of mustard, and enough ooey-gooey Swiss cheese to sink a ship, all nestled inside a pressed and toasted Cuban bread bun. ¡Buen provecho!
Alma Luna, 17-2 Xiangyang Bei Lu, 襄阳北路17-2号

Bar Leone – Mortadella Focaccia (RMB138) 

The No. 1 Bar in the World according to the 2025 World's 50 Best List, Bar Leone opened its second outpost in our own backyard at the end of that same year. The award-winning formula orbits the concept of ‘cocktail popolari’ – or ‘cocktails for the people,’ resulting in unpretentious, approachable drinks, vibes, and food, all inspired by the bars of the trendy Rome backstreets where founder Lorenzo Antinori spent his formidable years.

Despite being a cocktail bar, the number one ordered menu is actually the internet-famous Mortadella Focaccia (RMB138) – a sandwich piled high with 150 grams of paper-thin sliced mortadella, pickled Spanish chilis, olives, and a generous shmear of whipped mascarpone – a bite that requires you to unhinge your jaw just to take it all in.

“The Italian-imported mortadella we use in Hong Kong would clock in at 10 times the price to ship into Shanghai,” mentions co-founder Justin Shun Wah. Since Bar Leone goes through 300 kilos of mortadella in a month in Hong Kong alone, some quick math reveals the need for an alternate solution. Said solution involves using a local supplier (Alimentari) as well as a Shanghai bakery for the schiacciata-esque bread, a six-month process in the making to emulate the specs of Hong Kong’s carby crags and crannies.

From a kuai-to-calorie conversion rate standpoint, you’re definitely paying a premium for the name above the door, but one that is still worth the extra maos for this meaty morsel.
Bar Leone, Sinan Mansions, 525-527 Fuxing Zhong Lu, by Ruijin Er Lu, 复兴中路525-527号, 近瑞金二路

Bizy Boy – Pastrami Sandwich (RMB158)

Sandwich shop by day and pasta bistro by night, Bizy Boy, backed by chef-owner Jeremy Liu is

showing Shanghai just how far the unassuming sandwich can go. After working in upscale dining at restaurants like Mavis and Netta, Liu spent a year and half traveling and gaining inspiration from food cultures around the globe before opening Bizy Boy in spring of 2025 with the goal of showing that sandwiches can be more than just fast food.

With every component made in house – from a unique style of bread for each of the six sammies on offer to the house-cured meats to even the scratch-made condiments and pickles – it's highly likely that a sandwich that takes ten minutes to gobble down took the Bizy Boy team 15 days to prepare, warranting the above average price tag.

The Pastrami Sandwich (RMB158) is what brings all the boys to the yard, sporting a whopping 180 grams of homemade pastrami, inspired by Liu’s time spent working in London and the city’s deep-rooted love (read: obsession) for corned and salt beef. But Liu put his own spin on the spice rub, adding Chinse five spice and other local aromatics to the Australian-imported brisket’s 12-15 day brine. The meat is amped by fermented cabbage and a quartet of queso: Comte, Emmental, mild yellow cheddar, and mozz, finished with a plentiful dollop of aioli and homemade pickles. Oh, and the bread, it’s a one-of-a-kind sourdough-countryside loaf hybrid boasting a higher moisture content and softer crust to perfectly protect that melt-in-your-mouth meat down to the last crumb.
Bizy Boy, Room 10-102, 546 Yuyuan Lu, 愚园路546号10幢102室

Madre: Focaccia Primavera (RMB98)

A true taste of Italy, Madre is an Italian neighborhood bakery and café operated by the team behind Scilla. This is the place to go for all things traditional Italian pastries – both sweet and savory – alongside specialty coffee.

Aside from the signatures, like oversized cornetti, pillowy maritozzo cream buns, and textbook cannoli, don’t sleep on the sandwiches. Made with the same high-hydration focaccia recipe, but proofed for just six hours, the resulting bread is flatter with a crispier crust, yet still airy and light.

The Focaccia Primavera (RMB98) sandwich is then layered with fresh, never frozen, Apulian burrata, farm-grown tomatoes, Serrano ham, arugula, and a drizzle of olive oil for a sandwich that resembles the Italian flag as much as it tastes like pure Italy incarnate. While this may be the kind of sandwich you stumble upon easily in a mom-and-pop sandwichery in small town Puglia, this is pure bliss and a sought-after treat in Shanghai.

Do note that the current fillings may differ as the focaccia recipe stays but the contents rotate seasonally. 
Madre, 504 Panyu Lu, 番禺路504号

Nerds: Italian Classic Beef (RMB68)

From the Shanghai Oude team comes Nerds, a concept leaning fully into Shanghai’s sandwich obsession, via a focaccia-focused sandwich shop along Xikang Lu just north of the Shanghai Centre and Portman Ritz Carleton Shanghai. The shop is serving crushable, pocket-friendly Italian-style focaccia sandos with diners’ choice of meats, from mortadella and pistachio to spicy salami, from classic Italian beef to porchetta with sauerkraut. There is also a vegetarian and vegan sandwich option available, making it an easy crowd pleaser with all sandwiches falling between RMB48-78.

Of the signatures, our go-to is the Italian Classic Beef (RMB68), a loaded sarnie of burrata, beef, arugula, chopped peppers, pine nuts, a liberal slather of pesto, and a dribble of balsamic. But the star is, of course, the homemade high-hydration, long fermentation focaccia, baked daily for the ultimate freshness. The resulting cloud-like bread is spongy and open-crumbled, featuring large, irregular holes owed to proper fermentation.

Pro tip: Don’t miss the Pistachio Paste Breadsticks (RMB6), made from the irregularly sliced focaccia edges that come from the need to make square sandwiches. But, to not waste those corners, they are sliced into “fingers,” toasted, and smothered in pistachio cream, served up like a bouquet of carbs; the kind of “floral arrangement” we can really get behind.  
Nerds, 111 Xikang Lu, 西康路111号

Our Bakery: Nonna (RMB68)

A viral sensation, Korean dessert brand Our Bakery landed in Shanghai’s Xujiahui in 2020 and has remained a mainstay ever since. In fact, this sleek, minimalist space has since expanded to include a sandwichery offshoot connected to the main bakery with schiacciata sandwiches teeming with all manner of cold cuts, cheese, veggies, and sauces. With eight options to choose amongst, you really can’t go wrong.

A classic Italian flavor combo, the Nonna (RMB68) – meaning grandma in Italian, an apt name as we picture a little old Italian lady in the back packing these loaded lunches – is a comforting mix of mortadella, stracciatella cheese (the choicest part of a burrata ball’s center consisting of hand-pulled mozzarella shreds soaked in heavy cream), rich pistachio paste, and crumbled pistachios for added crunch. The bread itself is notably crispier than the more commonplace focaccia, with a delicate yet crackly crust and a feather-light interior – a rendition that would make any Florentine nonna proud. Portions are also quite substantial for the price.
Our Bakery, Room L150 838 Huangpi Nan Lu, 黄陂南路838弄L150室

Parlay: Pastrami Reuben (RMB98)

Situated in the old Bubba’s haunt, Parlay has quickly established itself as the American BBQ joint of China. With a menu chock-full of Kansas City-style BBQ – brisket, ribs, sausage, smoked chicken, and oh-so much more – it’s the ultimate elevated-pub-grub-meets-gluttonous-fare around.

No sports bar menu is complete without a Pastrami Reuben (RMB98), and Parlay’s version is tops. A prime example of this American institution of a sammy showcases 150 grams of thinly sliced house-smoked pastrami, thick with creamy coleslaw, a lashing of Russian dressing, and a smarmy Swiss beer cheese sauce in place of the conventional melted Swiss, nestled inside sourdough toast.

And just like Katz’s Delicatessen in NYC, you can make it a fat stack of 300 grams of meat for an extra RMB58.

Yup, just a casual third of a kilo of beef to get your day going.
Parlay, Shankang Li, 808 Shaanxi Bei Lu, Bld 18, #103 陕西北路808号陕康里18幢103室

Sub Standard: Steak and Cheese (RMB88)

A humble sandwich and pizza shop, Sub Standard is reminiscent of the neighborhood sandwich storefronts that dot every corner of San Francisco – near where owner-chef Jason Oakley worked as chef de partie at three Michelin star French Laundry before hopping across the pond to Shanghai almost a lifetime ago. Since then, Oakley has traded in his chef’s coat for oven mitts, “so I can cook what I love and want to eat, when I want it.”

Beginning with the venue’s namesake item, the subs are the “bread and butter” of the entire operation, with nearly a dozen hoagies on offer.

The shop is first and foremost a bakery – as evidenced by the fermenting fridge, proofing fridge, and tiered oven that predominantly fill this 20-square-meter hole-in-the-wall – with every menu item passing through that process in some shape or form before being served.

The bread, akin to a Subway footlong in appearance, lives up to the tagline “baked fresh” – in this case at least twice daily – in sesame seed, parmesan & herbs, and “naked” varieties, filling the shoebox storefront with a yeasty perfume at all hours of the day.

Medium rare roast beef is the heart of the Steak and Cheese (RMB88), slow-cooked for 16 hours at 54 degrees before being combined with melted cheddar and slathered in a zippy, homemade horseradish sauce – concurrently tangy and nose-tinglingly spicy – and stuffed inside a par-sliced sub.

Ideal on-the-go fodder.

“I like American pub grub and have always tried to make fun, unpretentious food in all the places I worked, so this is no different really.” The sandos, on the whole, embody the ethos of Sub Standard – unelaborate, stripped down, a shining example of minimalism.
Sub Standard, 230 Wanhangdu Lu, by Xinzha Lu 万航渡路230号,近新闸路

Totino Panino: The Wolf 1 (RMB110)

After opening in 2019 with an 18-panini deep menu of mostly traditional Italian sandwich combinations – think one meat, one cheese, one veg – the modest family-owned, 20-seater Totino Panino has now expanded to over 38 sandwich choices to meet the growing tastes of their equally expanding fan base.

As the brainchild of owner Toto Giammaria and consulting chef Lucky Lasagna, the majority of the paninis involve stereotypical Italian sandwich fixings – prosciutto, mortadella, salami, provolone, gorgonzola, artichoke, sundried tomatoes and the like – atop a slightly toasted (but not pressed, to maintain Italian tradition) 120-gram ciabatta bread made specifically for the restaurant with less cushion and more crunch.

"It's really the bread that brings many of our customers back," says Giammaria. "A reason we haven't changed the recipe since opening." That said, the exception comes with some of the more recent offerings, the "bastardized affairs," like The Wolf 1 (RMB110), named after a lunchtime regular.

This monstrosity clocks in at a whopping 650 grams (whereas most other paninis are 300 grams) with three layers of pistachio-studded mortadella, three layers of provolone, and four layers of tomato, arugula, jalapeños and pickles.

But that's just the sandwich we chose on this particular visit. It’s really a “pick your poison” situation since you truly can't go wrong here.
Totino Panino, Shankang Li, Room 106, 358 Kangding Lu, 康定路358弄越界陕康里3号楼1层106号

Zup – Italian Cold Cut Sandwich (RMB68)

Founded by Chicago native Wayne Hou and Lee Tseng is Shanghai’s favorite tavern-style pizza joint, Zup Pizza Bar. While the pizza takes center stage, the rest of the menu – spanning burgers, pasta, sandos, and desserts – is equally impressive.

A must-order, the Italian Cold Cut Sandwich (RMB68), is arguably the most loaded sandwich in Shanghai. Stacked inside a house-baked, high-hydration focaccia, it features four premium meats (mortadella, Soppressata, smoked Praga ham, and pepperoni) balanced with provolone, homemade pickled giardiniera, fresh lettuce, and tomato. A drizzle of red wine vinegar, olive oil, and oregano delivers its signature authentic Italian-American flavor profile.
Zup, 457 Shanxi Bei Lu, 陕西北路457号

Bonus: Feral Banh Mi: Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi (RMB32)

Do note that Feral Banh Mi is temporarily closed as it relocates, but when it reopens, this earns a spot rounding out our top 10 list.

Shanghai’s favorite banh mi street cart, Feral, found a permanent outpost on Shimen Er Lu in Spring 2025, bringing even more of their wanghong (internet famous) Vietnamese baguette sandwiches to Shanghai’s food loving community. These pocket-friendly sandwiches (RMB32-65) are available in classic to contemporary flavors, from crispy pork to pastrami beef to black tiger prawn, and everything in between, best enjoyed with a classic drip Vietnamese coffee.

The Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi (RMB32) is the most-ordered, and for good reason as the fragrant meat adds subtle herbaceousness without overpowering. The real star of the show, however, is the baguette – shatteringly crisp, brittle, and stuffed to the absolute gills with pickled daikon and carrots, cucumber slices, fresh herbs, and crispy fried shallots. The bottom bun receives a copious spread of homemade pâté, butter, and a squirt of sweet chili sauce. This is truly Shanghai’s most authentic banh mi. 
Feral Banh Mi, 82 Maoming Bei Lu, 茂名北路82号

READ MORE: 17 Not Your Everyday Shanghai Burgers

READ MORE: A-Z of Shanghai's Top Sandwiches

Got a favorite sandwich spot you’d like to see featured in our next roundup? Feel free to share the deets by commenting below!