Seattle’s best hot sandwiches — our critic picks her top 10

Let’s dispense with the overlong introduction: We all know the tale of the Earl of Sandwich, and we’re pretty clear on the difference between hot and cold.

Seattle is not considered a great sandwich city, a take with which I largely agreed — until I started thinking about hot sandwiches. We have a bunch of excellent ones! From all kinds of different cultures’ cuisines! All across the city! Hence, this list!

Three quick things: 

1. One particular kind of hot sandwich is missing here: a Reuben. It is a contentious sandwich, and one deserving of its own examination. The Reubening has been set aside for a later date.
   
2. Also possibly missing here: your own favorite Seattle hot sandwich. I would like to acknowledge that lists are 117% necessarily subjective, and that it is annoying when they do not reflect your own dearly held beliefs. A couple-few beloved local places are not on this list. Yes, I did go try them again — I’ve been eating a lot of hot sandwiches — and with all due respect to those who cherish these establishments, they just didn’t make my top 10. But you do you!
   
3. I hope everybody finds something new to try here. This is about moments of hot sandwich joy! We all need them now! Here we go!

The lomo al jugo sandwich at Bajón en Seattle

$15.99; South Park: 8909 14th Ave. S., Seattle (inside South Park Grocery); 206-245-5179; bajonenseattle.com

“My masterpiece!” Rodrigo Herrera says gleefully as he sets your heaping lomo al jugo sandwich in front of you. He’s the chef/co-owner of Bajón en Seattle, located inside the South Park Grocery — just five counter seats, four tables, bright lights, incomparable hospitality and one of the city’s stellar sandwiches.

The sandwich’s name means, roughly, “loin in juice,” and Herrera slow-cooks pork loin in white wine, garlic, oregano, ginger and, apparently, heaven. This gets finished to order on the grill, then he piles pliant slices onto the pan amasado that he bakes here every single day — it’s a treasured roll in his native Chile, golden-crackly topped, buttery-tasting and a little biscuity, filled with fine air bubbles yet somehow still sturdy.

The sturdiness is needed to withstand the pork’s juicy onslaught, as well as the copious amount of housemade garlic aioli Herrera applies to his lomo al jugo. Then there’s plenty of avocado, tomato and melty mozzarella, too. Spoon on some of his housemade pebre, a Chilean salsa, or chimichurri, a salute to his Argentine business partner — why not?

Herrera also presents you with a stack of extra napkins. “Is necessario!” he says, laughing. He is not wrong. 

Bonus: Buy your beverage of choice from the grocery to accompany this fantastic experience.

The croque monsieur at Bar Bayonne 

$15, add egg for $3; Central District: 1315 E. Jefferson St., Seattle; no phone; barbayonne.com

The city lost a civic treasure when Cafe Presse near Seattle University closed in 2022, not least because that place made the best croque monsieur in town. To fill this superlative French ham-and-cheese sandwich void, we now have Bar Bayonne, a few blocks away, next to its bistro sibling, L’Oursin.

Bar Bayonne’s croque is a bit more beasted-out than Presse’s was — bigger and even richer, it’s something you might want to share (or you justifiably might not). It’s made with thick slices of Grand Central brioche, lots of Le Superbe Gruyère (rife with tiny salt crystals that get melted in), nutmeg-spiced Mornay and Dijon. And the ham! It’s Madrange Jambon de Paris, favored in France, ideal for this sandwich application.

The results are spectacularly savory and gloriously gooey, with cheese sizzled on top, lots of crispy-browned bread-edges and bites with almost too much ham, if such a thing is possible. If you want to madame it, add an egg for the currently-rather-reasonable surcharge of $3, and rest assured, it’s a quality one: fresh from family-owned Palouse Pastured Poultry farm, out in the rolling hills of Eastern Washington.

Bonus: There’s so much to love about this little French wine bar/cafe — don’t miss one of the city’s best salads.

The fried catfish sandwich at Habesha Cafe

$11; Hillman City: 5710 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle; 206-324-2527; habesha.cafe 

My friend Matt messaged me about this place with an exclamation mark, and I now second that: Habesha! The simple space is in Hillman City, next to the Machine House Brewery taproom. It also contains a small shop with sparse shelves, and it seems it’ll be counter service until co-owner/front-of-house extraordinaire Filli Abdulkadir shoos you over to a table. He is incredibly nice.

Co-owner Yodit Seyoum is the chef, and also Abdulkadir’s wife of 30 years, and the one in charge here, as he’ll tell you, laughing (but also serious). She’s liable to be busy in the back making Habesha’s Ethiopian and Eritrean specialties, but she’s utterly warm and welcoming, too. She’s also responsible for the excellence of Habesha’s fried catfish sandwich.

It looks simple, but the catfish is extra fresh-tasting, silky-fleshed and ideally crunchy-crusted. There’s red onion for zing and bits of tomato, and the lettuce — generally a tragedy in the hot-sandwich format (see entry for Un Bien) — works due to its near-confetti cut. The soft, perfectly basic roll comes from Tony’s Bakery a few blocks away.

The secret’s in the spicing, both in the breading for the fish and the housemade tartar sauce — there’s a citrus note, tanginess, warmth. Seyoum will admit that mustard powder is involved; beyond that, she refuses to elaborate, smiling

Bonus: For your beverage needs, consider a Walia, the iconic Ethiopian beer (now owned by Heineken, still caramelly yet surprisingly refreshing) — and consider visiting Machine House afterward (my friend Matt loves them, too).

The Pho-rench dip panini at Ba Bar

$18.95 at Capitol Hill location ($15.50 lunch special), $19.45 in SLU/University Village; Capitol Hill: 550 12th Ave., Seattle; 206-328-2030; South Lake Union: 500 Terry Ave. N., Seattle; 206-588-1022; University Village: 2685 N.E. 46th St. #2503, Seattle; 206-328-1112; babarseattle.com

Plenty of places have done a spin on pho-deconstructed-into-sandwich, but then there’s the one at Ba Bar: the Pho-rench dip panini. This isn’t just the beef that goes into the place’s soup slapped on a roll; it’s osso bucco-cut beef shank from local Pure Country Farms, dry-aged for 21 days. It gets an eight-hour braise in Ba Bar’s beef pho broth — a win-win for enriching the stock with more marrow and beefiness, while flavoring the meat for the Pho-rench dip through and through. Melty provolone adds a little East Coast to the sandwich mashup; onion and cilantro chime in. The demi-baguette comes from Seattle favorite Q Bakery, crisping up perfectly in the panini format.

The sandwich, of course, gets served with a cup of the Ba Bar beef pho broth, known around the city and beyond for its fragrance, complexity and luxe richness. When you dip what’s been slow-cooked in the broth back into the broth: a full-circle moment of deliciousness.

Bonus: If you’re looking for more sandwiches from the mind behind this one — Chris Michel, the restaurant group’s chef de cuisine — try the banh mi at Ba Bar Green, the vegan branch in South Lake Union (also now available at the Capitol Hill branch Monday through Friday, 11 a.m.- 9 p.m.)

The vegetarian pabellón arepa from Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen

$14.75; University District: 1405 N.E. 50th St., Seattle; 206-556-4879; Factoria: 4058 Factoria Square Mall S.E., Bellevue; 425-502-7632; arepavenezuelakitchen.com 

Is an arepa a sandwich? I’m not here to gatekeep, and you need to know about Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen. They make their arepas from scratch by hand, sizzling the cornmeal dough on the grill, then slicing and stuffing them with various savory goodnesses. And for the pabellón — an homage to Venezuela’s national dish of the same name — a little sweetness, too, in the form of golden-fried plantain, to go with black beans, grated Jack cheese and shredded beef. 

Substituting avocado for the beef makes a vegetarian version and, I’d argue, a superior one. The caramelized plantain and the saucy beans meld with the creamy avocado and melting cheese inside the arepa — crispy on top, cushy inside, flavor of toasty corn — for a taste that checks all the boxes. The satisfaction level is very high; you’re going to need more napkins.

Arepas are a staple of Venezuelan culture, and husband-and-wife owners Ulises Andrade and Isamary Herrera are so pleased to share theirs. Their U District spot is right next to the defunct Grand Illusion Cinema; with the fate of that building uncertain, they’re opening another location of Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen nearby soon. The Factoria branch is in the little mall adjacent to the new T&T Supermarket in Bellevue. 

Bonus: Arepas are 100% cornmeal, and everything at Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen is gluten-free.

The Cuban at Lenox

$18, weekend lunch only; Belltown: 2510 First Ave., Seattle; 206-375-4557; lenoxwa.com

At his Afro-Latin restaurant Lenox in Belltown, chef/owner Jhonny Reyes is achieving next-level sandwichery in the Cuban category. Available only at weekend lunch, his version is stuffed full of smoky pork spiced with exceptional nuance, very thick-sliced Black Forest ham and oozing Swiss, all press-toasted inside a French roll that gets perfectly crispy-browned outside. And this is no snack-size Cubano — this thing is hefty, and it’s served nearly nuclear-hot, with a pretty little side salad to occupy you while it cools a bit.

The depth of flavor in the pork, Reyes says, comes from a 12-hour garlic mojo marinade, followed by a garlic/oregano/peppercorn/culantro rub, and then a 16-hour smoke over cherry wood and post oak. He likes the rolls, from Q Bakery, for their kinship to traditional Caribbean pan de agua. Housemade mustard “adds an extra layer of tang and spice,” he says, while “our own thick-sliced pickles … bring that crunch and acidity.”

A Cubano is a grilled ham-and-cheese, augmented and elevated; it’s also a sandwich that can easily end up dry and/or uninspired. Reyes’ depth of consideration, craft and care make his version a magnificent one.

Bonus: Lenox’s light-filled room and exceptionally kind table service will make your Saturday or Sunday brunchtime even better.

The French dip at Nick’s on Madison

$18 lunch/$21 dinner; Madison Park: 3131 E. Madison St. #100, Seattle; 206-900-7960; nicksonmadison.com

Nick’s on Madison is a comfortable neighborhood restaurant that opened quietly in 2019, gaining a loyal following that saw the place through the pandemic years. The upscale-ish, pleasant room is decorated with photos of Madison Park and nearby; by the door frame, patrons have drawn lines and written names, keeping track of their kids’ growth. There’s a full bar and a changing menu of tried-and-true hits with gratifying accompaniments: prawn cocktail with charred jalapeño and avocado, Painted Hills rib-eye with chimichurri and spring onions.

In the tried-and-true department, a good French dip can be hard to find. The one at Nick’s doesn’t reinvent any wheels. The thinly sliced roast beef, from Mondo & Sons or Corfini, has an unobtrusive smokiness; there’s melty provolone, but not a blanket of it. Caramelized onions, check; housemade horseradish aioli, nice. The French-ish roll, from Macrina, does its job softly but with integrity, taking very well to a dip in the au jus, which is winey, but not overly so, and salted just right. (You may want to surreptitiously drink any left over.)

The French dip is a simple hot sandwich, and done right, a great one. Nick’s on Madison is quietly nailing it.

Bonus: This one comes with a pile of some of Seattle’s best French fries.

The jerk chicken sandwich at Jerk Shack Kitchen

$16; Central District: 1133 24th Ave., Suite N, Seattle; 206-898-4085; jerkshackseattle.com 

Chef Trey Lamont’s jerk spice mix is made with allspice, thyme, garlic and more, and he’s especially proud of the peppers. “We’re probably the only restaurant in Seattle that’s using real Scotch bonnet pepper,” Lamont says. They’re hard to come by, but Ras Levi Peynado, aka HerbanfarmNW, grows them for Lamont — a mutually beneficial arrangement between two local Black entrepreneurs that also benefits Jerk Shack Kitchen patrons. The tender chicken thigh meat for the sandwich has a smokiness that’s bold but nuanced with notes of fruit, aromatic and possessed of a definite spicy tingle that grows pleasantly as you keep eating.

And you will keep eating, both because of the jerk chicken sandwich’s super-tastiness and its fairly gigantic size. It comes on a French roll from Q Bakery, freshly toasted; crunch and tartness are courtesy of cabbage slaw with lime juice, then pickled onion, carrot and bell pepper. Creamy garlic sauce, a cilantro-lime verde and a hot one contribute a tricolor of more housemade flavor.

This sandwich’s multifaceted wonder cannot be captured in mere words — find Lamont’s Jerk Shack Kitchen in the Central District’s Midtown Square.

Bonus: Friendly counter service and a few seats where you can watch the action.

The Chicago Italian beef at Smarty Pants

$18.75; Smarty Pants Georgetown, 6017 Airport Way S., Seattle; 206-762-4777; smartypantsseattle.com; Smarty Pants Garage, 626 S.W. 152nd St., Burien; 206-457-8181; smartypantsgarage.com

Known in Chicago simply as “a beef,” this is the messy, meaty classic made famous on the hit TV series “The Bear.” In terms of legitimacy, Smarty Pants owner Tim Ptak is originally from the City of the Big Shoulders, and he’s been serving Italian beef sandwiches in Georgetown since before Hulu was born — for more than 20 years, and now at the newer Burien branch, too. 

For the actual beef, Ptak uses top round, which gets a dry rub (he declines to specify the spice mix) and then slow-cooked for several hours. Then “slicing the meat unusually thin is key” to correct preparation, he says. Green peppers get sauteed in big pieces, and pickley giardiniera gets made in-house; the use of both together imparts a sweet-and-spiciness. It took Ptak time to find an Italian roll that matches his specifications (the source is another secret).

Smarty Pants makes ’em “wet,” the style of Italian beef wherein the soft bread gets ladled with savory broth — here, made with the rich pan drippings from the beef-braising.

It’s legendary Chicago sandwich work, done right.

Bonus (maybe?): Malört is on offer at the bar at both locations.

The Caribbean roast pork sandwich at Un Bien

$13.25; Ballard: 7302.5 15th Ave. N.W.; 206-588-2040; Queen Anne: 319 W. Galer St.; 206-420-3178; Shilshole: 6226 Seaview Ave. N.W.; 206-420-7545; unbienseattle.com 

This is the stuff of Seattle sandwich legend: The wonder of the original Caribbean roast pork sandwich at Paseo, as heralded far and wide; Paseo’s closure and bankruptcy following an employee lawsuit; Paseo’s revival under new ownership, after a dispute about the formula for the marinade; and the advent of Un Bien, run by the sons of the original owner of Paseo. 

Since then, it’s been sandwich rivalry. Both Paseo and Un Bien claim recipe legitimacy. Both sandwiches are made with Macrina rolls stuffed full of slow-roasted pork shoulder with flavors of citrus and warm spice. Both are made yet more saucy with garlic aioli, freshened with cilantro, spiked with pickled jalapeños and sweetened/further umami’d with caramelized onions. Both, inexplicably, add romaine lettuce — which, in drippy sandwiches like these, just gets kind of slimy.

My stance is that Un Bien’s specimen is better built — allowing more bites with the full panoply of tastes — as well as more nuanced in the meat-marinade department. In order to meaningfully participate in Seattle’s great all-time food debate, you must try both — and each operation now boasts three locations for your taste-test convenience. I’d just say hold the romaine.

Bonus: Then there are those who swear by the version made by Bongos (near Green Lake) or newer Los Costeños (in the Seattle Uwajimaya food court) … this clearly merits its own investigation.