Sandwich shop and deli menu

Usual sections

1. Hot: bacon rolls, toasties, paninis, meatball subs, Philly cheesesteak.
2. Cold: ham and mustard, tuna mayo, egg mayo, BLT, chicken Caesar wrap.
3. Breakfast: bacon, sausage and egg rolls, until mid-morning.
4. Specials of the house or the month.
5. Meal deals: sandwich, snack and drink.
6. Drinks.

With more than twenty sandwiches, put them in order: hot and cold, or by main filling (pork, beef, chicken, fish, veggie). If customers have to read the whole list to find the tuna one, the queue stops moving.

Two sizes, two columns

Example prices in pounds. The label goes once, at the top of the section. If your breads have a fixed length, use it as the label (“6 in” and “12 in”, or “15 cm” and “30 cm”): it’s understood everywhere and avoids arguments about what counts as a large. In the US, “Half” and “Whole” work just as well for subs.

If you’re not sure what to charge, the guide on how to price a menu shows how to work it out from what each sandwich costs you.

Bread and extras

A note under the section answers almost every question:

Wholemeal +0.30 · Gluten-free bread +1.20 · Extra cheese +0.80 · Fried egg +1

• Types of bread: white, wholemeal, granary, sourdough, ciabatta, wraps, gluten-free. If they change the price, put them in the note; if not, just say customers can choose.
• Toasted or not, if you ask.
• Gluten-free bread, with its traces warning if you can’t guarantee there’s no cross-contamination.

Breakfast and meal deals

The meal deal (sandwich, snack and drink for one price) is a British lunchtime institution, and in the US the sandwich-chips-soda combo plays the same role. If you offer one, list it as a product of its own, with its fixed price, what’s included and when it applies: “Meal deal · Any regular sandwich, crisps or fruit and a drink · 7.50”.

The same goes for breakfast: bacon or sausage rolls, egg muffins and a coffee, with the time it stops: “Breakfast · Until 11:00”. If an offer changes every week, a board or a social media story is cheaper than reprinting.

Local names

Many sandwiches have their own name and aren’t understood outside their home turf. Keep the name and explain it in the description:

• Bacon butty: bacon in a buttered roll, with ketchup or brown sauce.
• Reuben: salt beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and Russian dressing on rye.
• Po’ boy: fried shrimp or oysters in a New Orleans French loaf.
• Bánh mì: Vietnamese baguette with pork, pickled carrot, coriander and chilli.

If you get a lot of visitors, the guide on how to translate a menu explains which names to keep as they are.

Allergens in a sandwich shop

• Gluten: almost always in the bread, and in breaded fillings (chicken goujons, fish fingers, schnitzel).
• Eggs: egg mayo, mayonnaise, aioli, brioche and breaded fillings.
• Milk: cheese and butter, and also sliced bread, brioche and some cured meats.
• Fish: tuna, smoked salmon, anchovies.
• Crustaceans: prawn mayo.
• Sesame: seeded rolls, bagels and many burger buns.
• Mustard: ham and mustard, dressings and some mayonnaises.
• Celery: coronation chicken, Waldorf fillings and celery salt.

Cured meats vary from one maker to another: salami, chorizo or pastrami can contain milk, soya or gluten. Check each spec sheet. And a shared grill or toaster carries traces from one sandwich to the next: if you toast the gluten-free bread on it, it isn’t gluten-free any more.

Sandwiches made in advance are a separate case. In the UK, anything you wrap before the customer chooses it is prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) and needs a full ingredients label with the allergens emphasised. In the US, ask your county or state health department what grab-and-go food needs. More in the guide to allergens on menus.

Format and style

• A3 poster or 16:9 screen behind the counter: people choose looking at the wall.
• A4 on the tables.
• Tri-fold for takeaway bags and phone orders, with the number on the front.
• Post or story for the sandwich of the month.

The template’s style is Notebook, as if written by hand. Poster gives the feel of a modern poster, Chalkboard works for the sandwich of the day and Counter suits an old-school sandwich bar. More examples in menu templates.

Make it in MenuDesign

Open the sandwich shop template, add your sandwiches with both sizes, adjust the bread and extras note, mark the allergens and download the PDF or the A3 poster. Free, no sign-up, and saved in your browser.