Sydney is experiencing a glut of new spots making standout sandwiches – and proving there’s far more than one way to spin a sanga. While they all start at the same point – bread and fillings – each new joint is diverging when it comes to the finished product. From a beloved Sydney stalwart’s latest eatery to NYC-inspired creations, here are four new spots nailing the sandwich brief.

Self Raised Bread Shoppe, Carlton
Self Raised Bread Shoppe may technically be a bakery – but it’s turning out banging sandwiches all the same. By the team behind New York-style pizzeria My Mother’s Cousin, it’s also taking inspiration from the Big Apple, as well as from Melbourne’s sandwich-deli boom.

“You can’t just slap a bunch of things together and expect it to be good – there’s a real art to making a good sandwich,” co-owner Hussein Rachid tells Broadsheet.

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To that end, Kirrawee artisan bakery Thoroughbread helped develop Self Raised’s bread program, while Wholegrain Milling in Gunnedah supplies flour for the sourdough, ciabatta and slabs of focaccia. Expect creations such as the Schnitzel (herb-and-garlic-panko-crumbed chicken, lettuce, American cheese and mayo on white sourdough) and Hoagie No 1 (mortadella, turkey ham, salami, lettuce, roasted peppers, provolone and green dressing on a sesame-seed-studded hoagie roll). There’s also a version of the ever-divisive tuna sandwich, which is made on ciabatta.

It’s not just the sandwiches making the Shoppe a winner – a pastry team of Flour and Stone and Cornersmith alumni is pumping out kouign-amanns, blueberry tarts, plum danishes and more.

Dom Panino, Leichhardt
Inner-west food-truck-turned-eatery Dom Panino is soaked in nostalgia for owner Dom Ruggeri’s childhood. He’s channelling dishes made by his Sicilian nonna into fillings to stuff in its signature panini. Take, for example, the Nonna’s Nostalgia. It comes loaded with five-hour slow-cooked pork and veal bolognaise, smoked fior di latte, parmesan and rocket.

“On a Sunday morning, you’d go to Nonna’s house and she’d be cooking a big pot of sugo,” Ruggeri tells Broadsheet. “I’d get some crusty bread and dip it in, and she’d get annoyed, but these are some of the fondest memories of my childhood.”

A couple of other creations pay homage to New York, including the Joey Vodka: chicken schnitzel, spicy sopressa, buffalo mozzarella and basil, all lathered in vodka sugo. Combine any of the above sangas with an all-Italian drinks list – Peroni, limoncello seltzer and Sicilian wines – and you’ll be celebrating Italian and diaspora cuisine in all its glory.

South Dowling Sandwiches, Millers Point
Despite being a stalwart of Sydney’s sanga scene for many years now, enthusiasm for South Dowling Sandwiches (SDS) in Surry Hills, and its spin-off in Alexandria, has never abated. Now, it’s spreading the sandwich joy in a third spot: Millers Point.

In SDS’s new waterside digs, expect to find its classic line-up of hefty, foil-wrapped sangas. There’s the crowd-favourite Hugo, a chicken schnitzel sandwich that comes with house-made herb mayo, tasty cheese, Roma tomatoes, cucumber and SDS’s signature honey-glazed carrots; the Vegi, full to the brim with a creamy potato salad, hummus and roast veggies; and the Vegan van Gogh: a hybrid of the Hugo and the Vegi, with a plant-based “chicken” schnitzel.

There’s also a new, Millers Point-only breakfast menu, starring a boiled egg and herb-mayo sandwich; a classic bacon and egg sanga on SDS’s signature fluffy bread; and, perfect for the cooler months ahead, an oozy ham and cheese toastie. Top it off with San Pedro coffee, and your day will be off to a smashing start.

Charc, Chippendale
Everything you’ll find between bread at Charc in Chippendale is made from scratch in-house. Owner Pete Wilmot butchers the meat. The kraut is house-made. So are the sauces. Even the Wagyu is house-smoked. It all adds up to top-quality takes on familiar classics.

The star of the show is the decadent Clubhouse Steak. It comes packed with house-smoked Wagyu (marble score 7+), Swiss cheese, pickles and mild American mustard. Other highlights include the Reuben (pastrami, sauerkraut and White Russian sauce –all house-made – with layers of Swiss cheese), and a vegetarian version of the Reuben, which swaps out pastrami for shrooms.

Other points of difference? There’s the giant, gooey house-made choc-chunk cookies, as well as the coffee prices: this might be one of the last spots in Sydney where you can find a decent cup of caffeine for $3.50.

For more excellent Sydney sandwiches, peruse our guide to the Best Sandwiches in Sydney.