It took a minute but in 2023 sandwiches are suddenly, finally a thing in Brisbane. And the trend almost became an onslaught by the middle of the year, with a bunch of new spots opening across the city.

We’re not talking your mum’s after-school special here. Instead, it’s upmarket produce and fussed-over condiments, often given extra elevation via a bit of fine-dining know-how.

Here are the best new sandwich shops to check out in and around Brisbane.

Corner Deli, Woolloongabba

In April, Ben McShane and Matt Kuhnemann knocked a hole in the wall of Clarence, their Woolloongabba restaurant, to amalgamate the neighbouring tenancy, and install an open kitchen and a coffee machine.

The conjoined premises now do double duty as Clarence for dinner and Corner Deli for breakfast and lunch Monday to Friday.

Corner Deli’s menu is a forever evolving set of sandwiches given the midas touch by McShane’s fine-dining background and fondness for local produce.

For breakfast you might eat a blood pudding roll with brown sauce and a fried egg, a maple-smoked bacon roll with a fried egg and green-bean chutney, and congee served with a spring-onion pancake.

For lunch, there’s a menu of subs, soups, salads and sides. There’s a chicken sub sandwich with lettuce, chimichurri and peri peri mayo; a house-made pork-meatball number with mozzarella and green sauce; and a corned venison sandwich with special sauce, cheese and onion.

For drinks there’s coffee by Kelvin Grove’s Bancroft Roasters, Strangelove sodas, and a short selection of local wine and beer.

clarencerestaurant.com/Corner-Deli-Home

Eat at Billy’s, Paddington

Bill Gibney’s sister business to his hugely popular Meat at Billy’s (the Rosalie outlet of which is just next door) can sell out well before 1pm, so it pays to arrive early at this no-nonsense hole-in-the-wall.

Eat at Billy’s sandwiches are a revelation – particularly a take on a reuben called Not A F*$&en Reuben that combines wood-smoked wagyu brisket with red cheddar, pickles and a generous squirt of signature sauce. The masterstroke here is the soft, thick-cut white bread that accompanies each sandwich, which makes them easy to eat and soaks up the saucier flourishes.

In terms of fit-out, don’t expect much more than some high tables and chairs. For drinks, there’s a short menu of beer and wine.

instagram/eatatbillys

Ham on Rye, Paddington

Spot the vivid blue and yellow shopfront with striking pop art at Paddington Central and you’ve discovered Ham on Rye, the latest venue from the PopMega group (Remy’s, Hai Hai Ramen).

Ham on Rye’s menu is four fresh and four toasted sandwiches, all made with custom-baked bread from Bakeologists in New Farm. There’s the Toona Melt with tuna, capers, ranch sauce and extra mozzarella; a reuben built with pastrami and mozzarella; and the Deli Salad, which comes stuffed with lettuce, tomato, red onion, cheese, cucumber, beetroot, carrot, alfalfa, mayonnaise and mojo sauce.

For drinks, there’s a couple of house-pressed juices and a selection of San Pellegrino sodas.

hamonrye.com.au

Sunny Side Sandwiches, Paddington

Occupying the corner tenancy once home to Eli Rami and Sam Holman’s short-lived bakery project Misspelt, Sunny Side Sandwiches Paddington is a second instalment for Mack Bowers and Charline De Conto’s popular Windsor sandwich shop.

Sunny Side serves hearty, relatively unfussy sandwiches alongside a short menu of cold drinks.

In the morning, an enormous toasted breakfast stuffed full of scrambled egg is the star – it’s finished with kewpie mayo, dill, parsley, chives, smokey bacon, kimchi mayo and caramelised onion.

Later in the day, a menu of classic deli sandwiches takes over. There’s 20-hour Wagyu pastrami with shredded lettuce, tomato, pickles and sweet mustard; panko-crumbed schnitzel sandwich with herbed mayo, pickles and lettuce; and toasted numbers such as a pastrami, pickles and relish with Swiss cheese, and a shaved leg-ham sandwich with cheese and tomato.

Drinks are soft drinks and freshly squeezed orange juice.

eatsunnyside.com.au

Joe’s Deli, CBD

Joe’s Deli’s “famous” sandwiches aren’t actually famous – not yet, anyway – but this slick shop in a CBD laneway felt like a step change for sangas in this city when it opened in September.

Patrick Killalea is another former fine-dining chef who’s taken a turn for the fast paced.

His nine sandwiches are all served on toasted sesame milk rolls. You might order a JD Classic with double-smoked leg ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, piccalilli and aioli; an Original Deli with salami, mortadella, cured ham, iceberg lettuce, provolone, pickles, red onion and mustard aioli; or the Famous Meatball Sub with pork and veal meatballs, napoli sauce, parmesan, Swiss cheese, aioli, salsa verde, pickles and red onion.

There are also five hot dogs, ranging from the Brooklyn Dog to a fancy lobster and crab roll (kewpie mayo, iceberg, chives, black caviar and lemon).

Drinks are a pilsener, a ginger beer, a Margarita and natural house wines.

joesdeliofficial.com