Sandwiches have never been more popular with speciality shops popping up all over Adelaide – but these aren’t your soggy school lunch sangas.

Gourmet sandos are whipping up a social media storm with glowing reviews leaving shops from the city to the suburbs with lines out the door.

While some of South Australia’s top spots – like Bottega Bandito and Beachside Bagels – have opened extra locations just to keep up with the growing demand.

Among the newest additions feeding Adelaide’s sandwich obsession is Frankie’s on Franklin which opened in the former Crack Kitchen Adelaide CBD spot almost eight months ago.

Co-owner Christian Belperio said the key to Frankie’s early success was building hype on social media.

“Social media definitely plays a big role,” Mr Belperio said.

“We gave people a good time frame for when we would be opening. We just gave people a little insight into what we’re doing with this space.

“Particularly in the city where there is so much competition, it’s very important that you’re on point with your social media.”

Selling an assortment of fresh and toasted focaccias, Mr Belperio said was filling a sandwich-shaped hole in the CBD.

“We were looking for a location in the city for some time and we noticed that there was definitely a gap in the market for a good quality sandwich,” he said.

Frankie’s is just one of growing number of South Aussie sandwich spots that has opened in the past few years, here’s our guide of the best spots around town.

FRANKIE’S ON FRANKLIN

Location: 13 Franklin St, Adelaide

Open: 6am-4pm Monday to Friday, 8am-4pm Saturday

Handle: @frankiesonfranklin

Followers: 3k

One of the new kids on the block having opened just shy of eight months ago is Frankie’s on Franklin.

The CBD spot has adopted the strategy of monthly sandwich and drink specials including the latest “cloud” drinks trend, so there’s always something new to try.

But the undisputed star of the show here is the house-baked focaccia.

Prepared on-site daily, the bread is celebrated for its flawless texture — light and airy on the inside with a beautifully golden, olive-oil-crisp exterior.

For cold deli-style perfection, the King of Calabria comes highly recommended, generously stacked with premium cuts of salami, ham, mortadella, sharp provolone, and fresh mixed greens.

As for the permanent favourites, Mr Belperio recommends Anna’s toasted focaccia.

“It’s named after my Nonna and it’s pretty much her eggplant parmigiana in a toasted sandwich,” the Frankie’s co-owner said.

DANTE’S DELI

Location: 3/58 Jetty Road, Glenelg

Open: 6.30am-4pm Monday to Friday, 7am-4pm Saturday and Sunday

Handle: @dantes.deli

Followers: 18.4k

Located in an inconspicuous spot just off Jetty Road in Glenelg, Dante’s Deli is serving up takeaway Italian-style sandwiches and toasties.

Its offering may be small but each bite is as delicious as the next.

The fresh sandwich offerings include sopressa, mortadella, chicken salad and veggies.

But if you’re after a winter warmer the toastie range boasts truffle-loaded mushroom ragu, a classic tuna melt and a pickly pastrami.

Co-owner Nick Buesnel, 29, said he and brothers Taylor and Blake Ferrante decided to launch the business after seeing the sandwich craze take hold of Melbourne.

“We saw it popping off in Melbourne and thought, you know, why not bring it to Adelaide?” he said.

“Some others started popping up like Bottega Bandito, which we loved going to.”

Mr Buesnel said the small location was instantly busy and that social media was a big factor in its early success.

“We were very lucky, it was really busy straight from the start,” he said.

“Before we even opened we had a pretty solid following.

“You know how social media works, like a few influencers come in and just spread the word from there.”

BOTTEGA BANDITO

Locations: 25 James Place, Adelaide and 1/96 Prospect Road, Prospect

Open: 10.30am until sold out everyday

Handle: @bottegabandito

Followers: 26.1k

Adelaide’s original sandwich shop Bottega Bandito has been serving up since 2021 with the idea sparked on a trip around Italy.

Big Easy Group co-owner Oliver Brown said the sandwich phenomena hadn’t hit Australia when it opened its first shop.

“It’s been a concept we’ve been brewing on since 2019,” Mr Brown said.

“I actually went over to Italy in mid-2019 and I went to a lot of these kind of sandwich shops and delis, especially in Florence and I remember I was over there sending photos to the team.”

Then the sando craze took off and Bottega is no longer Adelaide’s best kept secret – with two locations.

“It’s been wild since then,” Mr Brown said.

“Since we kind of started in 2021, the category has gone nuts.”

The menu features cold cut sandwiches such as sopressa, prosciutto, cottoletta and salumi but Mr Brown said the highest seller every month is the sopressa with mortadella, coppa and sopressa.

His favourite? The monthly special.

“I really like the monthly sando special, they’re always super fun and unique and sort of innovative sandwiches,” he said.

BEACHSIDE BAGELS

Locations: 2/330 Seaview Road, Henley Beach and 19 Saltfleet St, Port Noarlunga

Open: Henley Beach: 8.30am-12pm Friday to Sunday, Port Noarlunga: 8.30am-2pm Tuesday to Sunday

Handle: @beachsidebagels.adl

Followers: 29.2k

Lines out the door are just part of the experience at Henley Square icon Beachside Bagels.

After opening three years ago next door to the owner’s Mexican restaurant Mia Margarita, a second location has opened in Port Noarlunga to ensure more fans of the banging bagels can get a taste.

Co-owner Michael Ishak said social media had helped grow Beachside Bagels exponentially, with close to 30k followers on Instagram.

“It started as a window that we implemented through the same venue and sort of grew a life of its own,” Mr Ishak said.

“(Social media) is how we reach customers with new ideas, new menu items … it’s quite significant and impactful.”

Mr Ishak recommends its popular birria melts.

“Our birria melt is probably our signature item, that’s probably one of our biggest sellers.”

The bagels range includes smoked salmon, bacon and avo, fried chicken, big brekky, halloumi and shrooms, while sandwiches include chimmi chicken melt, pastrami melt and classic tuna melt.

FRANKLY BAGELS

Locations: 88 Magill Road, Norwood and 60 Belford Ave, Prospect

Open: Prospect: 7am-2pm Monday to Friday, 8am-3pm Saturday and Sunday; Norwood: 8am-3pm everyday

Handle: @frankly.bagels

Followers: 20.2k

Frankly Bagels has spread across the Adelaide suburbs with shops now slinging bagels in Norwood and Prospect.

Starting the business in 2020 when the state was going in and out of Covid lockdowns, owner Christie Wilkinson said it didn’t take long for the takeaway option to thrive.

“The takeaway model of being able to grab something and then take it to the park we’re opposite in Prospect, was really kind of appealing to people,” she said.

“It just really worked in our favour … we really developed quite a strong following quite early on.”

Ms Wilkinson, along with her partner Jack Crichton, realised Frankly Bagels would outgrow the Prospect space just two years later and opened the second spot.

“We’ve got the store in Norwood which bakes all of our bagels everyday fresh,” she said.

The two locations have differing menu offerings – from the classic bagel combos to experimental flavours inspired by trips to Melbourne – plus Frankly’s monthly specials are promoted on Instagram.

The highlights according to Ms Wilkinson is the Chimichurri chicken and the classic smoked salmon and cream cheese.

“Social media is a huge part of how we market our business,” Ms Wilkinson said.

TONINO DELI

Location: 114 King William Road, Goodwood

Open: 8.30am-3pm Monday to Friday, 9am-4pm Saturday, 9am-3pm Sunday

Handle: @tonino_deli

Followers: 15.6k

Goodwood Road institution Tonino Deli serves up 11 different classic Italian-style deli sandwiches.

The deli popped up on the sandwich scene two years ago and started as a much-needed creative outlet.

“We love food, we love being creative, we’re also very much people people,” co-owner Anna-Lisa Barone said.

Like many others, Tonino’s is capitalising on using social media to connect with customers.

“It has made such a difference for us, I feel like it’s very helpful in showing the vibe of the place and really showing how people enjoy the food,” Ms Barone said.

Alongside Italian classics like mortadella, tricolore, calabrese, there’s also pastrami, a tuna melt, a cheesy toastie

Its signature is The Tonino with porchetta, spicy nduja and pickled giardiniera and Ms Barone’s recommendations for newcomers is the meatball sub.

“Everyone loves our Italian meatball sub and it’s definitely our most popular toastie,” she said

MUNCH DELI

Location: 6/82 King William St, Adelaide

Open: 7.30am-3pm Monday to Friday, 10am-2pm Saturday

Handle: @munchdeli.adl

Followers: 4.9k

Located in the heart of the CBD, Munch Deli is the go to when it comes to toasties on the go.

After opening in November 2023 co-owner Justin Kien said it took a while for business to take off.

“It was quiet in the city because a lot of people were working from home,” Mr Kien said.

Munch Deli now boasts regulars who come for its unique offerings with Vietnamese fusion alongside Italian and classic flavours.

It serves “oldie goldies” including a grilled cheese with white sourdough, house chilli jam and caramelised onions and four different types of cheeses, and a popeye toastie with brioche, herb mayo, baby spinach, house chilli jam and parmesan cheese.

Mr Kien recommends the Pho-nommenal – a Vietnamese pho-inspired toastie with a sourdough ciabatta, slow-cooked pho-style beef brisket, limey mayo, Asian herbs, pickled onions and shredded lettuce.

PINCO DELI

Locations: 96 Gilles St, Adelaide and 73 Glen Osmund Road, Eastwood

Open: 7.30am-2.30pm Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 2.30pm Saturday and Sunday

Hande: @pincodeli

Followers: 13.9k

Pinco Deli has become an icon in the Adelaide sandwich scene.

Its whole range of sandwiches available on fresh focaccias and toasted sourdough at both the CBD and Glen Osmond Road locations.

Saba Maghsoudi co-owner has a background in social media and said the venture was inspired by trips to Europe.

“We always had a fascination and focus on produce driven, simple food done at a high quality,” Mr Maghsoud said.

“It was kind of bringing two worlds together, our love for food and hospitality as well as our love for design and brand and creative.”

The menu features six fresh options featuring classic Italian combinations like salami with whipped ricotta, salami, crushed pistachio and fermented chilli honey, along with mortadella, salami, provolone, tomato, giardiniera, green olive and pickled onion.

There is also a fresh chicken salad plus toasted sourdough options with pastrami, tuna and vegetarian.

Mr Maghsoudi’s top three recommendations are the salami and mortadella, the pastrami and the tuna.

THE FLYING FIG

Location: 161 Jeffcott St, North Adelaide

Open: 7.30am-3.30pm Monday to Saturday and 8am-3.30pm Sunday

Handle: @theflyingfigdelica

Followers: 7k

Located in the centre of North Adelaide is the Flying Fig, serving a plethora of fresh dishes from bagels to reubens and classic breakfast options.

It offers several bagel options from a breakfast bagel with house-smoked bacon, egg and relish to the classic lox bagel with cured salmon, pickled red onion, cucumber ribbons and Neufchatel cheese.

The Flying Fig also offers reubens on dark rye sourdough with several different meat options including pastrami, original and lamb reubens.

And for the vegetarians that think they’re missing out there’s also a vego option.

CRUST SANDWICHES

Location: Aldinga Beach Road and Pridham Boulevard, Aldinga

Open: 8am-2pm Wednesday to Sunday

Handle: @crust_sandos

Followers: 628

A service station may not be most people’s first stop in the hunt of a cracking sandwich but Crust is a pleasant surprise.

Sandwich lovers are spoiled for choice with both fresh and toasted options.

The menu features fresh loaded sandos with mortadella, ham and ricotta, prosciutto, fried buttermilk chicken and beetroot and hummus.

Plus crispy, gooey toastie including The Bourdain – named after celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain – with mortadella, provolone and caramelised onion, alongside a reuben, a salami melt and a classic ham and cheese.

ANTO’S DELI

Location: 1/503 Goodwood Road, Colonel Light Gardens

Open: 7.30am-3pm Monday to Sunday.

Handle: @antosdeli_

Followers: 6.5k

Surrounded by luscious greenery in Colonel Light Gardens is Anto’s Deli – a place that has your sandwich, focaccia and toastie order sorted.

Its popular chicken sandwich is a must-try, with crumbed chicken, American style cheddar cheese, lettuce, pickles and dill mayonnaise.

Anto’s also feature New York-style subs filled with assorted meats.

The Italian hoagie comes with mortadella, salami, prosciutto, fior di latte, lettuce, tomato, pickled onion, oregano and is finished off with an Italian dressing.

FRATELLI ITALIAN DELI

Locations:1/117 Prospect Road, Prospect and 115 Grenfell St, Adelaide

Open: Prospect: 6.30am-3pm Monday to Friday, 7am-3pm Saturday and Sunday, Adelaide: 7am-3pm Monday to Friday

Handle: @fratelli.italiandeli

Followers: 10.9k

Bringing a slice of New Jersey’s iconic, heavy-hitting deli culture straight to Prospect and the CBD, Fratelli Italian Deli has earned a following among Adelaide’s sandwich purists.

This bustling, family-run spot masterfully blends traditional Italian ingredients with generous, Italo-American deli flair.

The menu strikes a perfect balance between freshly sliced cold-cut paninis and hearty toasted creations.

Crowd-pleasers include the Hot Honey — a flawless combination of salty prosciutto, creamy stracciatella, crushed pistachios, and a sweet-and-spicy drizzle on fresh ciabatta — alongside the legendary Chicken Alla Vodka, featuring a perfectly crispy chicken cutlet drenched in house-made vodka rose sauce and pesto.

With locally sourced produce stacked into bread, Fratelli is an absolute must-visit for anyone on the ultimate Adelaide sandwich crawl.