5 Tasty New Sandwich Shops to Try Around DC

Mikey & Mel’s

The Clevelander

Washington’s appetite for Jewish-deli fare is ravenous—just look at the crowds at this six-month-old lunch destination in downtown DC. While the menu is stacked with various iterations of corned-beef and pastrami sandwiches, our favorite overstuffed creation is more inspired by the Midwest. Brother owners Aaron and Harley Magden are from Ohio, and their hefty offering tastes like a Thanksgiving sandwich crossed with a club. It’s made with two kinds of turkey—both roasted in-house, one honey-glazed—plus bacon, provolone, lettuce, tomato, and generous slathers of mayo and housemade cranberry spread.

Dragon Hero

The Mario

At this Shaw sandwich shop that opened in February, each of the menu’s heroes is named for a dragon slayer. Our favorite is this Nintendo homage, which is really just an excellent meatball sub. Chef/owner Adam Campbell starts out with a low-and-slow marinara made with San Marzano tomatoes, then grinds three meats: pork chuck, beef chuck, and lamb shoulder. Campbell says the key to great meatballs is nailing the panade—the milk-and-breadcrumb mixture that keeps them moist—and he laces his with Grana Padano cheese for a hint of umami. The creation is all Campbell’s own. “I don’t have an old nonna as a grandmother,” he says. Could have fooled us.

Silver and Sons

Pastrami Reuben

The Reuben is a sandwich that’s all about proportions—the corned beef or pastrami, the sauerkraut, the Swiss, and the Russian dressing all have to be in perfect balance for it not to be either a bore or a sloppy mess. At this Jewish barbecue storefront in Bethesda, owner Jarrad Silver gets the sandwich right. Even though it’s not traditional—Silver makes pastrami from short rib instead of brisket, conjures a dressing from aïoli mixed with mustard barbecue sauce, and uses thick-cut rye sourdough—the spot-on flavors will satisfy a deli purist.

Buffalo & Bergen

Silvie’s Big Bun

Hybrid snack foods don’t always work—just ask Gina Chersevani, owner of these bagel shop/bars who spent hours trying to turn a fried chicken cutlet into a taco-like pocket. “Your mind conceptualizes something and it just doesn’t eat right,” she says. Not the case with this masterful sandwich at the Capitol Hill and new Cleveland Park locations. Turns out cheese pupusas make a pretty great sandwich filling, at least when they’re made by chef Silvia Zelaya, who puts plenty of care into the rest of the sandwich, layered with long-braised brisket and jalapeño slaw. Get extra lime sauce to go on the side—Zelaya makes the crema for it herself.

Saigon Rolls

Bánh Mì

For two decades, Nha Trang has low-key been one of the best dining rooms at the Eden Center, the Vietnamese restaurant hub in Falls Church. (It’s an IYKYK-type place, hidden inside the mall.) In January, it spawned this narrow, wood-paneled Old Town sibling. There you’ll find the spring rolls and vermicelli bun that Nha Trang excels at, but also bánh mì, which are just as much of a draw. The baguette subs come with all the crunchy condiments you’d expect—cucumbers, pickled carrot, and radish—plus cilantro, aïoli, and a choice of meats. Go for the grilled beef or grilled pork.

Photographs of the Clevelander, the Mario, pastrami reuben by Magdalena Papaioannou.
Photograph of Silvie’s Big Bun by Birch Thomas.
This article appears in the May 2025 issue of Washingtonian.

Ann Limpert

Executive Food Editor/Critic

Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.