Sir Reuben, Rozelle

If you love sandwiches as much as I do, head to Sir Reuben in Rozelle. There you'll find a neat menu of sandwiches and a couple of salads headlined by the eponymous Reuben sandwich. There's also a ridiculously good chicken schnitzel and a roast pork sandwich. But be warned: come with an appetite as these sandwiches are enormous (and very tasty!).

The message came from my friend Carm. "You have to try this place," she said sending me a picture of her sandwich. If there's something that makes me weak at the knees, it's a good sandwich and 2020 brought Sydney so many new sandwich places.

Sir Reuben is by Antonio Sabia from Puntino and Rozelle locals Monique and Tony Mihaljevic who own the building that it is set in. Puntino is sadly closed (I still remember the gnocchi making class there with great fondness).

Antonio and Tony are childhood friends and this is the Mihaljevic's first foray into food. The photographs on the wall are old pictures of the Mihaljevic's Italian and Croatian parents. The cafe on Darling Street in Rozelle already has a steady following. There are three outdoor tables with extra chairs on which to sit and eat your sandwich as well as some indoor tables.

The menu has four sandwiches and three salads topped with meat, grilled mushrooms or buffalo mozzarella as well as a couple of breakfast options with an egg and bacon brioche and avocado on toast.

The serve of small chips is actually quite large (I can't picture how big the large sized chips are). These are hand cut chips that are crispy and delicious. We dip them in tomato sauce and mayonnaise.

The first sandwich to arrive is the Reuben sandwich with slices of 12 hour slow cooked corned beef, mustard, pickles, sauerkraut and Swiss cheese. It's fantastic, crunchy, tangy, perfectly balanced as only a good Reuben can be.

When they set this down I do a double take at the chicken spilling out of the sandwich. The chicken and the Mr Pig sandwich are served on grilled focaccia. It's stuffed full of crumbed chicken tenderloins with crisp cos lettuce and mayonnaise. The chicken is so moist and juicy and the ratio of the bread to the chicken is perfect.

Mr NQN is utterly smitten with the Mr Pig and this is a man that doesn't even like pork (I know, how did we ever get married?). It's an Italian style slow cooked porchetta with coleslaw and mayonnaise. The pork is filled with a mix of home grown herbs from Antonio's parents' garden and then slow cooked for 12 to 14 hrs. Tip: ask for lots of napkins and don't wear your best clothes; this is messy but so worth it.

So tell me Dear Reader, do you enjoy Reuben sandwiches? Which is your pick of the three sandwiches?

This meal was independently paid for.

Sir Reuben

702 Darling Street, Rozelle, NSW 2039 Open 7 days 7:30am-2:30pm