California Sandwiches — Restaurant in Toronto

If you’re a fan of old-school Italian comfort food, California Sandwiches is a must-visit — and the original spot at Claremont Street near Manning is where it all began. This Toronto institution started in 1967, when the Papa/Bertucci family began serving up veal cutlet sandwiches out of their grocery store. Fast-forward a few decades, and their signature sandwiches have earned cult status — with good reason.

I dropped into the original location (yes, the one), and immediately understood why they’ve expanded across Ontario. From the outside, it’s nothing fancy. But inside, it’s all about the food — specifically, the veal sandwich, which was outstanding.

The sandwich is massive — freshly breaded veal cutlet, fried to a crisp and tucked into a soft-yet-sturdy bun, smothered in tangy tomato sauce. You can choose your heat level (I went with medium), and trust me, it hits just right. I also added a side of their house-marinated olives, which added the perfect briny counterpoint.

Here’s a tip if you’re not rocking a giant appetite: ask for the sauce on the side. This is a game-changer. It keeps the sandwich from getting soggy — especially if, like me, you only eat half at lunch and save the rest for later. Dipping as you go lets you enjoy every bite at its freshest, and the leftover half is still crisp when you come back to it.

Of course, if you’re going for the full, drippy, saucy experience as intended — no shame in that either. The original version is designed to be messy, hearty, and unforgettable.

Prices are a bit on the higher side (especially if you start adding toppings), but the portions are generous enough to justify it — most people could split a full sandwich into two meals. Just note: the original location is cash only, so come prepared.

Bottom line: California Sandwiches is a Toronto classic for a reason. Whether you go traditional or tweak it with a few smart tricks (like sauce on the side), the veal sandwich is a knockout — crunchy, savory, and...

The Contact Us on California's website doesn't work, so I'm posting my message written in/for that into this public review instead.

My grandfather is in hospital, at the end of his life. He moved out of the GTA about 7 years ago after living there for 80 plus years. The one thing he's missed since moving is the food. Especially veal sandwiches from California's.

Today, before going to visit him in the hospital in Campbellford, Ontario, I drove from Belleville to the Ajax location of your store just to buy him a veal sandwich. Of which I knew he'd maybe only be able to have a single bite in his current state. The Ajax location is on the "locations" page of your website, including in big letters at the top of the page stating "AJAX NOW OPEN!" Obviously you know where this is going.

Imagine my surprise and disappointment to allocate approximately an extra 3 hours of driving today, just to pick up a sandwich for my dying grandfather, only to find out that the location has been closed and the business simply couldn't be bothered to update their website.

That's so lame. It's 2 minutes worth of work to update the website so that it actually truly reflects your business. Maybe you'll be inspired to now and save somebody else the time and effort of going out of their way to go to an imaginary location that no longer exists. It's a pretty bad look for a business, yeah? The locations are correct on Google Maps apparently, just not on your actual...

I have been going to California sandwiches since 1972. The first place I went to was the original store on Claremont Avenue. Recently I have been going to the Queensway store which is quite good. The last few weeks I have been in the downtown area frequently so I have been at the Claremont store 4 or 5 times. I find it so disappointing with the quality of the sandwiches. They are just very cheap!! I always get the steak with onions. The last few times I have got home and found very few onions on the sandwich. If you don't ask for extra sauce the sandwich is almost dry. Try eating just white bread and steak, it is nearly tasteless and hard to swallow. Today I asked for a HOT steak with extra sauce. I watched the lady putting it together and noticed it was dry and said to her after it was wrapped, did I get extra sauce, she opened it and it was nearly dry. I got the sandwich home and i had very few onions and NO hot peppers at all. What a huge disappointment to order a hot steak and find no hot peppers. I did not enjoy the sandwich at all. For 12 bucks I believe it is unacceptable and nothing else but just plain cheap and/or incompetence. While I was there, an older man working in the kitchen was complaining that the meat ball sandwiches cost them more to make than what they sell them for. This place is on a slippery slope to losing a lot of customers. I will not return to this...