All'Antico Vinaio — Restaurant in Rome

Phenomenal spot for lunch!! One of my friends recommended this popular Italian deli with the pitch that "they have the absolute best sandwiches in the world; you'll never be able to eat another sandwich again after this," and he was absolutely right. All'Antico Vinaio is serving up some of Italy's best sandwiches on thick slices of fluffy, remarkably aromatic focaccia. The bread has a great crust that helps to hold the whole thing together, and the inside is soft and fluffy, but also chewy, slightly spongey, and rich from the generous amount of olive oil. It's topped with herbs and flaky sea salt, which ensures every bite -- whether you get some of the sandwich filling or not -- is flavorful and delicious.

Of course, All'Antico Vinaio's phenomenal sandwiches don't stop at just fantastic bread. They have a pretty wide selection of sandwiches, including a few seasonal / specialty items and four or five vegetarian creations (depending on the season). I got one of their seasonal truffle sandwiches, and it was outstanding. It was loaded with a phenomenally earthy and umami truffle-infused cheese spread, roasted aubergine, and sliced tomatoes. The sandwich was earthy and rich, and the tomatoes offered a great hit of acidity and freshness to create a balanced bite. The sandwiches were massive, easily the side of my head, but they were so delicious that you won't want to save any leftovers -- and this is coming from someone who generally doesn't love sandwiches.

This spot is super popular, so there's usually a giant line, especially around lunchtime. They have two stations right next to each other, but you can still expect to wait upward of 30 minutes to get to your sandwich. The shop itself is quite small, with just a narrow space for people to walk up to the counter and share their order with the staff. You shimmy along the deli case until you reach a cashier, and then you're ushered out to enjoy your sandwich outside. It's a long wait, the sandwich is a little pricey at 15-25 euros for one, and the staff will probably get a little bit annoyed at you if you get to the counter without an order in mind, but I promise you'll find it 100% worth it when you take...

Heard about it on Tiktok and of course had to try it out. I was wanting something different to pizza and pasta. Something light to walk with. There will always be a queue here but boy it's worth every bit of it. We waiting an average of 40-45min with was OK plus it was lunch time. I got the number 5 which was soooooo good pork with cheese cream and potato cream. 11/10. So good. My girlfriend got the Be careful as you smoke. For me and her it was a no no.... Cheese and honey was so strong and the ham which they say is bacon is like eating cold rubber. If you're into them ingredients than you may like this so because of taste prefernec I will not rate it. We paid €22.50 for two paninis with a can of coke. Worth every penny and there some some amount of eating in them too.

Ps. Go to the from door and scan the qr code before joining the queue. Will give you the most up to date menu and won't result in panic buying as once you get in the door it's shout your order time 🙂 and there is two shop right beside eachother. Check both queues.

UPDATE: It was so good and we didn't want to go for a meal 2 nights later, we returned. It was approx 8pm and there was maybe 20 people in the queue. Waiting maybe 15min. Was ideal. Same again scanned the barcode for the menu and picked what we want. I went again for a porchetta sandwich (pork), this time with cream of onion and cream of roast potato. It's called Number 1 on the menu. Yum yum yum... Herself got the La Manalo. Cooked ham, mushroom cream, mozzarella cheese and basil. 10 out of 10 too.

Also for people out there freaking out with the word cream in the sandwiches. It's like a cream cheese. It so works in the crunchy sandwiches.......

I heard this place was very popular in Florence and they also have a location here in Rome. Turns out it was right outside our Airbnb so it was so easy to just line up in the morning before they opened and also before my husband was awake (he suffered from jet lag in the beginning as we came from the states). They have two store fronts so even though I started lining up about 15 minutes before they opened and was maybe 8th in line, I became first in line for their second store front on the right. Overall the line moves fast and it was awesome being the first in line because you can see that the bread literally just came out of the oven and could see the bread steaming! Their pistachio cream was so good and so unique! Definitely recommend lining up for sandwiches! I ordered three sandwiches for us to try and we loved each of them. I got the San Marco, La Paradiso, and La Tricolore. They all have the pistachio cream so if you don’t like pistachio you should probably try the other ones on the menu haha! We lived so close by so every time we would pass by there is always a line. But the line does move fast, never waiting more than 20 minutes is what I’ve heard. It’s worth it but definitely study the menu as you wait in line so you know what you’re getting. I do wish I ordered a sandwich without pistachio cream as well to try. Guess I’ll just have to go back to Italy and try the one in...