Sandwich Bar — Restaurant in Janesville

First time experience at Downtown Janesville's "Sandwich Bar on 10/10/21 and WOW, we were blown away! The dynamic colors on the walls with the iconic oversized murals of Julia Child and Anthony Bourdain impeccably painted by the famous Jeff Henriquez, blew us away! We thought we had arrived early at 11:30 (opens at 11) and we were happily surprised that the house was well over 50% full. The staff was already buzzing around and let us know to "just grab a seat anywhere you like!" Water and menus quickly arrived by a friendly face and John ordered one of the beers on tap. The menu is simple, yet it was a tough choice as all of the sandwiches sounded delicious. I couldn't get by the very first sandwich listed, "Tommy Salami" and John ordered the "Cevapi" along with the french fries served with parmesan aioli. While we waited, I noted what a fabulous park view we had and next time, we should walk across the street and enjoy the bustle of the newly renovated downtown area. (If you haven't taken the time lately to walk the streets of Janesville's downtown lately, tie those shoe laces and take a walk. it wasn't long before the food arrived (we loved how the whole team watched out for all of the tables and my water glass was never empty) and we knew this was going to be good. My childhood memories came flooding back as I first tasted the fried bologna and salami...yumm. The butterkase cheese added a creaminess that paired perfect with the pickled onion. There was a light layer of Mustad aioli that didn't overpower the flavor of the meat. The bread that all of this goodness lies upon is not in the description of the sandwich and should be! It was a Texas toast style bread that was absolutely grilled to perfection. It was buttery and seasoned and had the ultimate crunch that held the sandwich together perfectly. The fries were good and I hardly used any of the delicious parmesan aioli, as I didn't want to cover up the nice potato flavor. I'm happy we were at one of the end tables, as there was a lot of moaning (and "oh my God this is so good!") coming from our table. My apologies to area tables who thought we were mimicking the "When Harry met Sally" scene. I won't dive deep into John's sandwich, because frankly, I didn't want any other tastes invading my mouth space while I was enjoying my "Tommy Salami." I can tell you that John left very happy and full. We didn't wait long for the check, but didn't feel rushed either, even given the fact that the house was full when we left. There were quite a few take out orders, so compliments to the kitchen staff for getting all of that delicious food out in a very timely manner. To the team of three who worked the front of the house...nice job working together to take care of all of us! To the owners, Joan & Richard Neeno...Bravo! Bravo not just for the wonderfully nice lunch we enjoyed, but also for believing in our community, investing in our community and sharing your love and passion of food and drink with us. You are creating something very special in downtown Janesville and I, for one...sincerely appreciate it...and you. Thanks for a great...

Sandwich Bar is hands down the best of sandwich spots in the area. It's clear that freshness and quality of food, service, and atmosphere are the priorities at Sandwich Bar. The warmth and care you feel upon entering this downtown gem should tell you that sh*ts about to get real and you're about to have your body and mind fed very well.

Could I go to MegaSubLog and get a pile of mystery meat on the world's most flavorless bread for $15? Yep. But why? Food is an experience. Dining out in 2025 should be THIS way. Hearty cuts of grade A meats. Bright, fresh, salads. The bread for my beloved Giuseppe was chefs kiss. Fries served with a garlic aioli made by angels. OK beer? Psshhh... I don't drink often but enjoy a great beer. My husband chose the OK Beer and the Good Works IPA. I sampled both...several times :) Should something happen where I must select my final meal, I am officially declaring that it must be Sandwich Bar Fries and aioli and a personal keg of ice cold OK beer.

Is there a very normal, short wait for your food? Yeah. If you can't respect a normal wait for this kind of lunch or evening meal and service, that's a you problem and not a business issue. Societal brain rot has taught people whatever they want, then they should have had it 5 minutes before they even ordered. I'm happy as a clam to wait a while for the meats to be cut and prepared, bread grilled, and anything else the magical sandwich elves are up to back there. Chill, baby. It's not that serious.

SENSIBLE portions of delicious, fresh food where the owner cares about what comes out of his kitchen isn't very popular with the average Chainsville lurker. I get it. It's easier to ignore context and nuance when it comes to food, small business, and owner involved service from beginning to end. I'm sorry for the people who don't get it. They are missing out on what life and dining should be for a human. This is it. Uncomplicated but with such an intense depth that it is truly a miracle Sandwich Bar exists here, or at all.

The balls one must have to commission an artist to paint our Lord and Savior Anthony Bourdain on his own restaurant walls? If you know, you know. As a card carrying old head PBS kid all grown up, seeing the iconic Julia Child smiling down at me from the opposite wall was the additional sign I needed to know where I was and where this meal was going to take me.

I will be back. Probably tomorrow, honestly. I got a hankering for the meatloaf sammy and it hasn't left my mind all day. To imagine how that would pair with the IPA or OK Beer? Pure unadulterated joy. This is what I want to eat and am willing to drive a few extra minutes to invest in.

Thank you for coming to...

Definitely more worried about being trendy than serving actual food. Waitress did just fine. Spent 36 dollars on the worst experience I’ve had with food. Got the Balboa. The Au jaus was dumped over the sandwich so the only part that wasn’t bread pudding consistency was the top crunchy area from grilling. Went to eat it and realized only half the sandwich had meat in it. The pepporcini stuff tasted nothing like the pepper. Had no flavor. All I could taste was the pork that was very off putting. Spent 2$ to sub in fries and got barely anything. Looked like someone dumped out the bottom of a McDonald’s bag on the tray. Nothing like the pictures in other reviews. Wife got the same thing and hers was the exact same. Whatever the white stuff for dipping fries was had curdles in it. That maybe normally like that though. I’m not a picky person with food but that was just gross. Still tipped the waitress like normal cause she did her job fine. Should have known the red flag when all they had on tap was ipa’s. Went to Dairy Queen after and had ice cream. After all that I can’t get the pork flavor out...