Manchester’s best Christmas sandwiches 2024

Italian deli kings Ad Maiora have entered the Christmas sandwich area with absolutely no messing around – and this one is for cranberry sauce non-believers. We’re talking about cotechino (Italian winter sausage), garlic and rosemary roast potatoes, smoked scarmoza, salsa verde and truffle oil, all loaded into a perfectly crisp-but-fluffy focaccia. It’s simply a masterstroke of concept and of execution. Available only from their Ancoats location for the duration of December.

Sticking to the classic elements of a festive sandwich, Ancoats Deli have filled their toasted focaccia with chicken, stuffing, brie and cranberry. So far so traditional, but because these guys make it their business to source the best of indie produce for their deli, it’s invariably delicious. They add a game-changing element too – a little pot of gravy to dunk it all into. And verily, lunchtime magic is made.

Putting the ‘ho ho ho’ into the hoagie is Bada Bing’s Christmas contender, and it features most of your favourite Christmas dinner bits like roast turkey, red cabbage, sprouts, sage breadcrumbs and pigs in blankets. And there’s a side of dipping gravy too. The veggie version is immense too; featuring roast squash, harissa salsa, pumpkin pesto, rocket, sage and goats cheese. Yes, they’re outrageous, but what exactly did you expect from the bad boys of big sandwiches? Grab yours from their Oldham Street shop.

Those crafty folks down at Thomas Street’s The Bay Horse Tavern, one of the very finest hostelries in Manchester, in our humble opinion, have added not one but TWO Christmas sandwiches to their menu. There’s a brie and cranberry melt and a turkey butty with pigs in blankets, both are served with roasties and gravy. In terms of festive pub grub, we simply cannot, and will not, complain.

Bundo’s festive butty is a sproutified version of a menu favourite. On a soft vegan brioche sits spiced cranberry and green chutneys, dressed salad and a very special sprout bhaji. An argument, if there ever was one that sprouts are neither boring nor gross, but actually a festive delight. Even for the ardently sprout-averse, this is a cracking butty.

Because it’s Harvey Nics, you know their sandwich is going to be quite special. An unfussy combo of brie, cranberry, mustard and turkey on toasted sourdough, it’s one of the most refined on the list, but no less delicious for it. Enjoy one with a glass of fizz in Harvey Nics’ restaurant to kick a glitzy day of festive shopping into a whole new league.

Salford’s Leo & Roobs’ take on a Christmas sandwich features honey mustard shredded sprouts – an ingenious creation – alongside turkey, brie and cranberry on toasted sourdough. A handful of hot honey crisps and marmite mayo are its impossibly savoury accompaniment. A seriously worthy contender in the Christmas sandwich stakes.

If it’s from Northern Soul you know that melted cheese is a non-negotiable. In addition to that there’s turkey crown, stuffing, cranberry all topped with a full-sized Yorkshire pud and a pig in a blanket. Just accept you’re going to make a mess, and get stuck in.

Down at New Century’s ‘celestial tipi’, Parmogeddon are dousing all sorts of things in melted cheese but their ‘sandwich’ offering is surprisingly cheese-free. In fact, it’s not even a sandwich at all – it’s a pig in a blanket hot dog, covered in cranberry and crispy onion bits and drizzled in gravy. If you’re after an alternative to bratwurst at the Christmas markets, get yourself down to Sadler’s Yard and head for the big pointy thing.

Procaffinated is Chapel Street’s eminently cool specialty coffee, brunch and natural wine bar. No surprise they’ve come up with a suitably elevated Christmas sandwich option: roasted ham, rosemary potatoes, scamorza cheese, friarielli, honey and crispy onions. Sit in with a cuppa or grab one to go, and well and truly fuel yourself for a day of festive errands.

Riffing on their club sandwich, Rack’s Christmas offering is two thick-cut slabs of white bloomer with shredded chicken in bread sauce mayo, stuffing, streaky bacon bits, braised red cabbage, spiced cranberry sauce and roast chicken crisps for that all-important crunch. Plus a pot of gravy for drizzling or dunking. You can get yours from their spots in the Arndale, Sale, Stockport and Yes in the city centre.