The Sandwich Bar

The Sandwich Bar is a family-run sandwich shop tucked into Roman Passage off Exeter's High Street, doing freshly made baguettes and baps to order alongside daily hot food specials, cakes and drinks. It's a proper lunch counter rather than a chain sandwich shop, with fillings that go beyond the standard cheese and ham - Scottish oak-smoked salmon and spicy chicken tikka sit on the menu next to simpler options like cheese and spring onion.

The hot food changes daily and runs to things like spaghetti bolognese and hot dogs alongside the sandwiches, with vegetarian options built into the regular menu rather than treated as an afterthought. Being tucked off the main High Street in Roman Passage gives it a slightly hidden, locals-know-it feel compared to the sandwich shops on the main drag, and it's the kind of place people build a lunch routine around rather than visit once. Quick, freshly made and reasonably priced, it does the fundamentals of a good sandwich shop without needing to be anything more.