America’s Top Roast Beef Sandwiches, Ranked by Food Enthusiasts

Roast beef sandwiches hold a special place in America’s culinary heart, from deli counters to iconic sandwich shops. But with so many versions across the country, only a few truly stand out. Food lovers and sandwich enthusiasts have tasted their way through the best to uncover the top contenders. Their rankings highlight the perfect balance of flavor, texture, and tradition. Here are America’s top roast beef sandwiches, as chosen by those who know them best.

10. McAlister’s Deli – Horseradish Roast Beef & Cheddar

McAlister’s Deli received disappointing reviews from food testers in 2024, despite the chain having a reputation for high-quality ingredients. Their Horseradish Roast Beef & Cheddar sandwich contains 740 calories and 2,210 mg of sodium but fails to deliver memorable flavor. Said hopes quickly deflated upon first bite, tasting mostly like salt despite the immensity of the meat. The lettuce, tomato, and mayo seemed like unnecessary elements that added nothing, though the bread was at least solid and the meat sufficiently tender.

9. Potbelly Sandwich Shop – Steakhouse Beef

Despite being a major player in the sandwich game, Potbelly doesn’t feature roast beef prominently on their menu rankings, and food critics ranking every sandwich from worst to best found roast beef doesn’t appear among their standout offerings. In November 2024, Potbelly released two slow-cooked pulled-pork sandwiches, and this strategic shift away from traditional roast beef suggests customers weren’t demanding it as much as other protein options. The Steakhouse Beef costs around ten dollars and looks decent on the outside, though it doesn’t live up to expectations once you bite in.

8. Ray’s Place – Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Ray’s Place is a quintessential Wisconsin dive bar with taxidermy on the walls, offering only roast beef and ham sandwiches, cheese and crackers, and a few soups, with roast beef that’s hot, falling-apart tender, and dripping with juice. You can upgrade with a thick slice of cheese for a real Wisconsin touch, and add some of the bar’s homemade horseradish mustard for heat. It’s unpretentious comfort food at its finest, served on parchment paper. Let’s be real, this isn’t fancy dining, but sometimes that’s exactly what hits the spot.

7. Primanti Bros. – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Founded in Pittsburgh’s historic Strip District in 1933, Primanti Bros. is known for delicious handcrafted sandwiches piled high with house-made coleslaw and perfectly seasoned fresh-cut fries. The sandwiches were originally designed for truckers who hauled produce, with hot French fries loaded directly into the sandwich atop the customer’s meat of choice, then topped with Pittsburgh-style coleslaw and a few slices of tomato. The meat, both the pastrami and the roast beef, was so flavorful and tender. These towering sandwiches are messy, unconventional, and distinctly Pittsburgh.

6. Parkway Bakery & Tavern – New Orleans

Parkway has been serving po’boys in NOLA since the 1920s, and it’s got one of the best hot roast beef versions in town, with beef cooked so long that it’s shredded and soaked in gravy, making it incredibly tender and packed with flavor. This isn’t your typical cold deli meat sandwich. The gravy-soaked beef on a French bread po’boy captures the soul of New Orleans comfort food. You’ll need plenty of napkins for this one, trust me.

5. Philippe the Original – Los Angeles

Fans revere Philippe the Original, a historic landmark in Los Angeles since 1908, for its iconic French dip roast beef sandwich featuring tender, juicy roast beef generously dipped in a rich, savory jus, along with a baked French roll dipped in the same gravy. Adventurous eaters order the “double dip,” where both sides of the bread get dunked for maximum flavor, and the result is a sandwich that’s incredibly juicy yet somehow doesn’t completely fall apart. Operating since 1908, this Los Angeles landmark serves up history with every order.

4. Defonte’s – Brooklyn, New York

Defonte’s was started by an Italian immigrant almost a century ago, and their hot roast beef sandwich is stuffed full of shaved rare roast beef, fresh melty mozzarella cheese slices, and the shop’s specialty: fried eggplant slices. It’s a unique combination worth seeking out and standing in line to get. New York delis have a certain magic to them, and Defonte’s captures that old-school Italian-American excellence perfectly. The fried eggplant addition might sound unusual, though it works beautifully with the rare beef.

3. Al’s Beef – Chicago

Al’s claims to have invented the Italian beef sandwich in 1938 at a little stand in the Little Italy neighborhood as a way to stretch expensive meat into a filling meal, and the recipe hasn’t changed at all since then. Chicago takes its Italian beef seriously, and Al’s has been serving up the city’s favorite version for decades with thinly sliced, perfectly seasoned roast beef piled onto crusty Italian bread that soaks up all those incredible juices without falling apart. Nearly a century of perfecting one sandwich shows in every dripping, flavorful bite.

2. Kelly’s Roast Beef – Revere, Massachusetts

It was founded in 1951 in Revere, Massachusetts, on Revere Beach shoreline by two partners, Frank V. McCarthy and Raymond Carey, and Kelly’s claims to have invented the modern roast beef sandwich, stating it was unknown before they introduced it in 1951. The seeded roll the thinly sliced roast beef is piled on is grilled and crusty, making it perfect to sop up any condiments you like.

1. Arby’s – Classic Roast Beef

Arby’s Classic Roast Beef Sandwich stands as the most iconic and best-selling roast beef sandwich in America, featuring thinly sliced, slow-roasted beef piled high on a toasted sesame seed bun, first introduced in 1964 at 69 cents – more than four times the cost of a McDonald’s hamburger at the time. The sandwich costs just $4.49 today and delivers a satisfying 23 grams of protein with only 360 calories. This thing blew me away as one of the more pleasant surprises, with meat that was absolutely meltingly tender, with a texture that ran miles around the rest of the contenders. Arby’s is an American fast food sandwich restaurant chain with more than 3,300 restaurants, and they offered their roast beef sandwiches for 69 cents at a time when hamburger stands were charging 15 cents for a hamburger.

The roast beef sandwich remains one of America’s most beloved comfort foods. From coast to coast, these ten spots prove that something as simple as sliced beef on bread can become legendary when done right. Each location brings its own regional flair, history, and devoted following. Whether you prefer yours piled with fries Pittsburgh-style, dipped in savory au jus Los Angeles-style, or served with the famous North Shore three-way treatment, there’s a roast beef masterpiece waiting for you somewhere in this country. What’s your favorite roast beef sandwich spot? Have you tried any of these legendary locations?