In East Durham, Ideal’s Sandwich and Grocery bakes bread daily for its Northeastern-style deli sandwiches, including chopped cheese, Philly cheesesteaks, Italian heros, roast pork with broccoli rabe – you get the idea. Expect a line spilling onto the sidewalk until the sandwiches sell out each day. While you wait, browse the curated selection of Italian grocery items, natural wines and to-go packages of the shop’s focaccia and loaves.
Incredible sandwiches!! Fresh ingredients and fresh bread. There is a line out the door pretty much every time we come but it’s totally WORTH THE WAIT!! Our favorites are the chicken cutlet, Italian and chopped cheese
Jessie Meltsner
Oct 5, 2024
5
Worth the hype— and the wait! We arrived a bit after it opened and the line was quite long but it moved along. Plan on finding somewhere to eat as it is a true take out experience.
Our group got the chicken cutlet, the eggplant with broccoli rabe and the turkey and they were superior examples
Of Italian sandwiches— delicious homemade seeded bread and fresh, well seasoned ingredients. So good!
justin mcnamara
Sep 28, 2024
5
If you want a place that focuses on quality and knows who they are, Ideal's is that place.
We ordered the Chopped Cheese and Broccoli Rabe Pork sandwich. Both were delicious. Looking forward to going back!
Due to the limited hours and delicious sandwiches, the demand is high, so GET THERE EARLY! It's worth the wait.
Parth Patel
Sep 9, 2024
5
This place was overall great. Everything was fresh and you can see the guys making your sandwich while cutting fresh deli meats. I got the uncle primos chicken cutlet sandwich and the Harlem chopped cheese.
The chicken cutlet sandwich was amazing. There was a great flavor and the chicken was cooked perfectly along with melted mozzarella on top which made it taste outstanding. 11/10
The chopped cheese was alright. It wasn’t what I’m used to without the fresh lettuce tomato onion substituted for sautéed peppers. It was more like a Philly cheesesteak than a chopped cheese. The bread really carried the whole experience as it was amazingly fresh and warm. 7/10.
Jennifer Chen
Aug 18, 2024
5
Freaking best sandwiches ever!! Uncle primo sandwich is a must-try!!!!!! Fried eggplant ricotta is really good too! 🥪
Jonah Schwartz
Jul 5, 2024
5
I just learned about this place, had high hopes, and those were VASTLY exceeded. I have a new favorite place. Ideals is special. Fantastic hand made sandwiches. The vibe here is great too. Will definitely be returning to try other items.
Douglas Layer
Jun 13, 2024
5
This is just a 10. It's a Philly sandwich shop in Durham! Seeded hoagie rolls made and baked with King Arthur flour onsite! Philly Roast pork is on par with Philly Roast Pork. If they had long hots, it'd be the best I had. The sandwiches are large, the service is orderly. Don't worry about a "long line" they get through sammies quick! Will be back.
For people complaining about "service": it's an old school sandwich shop. You want the best? You show up, wait in line, and get the best. You want delivery or call ahead etc, you kick rocks and come in person to wait in line like the rest of us. The staff are pleasant and efficient. Just cause you aren't treated like a special snowflake should not impact a score.
Jacob
May 28, 2024
5
The Uncle Primo’s on focaccia is quite possibly the best sandwich I’ve ever had AND the serving size is massive. A decadent combination of one of the largest pan fried chicken cutlets you’ve ever had with prosciutto, aioli, tomatoes, and arugula makes it the ideal sandwich. The wait can be frustrating especially since they don’t answer their phone, but worth it every time
Grey Clawson
Dec 29, 2023
5
I got sick....
because I ate my damn foot long in 5 minutes because it was so freaking good. Never had a better chopped cheese.
Will say it may be worth making some recommendations for how patrons should move through the shop? Manners should be obvious to people but this is a small southern city, not a city where people know how to move / behave in small spaces.
Jason Ritter
Dec 8, 2023
4
Incredible sandwiches!! Just was very slow both times I've been there. One time waited over 40 minutes, while people that had come in 20 minutes after me had already received their order. I ordered 4 sandwiches (as is, with no substitutions), so I guess a larger order, but the wait seemed excessive. I asked about the order a couple times and was just told it was coming. The woman who was managing the orders was friendly and gave me a free cookie due to the wait, which was a nice gesture. The other minor issue was that the line flow seemed a bit confusing... the line to order and the line to wait for food were not well defined, which seemed to confuse some people. Not sure if there is an easy fix though as space inside is limited.
Looking forward to visiting again, but will likely order over the phone in the future to reduce the wait time.
Lois Silver
Nov 27, 2023
5
The truth is that I don't want anyone else to know what a delicious NY gourmet-style sandwich shop is since it's already a huge hit with the locals! They bake their breads including focaccia. Minimal hours 1-3pm on Mon, Thu, & Fri. Long lines but so very worth it. Also get their homemade chips! Go early or they might run out of bread.
