45 Duke St W · KitchenerTue–Fri to 6:30 · Sat to 5
San Francisco Panini
Italian sandwiches on Duke Street since the late 1980s

Fresh,fresh,fresh.

That's their motto. It's also the whole business plan — meats cut here, sauce made here, sandwich built while you wait.

01Veal cutletget this one
02Meatballhouse sauce
03Steak & onionoff the flat-top
04Chicken cutletbreaded here
05Eggplant parmmeatless
06Prosciuttocut to order
07Mortadellacut to order
08Salamicut to order
Provolone on the veal.
Not optional.
Call 519-744-2644 Walk here
An Italian sandwich on a crusty roll, cut open, cheese melting over the filling.
Veal cutlet, provolone, house sauce · 01 on the board
Why it tastes like that

The sauce goes on three hours before you're hungry

Nothing here arrives in a bag. The sauce is slow-cooked on site, the meats are cut in-house, and the bread gets loaded the minute you order — which is why the noon line moves the way it does.

3 hrs
Sauce on the stove, made in this kitchen — not shipped in.
In-house
Meats cut here. Cutlets breaded here.
Late '80s
How long this counter has been feeding Duke Street.
“Just like
Nonna”
Their words for it. We're not going to improve on them.
Also on the board

Not in a sandwich mood

—Penne pomodorothat sauce
—Penne alfredorich
—Caesar saladside or large

Big portions is the phrase reviewers use most. Plan your afternoon accordingly.

165 ratings · 93% of them five stars

What people keep saying

Best veal sandwich in town — and the meatball is right behind it.Paraphrased from Google reviews
Big portions, fresh, good quality. The homemade sauce is the difference.Paraphrased from Google reviews
Pleasant, happy people to deal with — which is why we order for the whole office.Paraphrased from Google reviews
The counter

Cut in front of you

There's a terrace out front for the four good months. The rest of the year it's a warm room, a full deli case, and a lineup that already knows what it wants.

Stand-in photos · the real ones get shot in this room

A cook slicing a fresh sandwich on a wooden board. Thin slices of salami and cured meat on a board. Penne in a rich tomato sauce with parmesan.
Before you walk over

Open when you're hungry. Not after.

T–FTue to Fri11am – 6:30pm
SatSaturday11am – 5pm
S–MSun & MonClosed

Find the door

45 Duke St W
Kitchener

One block off King, on the Duke Street side. Pickup and delivery run online too — but the sandwich is better ninety seconds after it's made.

Call ahead · 519-744-2644 Directions