Tucked along Marylebone Lane, a short walk from Oxford Street's crowds, Paul Rothe & Son has been serving Londoners since 1900 — making it widely described as the city's oldest sandwich shop. It's the kind of place most visitors walk straight past, which is exactly why it's worth a detour.
The shop began as a grocery founded by Paul Rothe, and the family have run it ever since, now into its fourth or fifth generation. Over the decades the grocery side evolved into something simpler and better: sandwiches, made to order on the spot, alongside shelves of jams, chutneys, teas, biscuits and other British pantry staples. It sits in that rare category of London food institutions — like a proper old-school deli rather than a chain or a concept cafe.
What draws people in is the combination of history and value. While nearby Marylebone has filled up with boutiques and brunch spots charging double figures for avocado on toast, Paul Rothe & Son keeps things refreshingly old-fashioned: a filled sandwich at a fraction of central London prices, assembled quickly behind a small counter, often with a queue of local office workers who've been coming for years. The menu leans classic — think egg and cress, ham and mustard, ploughman's-style fillings — rather than chasing food trends.
Beyond the sandwiches, it doubles as a proper provisions shop. Jars of preserves, packets of tea and other dried goods line the shelves, so it works as a stop for edible souvenirs or picnic supplies before heading to nearby Regent's Park. The interior hasn't been 'upgraded' into faux-vintage, either; it's the genuine article, with the worn-in feel of a shop that simply never needed reinventing.
Why should a traveller care? Because this is central London at its most local. You're minutes from Selfridges and the Wallace Collection, yet inside a family shop that predates both world wars. It's a cheap, quick, characterful lunch in a part of town where lunch often means a £15 transaction — and a reminder that the best food experiences in London are sometimes the smallest ones. Go at off-peak hours if you can; the shop is compact and the lunchtime rush is real.
Story via Secret London.
