7 of the world's most expensive sandwiches

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Adventurous foodies have no problem paying top dollar for unique restaurant experiences. What the average person might spend at a high-end steakhouse, a passionate foodie will spend for expensive versions of foods typically sold for cheap. Take sandwiches, for example. Many people say there is a growing trend of restaurants overcharging for sandwiches, and they make a pretty good case, considering that the minimum cost of a sub from Jersey Mike's is $15, compared to what Subway charged for a footlong during the '90s, which was less than $6.

The "specialty" sandwich boom of late, paired with food challenge culture and our obsession with opulence, all likely contributed to the rising cost of sandwiches, and presumably inspired the creation of expensive ones that cost over $100. Today's handheld treats are a far cry from the humble roast beef one that John Montagu, the "Earl of Sandwich," ordered when he originally came up with the name. Rising costs aside, Montagu would probably jump at the chance to try Serendipity 3's Quintessential Grilled Cheese sandwich, even if it retails for $214.

Whether or not you think it's ridiculous to pay that much for a grilled cheese sandwich, getting to try rare ingredients can be as rewarding as a trip to Disneyland. And who knows, you might find that the price tag was worth the experience. Here are 7 of the world's most expensive sandwiches.

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Manny's Steakhouse New York Steak Sandwich ($45.95)​

Manny's Steakhouse is one of many worthwhile culinary outposts in Minneapolis, a place that Anthony Bourdain once called an underrated food city. Steaks at this Midwestern jewel are made from "Manny's Heritage Beef," which is genetically verified, breed-specific Black Angus free of antibiotics and hormones. Along with a slew of steakhouse classics, the menu features a New York steak sandwich that'll cost you nearly $50.

Black Angus, which is different from Red Angus, is a high-quality beef type known for its marbling (or intramuscular fat) and tender consistency. While not as highly regarded as Japanese wagyu, many meat lovers say it's on par taste-wise. Price-wise is another story altogether. Black Angus is considerably cheaper, typically costing $5 to $15 per pound, compared to wagyu which starts at $20 per pound but can go up several hundred dollars.

According to an email Manny sent to Forbes, the New York Steak Sandwich includes a 10-ounce dry-aged New York strip dressed with fresh lettuce, juicy tomato, and fried onions atop toasted sourdough buns. It's one of the more "affordable" options for splurge-seekers featured on this list, and reasonable next to the restaurant's other offerings, like the "bludgeon of beef," which goes for $179.95.

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Wild Rye's Fifty Dollar Burger ($50)​

Wild Rye is an Oregon-based restaurant that specializes in "high desert cuisine," incorporating ingredients from local farms and ranches, with a focus on open-range and campfire cooking. Opened in 2024, executive chef Karl Holl is the resident mastermind behind the "Fifty Dollar Burger," a mountainous indulgence that sells for exactly that. It's made with an 8-ounce Angus beef patty, maple-cured foie gras torchon, smoked provolone, onion bordelaise, and truffle aïoli atop a gold-dusted brioche bun toasted in bone marrow-infused butter. Oh, and it includes a side of fries. Customers can add butter lettuce, house-made pickles, or ranch-powdered fries in place of regular fries, too.

Thank the 8-ounce Angus patty for the hefty price tag, which is double the meat used for average-sized 2- to 4-ounce hamburger patties. Not to mention foie gras, which is goose liver that's been force-fed (some say inhumanely) fatty foods to increase its size for consumption. Foie gras is one of the most expensive ingredients in the world due to labor costs, resulting in just two pounds costing over $100. And, depending on the variety, truffles can sell for thousands. Holl stumbled upon the idea for bone marrow butter when thinking of ways to use the restaurant's weekly supply of veal stock. The goal was to create a "king of all burgers." Not one to eat every day, but for the occasional worthwhile splurge.

 

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Harrods 1849 Burger ($80)​

As the owner of over 80 restaurants around the world, Gordon Ramsay is no stranger to crafting extravagant dishes. At his restaurant Harrods in London, one of the pricier menu items is the "1849 Burger," a sandwich as big as Ramsay's larger-than-life personality. Atop a toasted brioche bun sits Chilean wagyu (which is Japanese Kobe A5 beef), Pecorino cheese, mushroom ragu, freshly shaved black truffle, porcini aïoli, 12-year balsamic vinegar, and watercress. The price for one of these beefy behemoths can range from £80 to £85, the latter being $114.73. To top it off, a side of truffle Parmesan fries comes with it as well.

Here's a rundown of the ingredient that likely gives the 1849 Burger its exorbitant price. A single slab of A5 wagyu, cut to Japanese specifications, which is 10 ounces and ⅜ of an inch thick, sells for $350, to give an example of how much Harrods might pay for it. We've already covered how costly black truffles can be, and the 12-year balsamic vinegar probably isn't cheap either when you consider the quality of ingredients Ramsay swears by. Is it worth shelling out bucks for? According to reviews, yes, but only for a special occasion. While people say the experience doesn't quite justify the price tag, when you consider the ingredients, $115 is more than reasonable.

 

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B&B Butchers A5 Wagyu Katsu Sando ($125)​

Add wagyu to anything, and the price of that thing will skyrocket. Japanese wagyu sandwiches are a fairly recent invention, credited to chef Kentaro Nakahara of Sumibiyakiniku Nakahara, who helped popularize them in the early 2010s at his previous restaurant, Sumibiyaki Shichirin. Wagyu sandos are, hands down, the most expensive standard sandwiches in the world. They weren't invented as an exercise in edible excess, like, say, the Quintessential Grilled Cheese sandwich was. Wagyu is just ridiculously expensive. At the time, Nakahara's signature wagyu sando featured a thick cut of panko-crusted tenderloin deep-fried and layered with house-made tomato puree between two lightly sweetened, toasted buns.

Suffice it to say, the simple pairing of premium Japanese beef and toast took the world by storm and has since inspired countless restaurants to offer their own version. B&B Butchers & Restaurant, an award-winning Texas-based steakhouse and butcher shop, sells an A5 wagyu katsu sando small enough to fit on a sample-size plate but pricey enough to empty your wallet. For the splurge of $125, you get to enjoy top-notch deep-fried A5 Japanese wagyu ribeye that's panko-crusted, sauced with house-made Japanese BBQ Tonkatsu sauce, and served on crustless white bread with a side of zucchini fries. Believe it or not, that's a reasonable price; wagyu sandwiches often sell for hundreds more. Without a doubt, of all the expensive sandwiches on this list, the wagyu sando is the belle of the beef ball.

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Barclay Prime Cheesesteak ($140)​

Ranked as one of the best steakhouses in America, Philadelphia's Barclay Prime has a reputation that precedes itself, serving world-class steak that's aged no less than a month. As such, it isn't a destination for penny pinchers; you're likely to spend upwards of $200 per person. However, even with prices typical of high-end steakhouses, the Barclay Prime Cheesesteak is probably more than you've ever considered paying for a cheesesteak. It features ultra-tender hand-cut wagyu ribeye, black truffle, foie gras, crispy fried onions, and melty Cooper sharp cheese (the go-to for traditional Philly cheesesteak) resting on a freshly baked sesame roll.

The extravagance doesn't end there either. Instead of fries, it comes with a ½ bottle of champagne to wash it all down. Sounds amazing, right? Well, according to those who've splurged, it's so flavorful that it's almost too hard to finish and digest. That said, if intensely savory opulence is your cup of tea, you'll likely love it. The upside is that it's pretty massive, so you can eat half and save the rest for later. That way, you can enjoy two overpriced half-sandwiches for the price of, like, 14 regular ones. But, it'll probably be the best $140 you'll spend on a sandwich.

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Serendipity 3's Quintessential Grilled Cheese ($214)​

New York City's Serendipity 3 is home to the Guinness World Records' most expensive sandwich in the world. It's called the Quintessential Grilled Cheese, and yes, it is unlike any grilled cheese sandwich that you've ever imagined, made with French Pullman champagne bread infused with Dom Perignon champagne, topped with gold flakes, and layered with white truffle butter and Caciocavallo Podolico cheese. Sweet and spicy with a touch of herbal flavor, the cheese comes from a rare breed of cow native to Italy called "Podolico," of which fewer than 50,000 exist worldwide, per Animal Genetic Resources.

Caciocavallo cheese also undergoes an aging process that can last anywhere from weeks to several decades. Depending on the length and quality, a pound costs $23 to $68. The French Pullman bread, while unspecial by itself, skyrockets in elegance with the addition of Dom Perignon champagne, a luxury brand that starts around $200 a bottle, along with gold flakes baked into the bread and placed along the edges. The Quintessential grilled cheese also comes with South African lobster tomato bisque for dipping. As a result, it'll cost you $214 to experience the record-holding sammie, an honor it's held since 2014. Although it isn't a permanent menu item, Serendipity 3 brings it back occasionally, the last time being in 2023.

 

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Chef Robbert de Veen's The Golden Boy Burger ($5,967)​

We've finally arrived... Introducing the most expensive sandwich on this list: The Golden Boy Burger, created by chef Robbert de Veen in 2024 and sold for €5,000 (that's $5,967). We know what you're thinking, and no, the burger itself is not literally worth that much; there is a more meaningful purpose for the price tag. Chef Robbert created The Golden Boy burger during a period when over 160,000 Dutch residents struggled to afford food. He decided that 100% of the money made from selling it would be donated to the Dutch National Food Bank, making it less about lavishness than about helping those in need.

The list of 148 ingredients used to construct this luxurious deluge is staggering. It features a Dom Perignon champagne-infused bun covered in 24-karat gold leaf, stuffed with smoked duck egg mayo, white truffle, pickled tiger tomato and cucumber in Japanese matcha tea, Macallan whiskey and Kopi Luwak coffee barbecue sauce, Joselito Bellota 100% Iberico vintage jamon, onion rings battered with more Dom Perignon, Beluga caviar, and king crab cooked in Puligny-Montrachet, to name a few. As a result of his altruistic fine-tuning, the Guinness World Records named Chef Robbert's burger the most expensive in the world in 2021, an honor that it still holds.

 

[TEN]

 

[keone]

And they all make u shit

 

[World B Free]

Black Power!!!

 

[bgbtylvr]

I would try the first 4.

 

[phanatic]

I would try the first 4.

I had that expensive ass cheesesteak. It was meh. It's more of a "i tried it" than it being good.

 

[bgbtylvr]

I had that expensive ass cheesesteak. It was meh. It's more of a "i tried it" than it being good.

Definitely some meal per diem shit. I max my travel allowance as often as possible, and these are the things I do when available.

 

[keone]

I had that expensive ass cheesesteak. It was meh. It's more of a "i tried it" than it being good.

U trusted them lol

 

[keone]

Chef Robbert de Veen's The Golden Boy Burger ($5,967)​

We've finally arrived... Introducing the most expensive sandwich on this list: The Golden Boy Burger, created by chef Robbert de Veen in 2024 and sold for €5,000 (that's $5,967). We know what you're thinking, and no, the burger itself is not literally worth that much; there is a more meaningful purpose for the price tag. Chef Robbert created The Golden Boy burger during a period when over 160,000 Dutch residents struggled to afford food. He decided that 100% of the money made from selling it would be donated to the Dutch National Food Bank, making it less about lavishness than about helping those in need.

The list of 148 ingredients used to construct this luxurious deluge is staggering. It features a Dom Perignon champagne-infused bun covered in 24-karat gold leaf, stuffed with smoked duck egg mayo, white truffle, pickled tiger tomato and cucumber in Japanese matcha tea, Macallan whiskey and Kopi Luwak coffee barbecue sauce, Joselito Bellota 100% Iberico vintage jamon, onion rings battered with more Dom Perignon, Beluga caviar, and king crab cooked in Puligny-Montrachet, to name a few. As a result of his altruistic fine-tuning, the Guinness World Records named Chef Robbert's burger the most expensive in the world in 2021, an honor that it still holds.

Also this will be murder. If I buy 5k burger and I dont see the future Im killing u. Give me something lol