Sandwich XL

Inside the walls

The counter sits inside the Kotor Old Town walls on a side street off the main pedestrian route that runs from the Sea Gate to the central square. It is a short walk from the entrance to the Old Town and close to the start of the city walls climb, which puts it in the path of the morning wave of visitors before the midday crowds arrive.

The format is counter service and take-away only. There is no seating at the venue. Sandwiches are assembled fresh to order, collected at the counter and taken onto the Old Town streets or the nearby waterfront. The menu is displayed on a board in English and Montenegrin, and preparation is fast. A steady stream of foot traffic passes the counter, from the early walkers to the late-evening visitors finishing their time around the Old Town.

The menu

Every sandwich on the menu has a name and a listed weight in grams. The HolyCow! stacks dry beef prosciutto, rump steak and smoked beef with gouda, mozzarella, dried tomatoes, pickles, walnuts and arugula, finished with the house SXL sauce. The TunaTurner is the fish option: tuna with corn, capers, red onion, pickles, green olives, lettuce and lemon. The BalkanMorning is built for earlier in the day: egg, gouda, mozzarella, tomato, cucumber, green and red pepper, olives, lettuce and walnut with ajvar and SXL sauce. The ChocoVita is the only dessert option: Nutella, pistachio, pistachio cream, banana, Oreo and honey on baguette, sitting apart from the savoury range.

The house SXL sauce runs through much of the savoury menu. Portions are substantial; the heavier sandwiches are big enough that a single roll is regularly enough for two people. The PilePile is the lighter chicken option, built with chicken breast in yogurt sauce, pickles, walnuts and dried dill. At the premium end, the RoyalSmokeBurrata pairs smoked salmon with smoked beef, truffle aioli, lightly crushed walnuts, baby arugula, fresh burrata and thinly sliced pickled cucumber.

The baguette is the same across the full menu: crispy outside, soft enough inside to hold the heavier fillings without splitting.

The menu is not only sandwiches. A line of fusilli pasta bowls covers the TandooriTangle, TunaTwist, VeganIssimo, BoomPasta, PilePasta and CrunchPasta, and there are three salads: the TunaSalad, CaesarSalad and VegetableSalad. The pasta bowls and salads carry the same fillings as the named rolls, served in a bowl rather than on baguette.

After a long walk through Kotor's beautiful streets, it's the ultimate rewarding comfort food experience.

Signature dishes

TandooriumTandoori meat, cheddar cheese, barbecue sauce and cheddar sauce

TandooriTangleFusilli pasta, tandoori meat, cheddar sauce and parmesan cheese

MortaLisaMortadella with olives, pistachios, mozzarella, honey, arugula and pesto sauce

TunaTwistFusilli pasta, tuna, capers, corn, pickles and green olives

BalkanMorningEgg with gouda, mozzarella, tomato, cucumber, green and red pepper, olives, lettuce, walnut, ajvar and SXL sauce

ChocoVitaNutella, pistachio, pistachio cream, banana, Oreo and honey

The counter

Sandwich XL is run by Özlem and her husband. The counter is compact: a menu board, a prep surface, one address off the main pedestrian street inside the Old Town. The approach is direct: rolls made to order, assembled in front of you, handed over the counter. English is spoken.

The owners are clear about what they are aiming for. As they put it: "We don't compromise on quality or portion size; our focus is on serving premium, gourmet sandwiches that genuinely satisfy."

A digital self-service ordering system is in development for the 2026 season, with the aim of making ordering faster during the busier summer months.