This gem of a deli is home to a world-famous sandwich
Drop that hot chicken roll.
If you consider yourself a sandwich connoisseur of some standing, there’s an unassuming little deli on Albert Road you need to visit.
Just off the Marina roundabout, Sonny’s Deli sells coffee, salads and sweet things, but their revered sandwiches are spoken about in hushed tones in office canteens all over the county.
The roll is a tribute to the famous Reuben melty sandwich you can find on almost every street in New York.
Legend has it the original Reuben was invented by Jewish Lithuanian-born grocer Reuben Kulakofsky for members of his weekly poker game in The Blackstone Hotel in Omaha, Nebraska. However, another account holds that the Reuben’s creator was Arnold Reuben, the German-Jewish owner of the famed Reuben’s Delicatessen (1908–2001) in New York City.
Either way, Cork’s Reuben sandwich has landed in a location that would no doubt please its claimed inventors, whoever they are. Albert Road was once unofficially known as Jewtown (the small lamplit park there is called Shalom Park in memory of the Jewish refugees who first settled there at the end of the 19th century).
The community’s most famous member was Gerald Goldberg, an Irish lawyer and politician who was Lord Mayor of Cork in 1977.
Open Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm, Sonny’s Deli owners Jack and Rachel have been steadily building up a loyal following over the past year. And it’s not just The Reuben that’s attracting the crowds.
If their salted beef and Swiss cheese masterpiece doesn’t float your boat, there are plenty of other options:
For purists, there’s a twist on the traditional ham and cheese:
Veggies are always well catered for with a daily special:
And the Vietnamese Banh Mi is just the thing to add some zing to your weekday…
Once you’ve had your fill of Reubens for a while, there’s plenty of other carnivorous treats to try:
There’s also a daily hot food dish to warm your cockles during the chilly winter months. Sweet potato and aubergine curry, served with fresh coriander, tzatziki and rice, for example, or maybe a slow braised pork and paprika goulash, served with fresh dill and sour cream.
We’re leaving our packed lunch at home tomorrow.
