Call it a panino, a burrito or a bocadillo, the portable handheld meal known as a sandwich is seemingly universal across cultures.

In Santa Barbara, one of the very best purveyors of the meal wrapped in bread is the Mission City Sandwich Shop, at 1826 Cliff Drive on the Mesa.

Owned by the husband-and-wife team of Nathan and Paige Simandle, Mission City and its array of creatively named sandwiches has made a deep impression on the Let’s Go Eat Team.

Mrs. Let’s Go Eat is decidedly not a sandwich fan, but around the lunch table recently, she said, “That’s the fourth sandwich you’ve brought home from this place, let me have a bite.  (Pause). Woah.”

Exactly, darling.

The division of labor at Mission City is straightforward: Nathan creates the sandwiches, the staff assembles, and Paige handles quality control.

“He’s the first to touch the sandwich and I’m the last,” Paige told us.

Nathan added, “We tell the guys, make sure everything is spaced correctly, you want every bite to have a bit of each ingredient.”

And holy cats, what ingredients.

For example, a recent special called The John Bender (see: The Breakfast Club) included smoked brisket pastrami and roast turkey breast, Swiss and cheddar cheese, Bender sauce (garlicky mayo + mustard), avocado, homemade dill pickles and pepperoncini slaw on toasted Dutch crunch bread.

All the bread, by the way, is from Röckenwagner Bakery in Los Angeles and is delivered fresh daily.

From whence springs this sort of creative inspiration?

“Hiking!” Nathan told us. “Hiking is my favorite thing to do for exercise. When I’m out there and the blood is flowing, I get these crazy ideas, some of which end up being really good.

“If I don’t do it, I get, like, writer’s block.

“Sandwiches,” he continued, “offer so many avenues you can explore with different ingredients and styles of cooking. Keeps it interesting and fun.”

After high school, Nathan attended Santa Barbara City College Culinary School, and then worked at local well-known names like Bouchon, Eladios’, Arts & Letters Café, Yellow Belly, and the spa café at the The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, where he met Paige.

In 2019 they tried their hand at owning their own place, choosing Huntsville, Alabama, for affordability and family reasons.

“Worst timing ever,” Nathan said. “Four months after we opened COVID hit.”

But they made it through, finally selling the restaurant and moving back to Santa Barbara a few years later.

While both working at Corner Tap Bar & Eatery on the Mesa, owner Chris Chiarappa asked if they’d like to buy his Sweetie’s Ice Cream Shop, maybe change it to a sandwich place.

And so, in 2025, Mission City debuted.

And they’re clearly having fun with it.

Many of the menu items have names that come from 1980s and ’90s movies and music. For example, besides the John Bender there’s also the Jon Banh Pho Mi, in honor of singer Jon Bon Jovi; the Spicoli, a tribute to surfer dude Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High; and the Uncle Rico from the movie Napoleon Dynamite.

“The most popular sandwiches are consistently the #9 Simone’s Big But (turkey, bacon, avocado, gouda and pesto on toasted ciabatta), the #2 Spicoli (roasted chicken, chipotle mayo, bacon, cheddar, potato chips — yes, on the sandwich — red onion, avocado and pepperoncini on a toasted hoagie roll), and the #5 Dave’s Not Here (roast turkey, pepperjack cheese, bacon, avocado and Doritos (!) on a hoagie roll).

“And,” she added, “the weekly special is always popular. We have regulars who come in three times a week, say they want to get through the whole menu, but the special keeps throwing them off.”

We asked if any sandwiches get so popular they graduate from the “special” to the main menu.

“It’s only happened twice,” Paige replied. “The Caesar wrap and the Banh mi. We did an Instagram poll and it was a landslide.”

Nathan explained the recipe.

“We don’t want to offer 150 different sandwiches, we’d rather focus on a few great ones,” he said. “I was always taught: use the best ingredients, keep it simple.”

In addition to great food, Mission City offers a nice array of drinks, a bright and airy indoor space, and outdoor seating along Cliff Drive.

There’s plenty of parking in back, but careful, there are some potholes back there you could hide a Mini Cooper in.

Wrapping up our conversation, Nathan told us, “We put our heart and a lot of love in this place. Both owners are here every day.”

Paige shared, “I want people to taste his genius in these sandwiches. The amount of time he puts into creating each one just blows my mind.”

And, she added, laughing, “Sometimes he even listens to my opinion.”

We say, dear sophisticated reader, you’d also be wise to listen to Paige yourself, and hike on over there soon.

When You Go

Mission City Sandwich Shop, at 1826 Cliff Drive, is open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. It’s closed Mondays.

MORE LET’S GO EAT

Rob Raede: The Gathering Table Brings Bold Asian French Flavors, Local Roots to Solvang

Rob Raede: Trust the Lettuce — How Team Let’s Go Eat Chooses Restaurants

Rob Raede: Aperitivo Reclaims Its Soul as a True Wine Bar — and Feels Like Home Again

Rob Raede: Manifattura Brings Hand-Made Italian Craft — and Big Buzz — to Lower State Street