Walk through the Northern Quarter on any given weekday between 7am and 4pm, and you’re almost guaranteed to wonder what the queue on the corner of Tib Street and Hilton Street is for. Workmen in high vis, business women in trouser suits and pensioners with mugs in their hands all gather on the street corner for what is one of Manchester’s best and friendliest sandwich shops.
If you’ve never heard of them, let me introduce you to Rustica. A Mancunian institution, the takeout hatch has been part of the NQ for a whopping 22 years. Opening at the turn of the millennium, they’ve seen six Prime Ministers, three different decades, thousands of customers and now - two monarchs.
Manager Jeanette Such, who’s mum owns the business, jokes that she’s seen three owners off before running the family business herself. The 49-year-old, from Beswick, says the reason the shop is so successful is because they try to keep costs low.
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She said: “They always say look for where the locals eat, and there’s always a queue outside here. We get flows of workmen, police officers and a real variety of people. We’re probably the cheapest around here, but with the cost of living crisis, we may have to put the prices up - we want to stay as low as possible.”
During the pandemic, Rustica saw an influx of new customers as it was one of the only places open in the district, alongside coffee shop neighbours Just Between Friends.
Jeanette - who has worked at Rustica from day dot - added: “In Covid when it was us and Just Between Friends open, all new people found us because there was always a queue outside, and they’ve stuck with us, too. I think people keep coming back because we’re cheap. Workmen can't afford £3 coffees all day, every day - ours are a pound. That’s why we have queues around the corner.”
The menu has a range of cheap and cheerful breakfast options as well as hot sandwiches that can be enjoyed any time of the day. A full English comprising two sausage, two bacon, egg, beans, tomatoes, mushrooms and toast will set you back just £5, with hash browns, Spam and black pudding costing an extra £1.
It’s the hot sandwich specials that really shine, though. Priced between £3.50 and £4.50, customers can enjoy tuna melts, Florentinas and meatball ciabattas - but most people order their award-winning Milano.
Naturally, having watched seven people order it in the space of 20 minutes, I had to try one for myself. As I waited for my order, I listened to the nattering of kitchen staff - including Lyn, who’s been working for Rustica for 14 years - and customers.
“Your usual, lovely?” the kitchen would call. They know most of their customers by name, and love a good catch up at the collection hatch. While I observed the military sandwich making operation in the kitchen, I overheard one man tell his friend: “This is the best sandwich shop in Manchester - always has been.”
My sandwich was passed through the hatch on a proper plate, packed with chicken, bacon and a pesto garlic mayo. It was a handful of a butty, a really succulent sandwich well worth its award-winning title. For £4, it was a steal and its easy to see why customers come back time and time again, some even daily.
Regular customer Susan Lea visits the sandwich shop every day. Sitting on the small metal table outside the shop, the 70-year-old, born in Manchester, said: “It’s good grub and they’re nice people - that matters a lot. When you come they’ve always got time for you and they help a lot of people who have nothing. I come every day and normally have cheese on toast but I’ve broken a tooth so they usually give me a soft barm. I always get a cuppa too. It’s always busy and it’s not dear so you really can’t complain.”
Sitting beside her, Malcolm Evans, 69, added: “When I pass this way I come in here for a cheese sandwich and a brew for £2. They’re very nice people and that’s what brings me down this way.”
It seems to me that the secret to endless queues is quality doorstop sandwiches with cheap as chips prices, personalised service with a smile, and being a constant in Manchester's bustling NQ. If you’ve not visited Rustica for lunch, you must - they’re open 7am to 4pm Monday to Friday, and 8am to 3pm on Saturdays. Blue Light Card holders also get 20 per cent off.
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