The Best Continental Rolls in Perth

Sliced cold cuts, salty cheese and oil-marinated antipasti in a perfectly crunchy and soft baguette. How can such a simple combo inspire such fanfare, across so many generations? The continental roll dates back to the ’50s, when new Italian migrants would order rolls after their market shop and line them with deli meats and cheese. Around the same time, grocers like Di Chiera and The Re Store started selling the sandwich, “panino Italiano”, which eventually evolved to become WA’s beloved continental roll (or conti roll for short).

Today, you’ll find lunch-hour roll production lines right across Perth. Yet they’re no longer confined to the deli section of your local European grocer. There’s a slew of dedicated sandwich shops, bakeries and smallgoods producers that have joined the conti roll-volution.

And they’re all doing it a little differently, with contis that cater to every taste. Whether you’re a purist and want your roll strictly served with cold cuts, antipasti and cheese; or to add crisp lettuce, carrot and rounds of tomato. Whether you prefer a crunchy baguette, with that ulcer-inducing outer layer, or a soft and buttery panini. Here are some of the best places in Perth to get your mitts around a superb conti roll.

Words by Holly Bodeker-Smith
Updated on 20 December 2024

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The Re Store

The Re Store kicked off Perth’s continental roll wave in the ’50s, and it hasn’t looked back since. At this bustling Italian grocer, which has been around since 1936, you’ll find lunch-hour crowds seeking its made-to-order conti rolls most days of the week. Its classic conti is loaded with mixed meats, provolone cheese, pickled Italian peppers and marinated eggplant, which all become very close (and delicious) friends between a crusty white roll from Grainaissance Artisan Bakers.

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Deli’s Continental

Find benchmark rolls, doorstopper focaccias and takeaway sauces and conserves at this dedicated conti canteen. Rolls are flash-baked to order daily and have that all-important crunch. Its most-prized roll is lined with mortadella, two types of salami, creamy provolone, olive tapenade, pickled chillies, translucent rings of red onion, crisp lettuce and house-made special sauce. It’s a properly glorious sandwich.

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Mondo Doro

Western Australian pork meets traditional Italian techniques at this family-owned smallgoods producer, which has been around since 1995. Go for its award-winning coppa, cacciatora, chorizo and Christmas ham, which are all prepared on-site. Or grab a ready-made continental roll and hot coffee to go.

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Sal's Pasta Deli

Paul “Sal” Salmeri’s mixed meat roll deviates from the typical loaded WA conti roll. It’s more reminiscent of the meat and cheese paninis found across Italy and France. Keeping it simple lets the high-quality ingredients shine: prosciutto di parma, prosciutto cotto (cooked prosciutto), finocchiona (a Tuscan salami infused with pepper), provolone dolce and asiago cheese. Instead of butter, it’s all laced with peppery extra virgin olive oil, and the crunch comes from the baguette, which is baked by North Street Store down the road.

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North Street Store

This corner store and bakery harks back to the neighbourhood delis of the last century, referencing the original conti roll with a contemporary take. The crunch is all in the French-style baguette, which is baked in-house daily. Inside, it’s a classic combo of leg ham, salami, mortadella, lettuce, tomato, pickle and creamy aioli. North Street Store also helped pioneer the “Contimental”: a 1.2-metre-long conti roll on a sesame seed bun. You can split it with nine of your mates, but you’ll need to order ahead. Its sister venue, Little Loaf Bakery, also has conti rolls that are worthy of the hype.

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Peggy’s

Visit this airy sandwich shop, which is headed by an Andrew McConnell alum, for its loaded continental rolls. The antipasti sub brims with mortadella, ham, soppressa, ajvar, pesto, tomato, lettuce, provolone, onion and marinated and pickled veg. It all comes together in a house-made white sesame-seed sub. This dedicated sandwich shop is in the vanguard of WA’s second conti roll wave.

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Chu Bakery

Most of the time, the couple behind Chu Bakery turns out French-style baked goods with an Asian twist. Yet they’ve also mastered the contemporary conti roll. As Chu deals mostly in bread, you can expect a beautifully crusty and fluffy sourdough baguette. Inside? Satisfying layers of salami, ham, mortadella, provolone, pickled eggplant, roasted capsicum, sliced tomato and spicy rocket, all bolstered by some cracking chilli paste and a generous pour of olive oil.

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The Panini Bar Gourmet Market

This Italo-style grocer is a one-stop destination for loaded paninis, coffee, ready-made Italian meals and pantry staples. Wrap your mitts around one of its beloved continental rolls, which come stacked with cold-cuts, Swiss cheese, antipasto and a secret house-made sauce.

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Panini Cnr.

A neighbourly sandwich bar serving quick, fresh grab-and-go lunches. Visit for its loaded Italian-leaning subs (including a killer continental roll), strong coffee and house-made carrot cake and biscotti.

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Angelo Street Market, South Perth
Since 1988, Angelo Street Market’s conti rolls have held their own. The ingredients don’t spill out or need your messy mid-meal wrangling to keep them in the bread. The locally sourced meats, cheeses and antipasti are swaddled like a baby in a bun. Angelo Street has also mastered the variety element with its “family” of conti roll options: The Godfather is loaded with six meats, Swiss cheese and antipasti; while the spicier Nonna dials up the heat with house-made chilli and hot salami. Melville sibling, The General Store, serves the same loaded rolls and is also worth your time.

Delissimo at Swansea Street Markets, East Victoria Park
A detour to Swansea Street Markets – a few minutes' drive from Victoria Park’s main strip – is well worth it for Delissimo’s made-to-order rolls. Its classic conti includes a charcuterie combo of sweet wood-smoked champagne ham, salami and Mondo Doro mortadella, which nudges up nicely against the antipasto (which you’ll want to order an extra tub of for home). Adding a slice of dolce provolone or Swiss cheese is recommended, too. As for the bread, there’s white, multi-grain and wholegrain, but real rollers should go for the crusty Euro-style ciabatta.

Scutti Street Market, Applecross
Scutti Street Market has been rolling made-to-order contis in Applecross since 2016. It caters to all tastes, with the options to load up with three types of cheese (think cheddar, provolone dolce or bocconcini); antipasti (marinated eggplant, sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke, olives and roasted peppers) or salad, or a combo of the three. Crowd-favourites include the classic antipasto sub with mixed meats, cheese and antipasto; or the Napoli roll with prosciutto, spicy rocket and bocconcini.

The Black Truffle, Fremantle
This unassuming deli on Stirling Highway houses some superior continental rolls. Its classic conti is a simple (yet superb) combo of Mondo Doro cold cuts (salami, peppered mortadella and ham), its house-made antipasti mix and slices of Swiss cheese. Enjoy it on a crusty white or multigrain roll.

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