King William

King William had a modest beginning. Opening in the CBD at the tail-end of 2020 – a year marked by lockdowns and vacant offices in the city centre – was a risky move that could easily have gone south.

But though it took a while for office workers to get back to the city, the CBD had plenty of construction workers. Hungry ones. And they took a strong liking to the spot’s hefty, filling, well-priced sangas. And pretty soon the rest of the lunchtime crowd cottoned on. These days, we reckon King William has a pretty good claim to its throne. Most days around noon you’ll spot the line outside well before you spot its purple-neon crown logo.

So what are people queuing for? A tight, rotating list of sangas that take inspiration from a lot of different cuisines. That means that on any given day you'll usually find some kind of Italian meatball, sugo and cheese sub alongside a slow-cooked brisket and slaw number covered in Korean barbeque sauce. A crisp chicken schnitzel is almost always on the cards, and a mushroom, mozzarella and goats cheese sanga is a past veggo favourite.

To drink, there's a range of house-made cordials. And if you're in the mood to jazz up your lunchtime, you can add gin to your cordial (it's a popular Friday move). King William is all about takeaway, although there's a small parklet outside the hole-in-the-wall shopfront. But if you're ordering for a group of 10 or more within the CBD, King William will deliver for free.