Adored Northern Beaches Deli Wilburs Opens Brookvale Location – With the Same Stacked Menu

Rob Hardie is ready to talk about Wilburs. His lo-fi sandwich haunt has tried to fly under the radar since opening in Manly three years ago. Wilburs has no website, no online ordering and only posts on socials a few times a year.

Hardie wanted to grow the business in an organic way, relying on word-of-mouth to create a space for locals. Even then, Wilburs could only escape attention for so long. It’s not unusual to see lines of those in the know spilling onto the footpath.

The Manly local and career hospitality pro spent five years with the Good Good Company (Chica Bonita, Sunset Sabi, Busta, Noon) before turning his attention to sangas.

“I’m originally from north-east England and I love sandwiches,” says Rob. “It’s something I’ve grown up with … everyone eats a sandwich – the queen, the king, whoever.”

Now he’s opened a second Wilburs in Brookvale – a big, welcoming space with wide-open doors, ample seating and the same stacked sandwich menu.

There are seven sandwiches (all priced at $14 or less) and three classic baguettes. The best-seller is a hot sopresso, Calabrian pepper and smoked scamorza sanga. There’s also a classic chicken, honey mustard and dill pickle plus a moreish take on a smoked salmon, served with crème fraîche and dill. Crucially, there are no soggy veggies in sight. Instead, the vego option is a brilliantly creative marriage of fioretta (a cauliflower-broccoli hybrid developed in Japan a decade ago), marinated ricotta and pickled onion – a fresh yet creamy and salty number I challenge anyone to stop thinking about.

When Broadsheet visits, customers are already making themselves at home, sipping batch brew coffee ($2 a pop) and freshly squeezed orange juice with their sandwiches. Beside them, a few slimline shelves display fancy food to take home, like Olsson’s flaked sea salt and Quinby’s hot honey. Also in the mix: a single copy of EB White’s 1952 children’s novel Charlotte’s Web, to remind the team to channel the friendly, humble pig that Wilburs is named after. And, says Rob, to be “a little bit piggy”.

Wilburs
10-12 Roger Street, Brookvale
No phone
Hours
Mon to Fri 7am–2pm
@wilburs.deli