Peppino

I am a former loyal customer.
I was a regular customer for seven years and am pretty sure I tried every sandwich on the menu. At times, I ate here three times a week. I would have given it five stars but my last experience was offensive enough to drop my rating to three and to not return to Peppino.
On my last visit, I ordered a spicy surprise on brown – I had ordered on brown for seven years. When my sandwich came up, it had been made on white bread. I pointed out the error and the entire staff stopped and stared at me. One said, «What’s the problem?» and I repeated that the sandwich was supposed to have been on brown. The older owner said, «You ordered a surprise, you got a surprise!»
When things go smoothly, Peppino is great. But when they make a mistake, it’s on you.

Peppinos is the greatest! They always have such delicious and fresh food, the staff is always friendly. It’s just such a great experience every time I walk threw the door. You are missing out on life if you haven’t tried it yet!!!

Ok, so I’m officially addicted to this place!
I first discovered peppino’s about a year ago and have loved it from day one but since moving to Kensington a few months ago I have been increasing the frequency of my visits.
I have tried a few different types of these mouth watering italian subs however I love the hoe down hoagie so much that I can’t help but going back for it nearly every time. Everything about it makes my mouth water. The bread is really fresh and soft, it also has a really nice spice to it thanks to a delicious spicy olive oil sauce, hot peppers and spicy capicollo. Though you can’t really go wrong with any of the choices here!
This place also doubles as a bit of an Italian grocery. They sell some nice prepared pastas, lasagna, sauces, noodles, cheese, etc. Oh and the mixed olives here are really good too!
As for the service, despite any line up they are always really fast. It seems to be a family run buisness too which I always like to support as well.

Been coming here for years and will continue to do so… I would drive 30 minutes each way to get myself a sandwich made by Joe.
You can’t go wrong with any of the choices and on Saturdays when they make fresh soup it is amazing.
Thanks for always taking such good care of your customers!

Ah, the classic Italian sub. Peppino’s makes them and they make them very very well! They’ve got fantastic deli meats to choose from and a whole wall of different subs to order or make you own. My favourite way to get a sandwich? Just ask for «The Surprise» and let them decide! They’ll ask you if you want it mild or spicy and then they’ll take it from there. Every sandwich is different, but everyone I’ve had has been fantastic. I think the bread tastes really fresh but rumour has it that it’s actually frozen. Whatever. However they make and serve it, the end result is really tasty.
The restaurant is mixed with a small Italian market and I just feel at home when I walk in, like I’m visiting a good old friend’s family’s business. However, the lady working there, possibly one of the owners, often doesn’t say anything more the price I have to pay and holds out her hand to collect the amount. No hello, eye contact or thank you; It kind of kills the caring community family business vibe, but hey, the subs are pretty darn good.

This review is applicable to the Bridgeland location.
We were cruising through Bridgeland and decided to stop in and look as prior passes have been late at night.
Pleasantly surprised at the selection inside — I have never been to the Kensington location — pizzas, pasta, bruschetta etc.
We picked up a load of great chow for Christmas eve and we are looking forward to experiencing the food. The lady working the counter was very informative and welcoming.
Check out the Bridgeland location.

Popped in here briefly last night on my way home from work, since I didn’t have time to cook and thought ‘hey, maybe they have sandwich stuff!’.
Which they do… and loads of gelato, and walls of gnocchi and lots of cheeses, and and and…
Seriously, I could of spent all day browsing, if they weren’t already cashing out. That said, they were happy to let me look, politely asked if I needed any assistance, and when I asked if they had bread, they produced a delicious, fluffy white baguette which they told me only cost $ 1 — AND they apologized for not having any other breads available!
To say I’ll be back is an understatement — especially now that I see from the other reviews that they make subs! These guys are DEFINITELY going onto the ‘emergency dinner’ list — and quiet a bit further up it than the local Subway!

My kind of place. The owners and staff were so gracious and patient while I looked everything over. It is a restaurant meets Italian Market and I was impressed. The restaurant and kitchen were clean and had an air of old world to it in a way. No fancy-​schmancy stuff here, just good food and love in what the staff do.
I bought some spicy meat and 5 different kinds of dry pastas. I am good for a year but I WILL be back soon for some of the house-​made ginger ice cream that I was given a taste of! YUM! Joe, you are a great guy!
You could tell it was a good lunch/​dinner spot as people that work in the area were dashing across the street to get a homemade sandwich. There are about 47 different sandwiches to choose from!

I’ve been here several, several times and they make a consistently amazing Eden’s Garden sub on brown (Roasted eggplant, tomato, artichoke hearts, lettuce, served with bocconcini cheese and spiced olive oil dressing).
I do a bit of substitution because I’m not a fan of raw tomato on a sandwich — I get roasted red peppers instead and sometimes I’ll throw in a spicy meat selection if I feel like processed meat that day :). The eggplant is to die for and I do not normally seek out eggplant to eat — at all! I’ve had this on white bread before when they messed it up once and it made me a bit sick — but white bread will do that to me anyways.
I truthfully have not tried any other sub — but this one creates a craving in me at least every-​other week. I have tried their pasta once and would not do that again! It was gluggy old pasta with a thick sauce that was very substandard — not what I would expect from an Italian restaurant.
The staff is friendly and the lady at the counter now only has to see me come in the door and she has my order already to the guys making the sandwiches.
Overall I go there a lot and will keep doing so for that one sub — maybe one day I’ll venture out and try a different sub ;).

Hands down best Italian sandwich in town! I could not believe how good the spicy «surprise» sandwich was. The chef that made it knows what he is doing. I can’t wait to eat there again and am telling all of my friends about this place. The food was so good I had to write this review.

Best Italian style sandwiches in town, and awesome froendly family service. Super efficient even when very busy, and have never had anything here that was not excellent, fresh and served with a smile!

Peppino! I’ve heard so much about you, I even sampled you at one of the wine festivals a few months back. But somehow I hadn’t been over to visit you yet at your Kensington home. And for that I must apologize! But all has been remedied. I came in for lunch last Thursday and you made me a Calabrese Delight — which turned out to be a delight! Spicy calabrese salami, hot banana peppers, cheese, and tomatoes… no lettuce in this sandwich says the menu listing. Who needs that stuff? It’s all filler anyway.
You impressed me with your sandwich making speed. It wasn’t more than a 5 minute wait before someone called «Number 42!» and my sandwich appeared on the counter. If you added a little something to that tray, like a little Italian salad or even just a handful of chips to round it all out, I’d be giving you five stars all the way.
Thanks for the spot on the patio! It was a sunny day, so it was a great place to enjoy my sammy.
Tip: If you are sitting outside, the sandwiches aren’t brought to you. You’ll have to go back inside and wait for your number to call up.

Delicious sub! I ate the entire sub and was sooo stuffed. Half the sub would have easily filled me up, but it tasted too good to stop. Very salty though, most likely because I ordered Joe’s special, which has a ton of cold cuts. The sauce he adds is pure magic. The owner was very friendly too. Meatball sub has 4 massive meatballs — you can taste the quality in it. Nice spicy kick to it. Joe’s special is still my favourite. Best sandwiches in the city.

Food snobs will find all sorts of things to complain about here (IE «OMG don’t call this Italian, blah blah blah»). J Lecce and the gang have presented a small Italian deli for a couple of decades now. They fill a good niche if you can’t make it to Lina’s. A lot of well-​made dishes/​ingredients, both fresh and frozen, good selection of pasta, et cetera. Peppio is best known for sandwiches. If you want a fine selection of meats and cheeses placed in excellent combinations between bits of Italian Bakery bread, come here. Good times are to be had. Don’t forget about Peppino as a shop though. I grab all my pasta from these guys!

I love this place, and you must go.
I used to work at a teahouse across the street from Peppino’s before it closed down, and I liiiived for the days I would walk over from the train after class and grab a Peppino’s sub before heading over to work. I expected them to have maybe one vegetarian option, but they actually have a vegetarian section on their menu with 8 different selections! (I would count 9, but one is called «The Sinner,» which is a vegetarian sub, but adding your choice of meat to it. Not funny, Peppino’s, you risk losing one star for this).
My personal favourite is Eden’s Garden; roasted eggplant, tomato, artichoke arts, lettuce, and spiced olive oil. Amaaazing, even without the bocconcini cheese (I always omit this from my sub as I am vegan). All of my friends who I bring here for subs end up going out of their way to come back to this little place.

This is an Italian sub shop that has a bunch of other stuff — gelato, frozen lasagna, some imported Italian groceries, and more. There are a few tables and a bar if you want to stay in, but you can also get your food to go.
They have healthier options available, but for your first time you should definitely go all out and get one of the sandwiches with the Italian meats and house sauce. I recommend the Da Nico’s (capicollo, calabrese salami, mortadella, meatballs, hot peppers, cheese, and lettuce).
The subs are high quality, the service is honest and friendly, and they have both Diet Coke and Coke Zero in tall glass bottles. I’m lucky to have this kind of lunch spot nearby.

We recently used Peppino’s for two days of catering in our office and I must say they crushed it. We dealt with Nick, son of the owner Joe who was friendly, courteous and easy to work with. They did an amazing job with producing delicious sandwiches that met our organizations dietary needs the one day and a hot pasta lunch with salad on the second day.
I think the difference with a business like this is that this is their legacy and reputation that they put on the line and that shows. its obvious they care about what they do when they are able to work through issues that would have normal employees stopping and asking their manager about next steps. For them, they delivered the service and dealt with the problems we encountered at a more appropriate time. First class, to say the least.
The prices for catered service with delivery were excellent and I would use their service again and would not hesitate to recommend it to others. I highly recommend making a visit to try their food.

Peppino is great. CLASSIC Italian sub-​shop. Seems like it is family run too?
I had the «Calabrese Delight.» For this Calabrese, it TRULY was a delight. Stacked spicy salami, banana peppers and some tasteful italian seasonings; this baby hit the spot.
I also tasted some of the «Chicken alla Parmigiana» and was slightly less impressed. The sub was good, but I thought the chicken was a little thin and tough. I was also surprised that the chicken didn’t seem to be breaded! Maybe this expectation though has been caused by North American bastardizations of Italian cuisine? I dunno! Either way, good; not great.
The interior of the place is charming. Fake trees, paintings of «Old Country» … I love it.
I didn’t have time to check it out, but there also seems to be quite a lot of choices for Italian groceries: Olive oils, gelato, even some pre-​made meals (like ravioli, osso bucco, etc. etc.).
I will definitely visit Peppino whenever hungry, looking for a quick bite and in the neighbourhood.

I’m actually shocked that this will be only the second review of Peppino. There should be more, hundreds, thousands, because this is hands down the best sandwich/​sub place in Calgary.
When I moved to Calgary 4 years ago, I stayed with a family friend who lived in Calgary but worked further up north. In the 2 months I stayed at his place, I saw him twice. It was a nice place, in Kensington, free, but lacking a fully functional kitchen. Due to incomplete renovations, it wasn’t an option to eat at home. So, for 2 months, I frequented several establishments in Kensington for my dietary needs. Peppino was a frequent stop.
Peppino has a wide variety of sandwiches, daily pasta specials, some cold pasta dishes, deserts, and a lot of Italian foods and coffees (it doubles as a small Italian grocery). I’ve tried most of their sandwiches, but since moving out of Kensington I usually enjoy the Crantastic Turkey on my return visits. All their sandwiches are available on white or whole wheat, and while classified as sandwiches, they are essentially subs that are prepared on sub bread.
Another favourite of mine is the Surprise. Basically, they will throw anything they feel like on your sub. It’s always delicious. They also have a great selection of sandwiches that do not contain pork, which is important for me as my fiancé doesn’t eat pork and I rarely indulge myself. All sandwiches are prepared fresh in front of you, and like a real Italian place should, they don’t wear gloves when preparing your food (which is good, because we should occasionally invite germs into our bodies, otherwise we become ill-​equipped to fight the bigger badder ones). But this might not be your thing, you mysophobe you.
The service at Peppino is great. Always polite, cheerful, and never too busy that you have to wait forever. Even during a lunch rush, they are fast and efficient. I’ve seen lines out the door move quickly, so don’t be intimidated if it’s busy. If you haven’t gone, go, and if you have, where is your review?

I had the «Da Nico’s» sub today for lunch and it blew me away. I am a big fan of fresh bread and I don’t think that you could get any better. The high quality Italian meats and the homemade meatballs were FAR better than «the usual suspects» and for about the same price too.
They also have a full market with fresh Italian sausage, pasta and pre-​made lasagna to take home. I’ll be back to pick one of these up.