Take It Away Sandwich Shop

This shop pales in comparison to the original Cheese Shop in Williamsburg. Although the food is essentially the same, the service and execution are not. The price is high for what is ultimately a meager portion of meat and bread. You have to pay extra for any essential toppings besides dressing. They’ve gotten my order wrong on several occasions (wrong toppings or bread). However, what has been most distressing is I often order the dressing on the side and not once have they actually remembered to include it. Not the biggest deal by itself, but it’s quite a simple task and if you’re not still at the establishment there’s no way you’re going back just for dressing, and thus you’ve just wasted your $.
Aside from my dressing on the side rant…
I’ve returned to Take It Away based on my experiences at the Cheese Shop. I don’t believe I will continue to return as my experience has yet to mirror the latter. If they had less screwups, or a better price: portion ratio, this review would be 4+ stars and I’d have no qualms (other than its awful location for anyone not walking distance — parking and traffic are not ideal, to say the least).

There is a reason everyone raves about this sandwich shop — it is seriously good. I firmly believe sandwiches are a food group and I am so glad I finally tried out this place on the corner.
Food: Simple, no frill sandwiches but the quality of the ingredients (bread, meat, vegetables and condiments) are top notch. I ordered a chicken sandwich on pumpernickel with sprouts, roasted tomatoes and their famous house dressing on the side. Nothing fancy, but I could not get over how great the house dressing, roasted tomatoes and bread were. The house dressing is reason enough to go — I highly suggest it! The bread was hearty and held its own — it didn’t get soggy which is a huge pet peeve of mine.
Service: with a smile. The woman who took my order was kind and accommodating. I appreciated that she reread my order and was generally very pleasant.
All in all, this is a great place to grab a quick sandwich between classes /​during a lunch break. I will definitely be back!

On those days when I’m feeling grossed out by grease and just want a simple sandwich with clean flavors and fresh ingredients that’s customizable, I head to Take It Away. I’m a fan of their roast beef on French bread (which is nice and soft on the inside with a crunchy crust) with sprouts, Havarti cheese, and (this is crucial) their fabulous house dressing. You must order your sandwich with the house dressing.
Service is fast and friendly, and the sandwiches are fairly cheap. They also cater different sandwich combos and have fun veggie options, if that’s something that interests you. There’s not a ton of room to eat inside the shop, so I like to take my sandwich outside and enjoy a mini-​picnic. Again, don’t forget the house dressing!

Amazing sandwiches. Bread so good you won’t regret the carbs and that sauce. A must when you’re in town here.

Take It Away works really hard, but it’ll never be my go-​to place.
The line is a bit confusing when you walk in– pass through the crowds to the far right corner where staff with notebooks are ready to take your order. There’s rarely a line for that part. But you wait to pay until your order is ready, which is weird. In the meantime try not to let the chocolates, potato chips, and drinks tempt you. A simple sandwich will cost you more than you think it might and the portion isn’t big enough to deserve the price tag. Plan to picnic because there are only a few tables (more across the street).
The staff at Take It Away are really nice, though, and I’m always happy with the freshness and flavor of their sandwiches. These days I go here for one thing and one thing only– bread ends. They’ll sell you a bag of the little nubs of their bread for real cheap. Pair it with a container of their famous house dressing, and you’ve got a perfect, easy party snack.

Simple. Fresh. Delicious. I stopped by on a whim, and I ended up with the best sandwich I’ve eaten in a long time. The ingredients were fresh, and were of high quality.
I will be back!

Good little sandwich shop. It’s only open for lunch, which I’ve forgotten multiple times and tried to get a sandwich for dinner. It definitely gets crowded, especially between undergraduate classes times. There’s not much seating, although there is some. I generally think of this place as more of a takeout place. Walk in a give your order to the person with a notepad generally standing to the far right. You basically build your sandwich from the ingredients on the chalkboard… not much in the way of sandwiches that are pre-​made or pre-​planned out for you. Some will be surprised that they do not offer lettuce and tomato as toppings on the sandwich. I personally like the cucumbers they do offer much better and know many who enjoy the sprouts. As many others have mentioned, I love the house dressing on my sandwich!

Been there twice and each time I felt I had the best sandwich ever. You can’t go wrong with: regular ham with Swiss, mayo, tomato on sourdough. Simple but excellent.

(Three and a half stars because I actually really like the taste, rounded up)
I love Take It Away sandwiches, but it’s more of a snack stop for me than a lunch/​dinner stop.
I usually get something along the lines of roast beef on French bread with sprouts, roasted tomatoes, and house dressing, and the customization of the sandwich tacks on the bill as you build it up. This is of course no surprise but that also means that the price of your sandwich goes up higher relative to the amount you get.
That said, if your go-​to is a simple sandwich then it does well for the price, but if you load it up then it can get pricy. Not to mention the sandwich itself is not that large, which is why I think of it more like a snack than an actual meal. Love the flavor of the sandwiches (and I actually like the slight soft «give» of the bread, call me crazy), but keep the cost in mind when you customize your sandwich, let alone getting a soup or bag of chips with it. It adds up!

I love Take it Away. I get the roast beef on french bread with house dressing. Best sandwiches on the corner!

Been going to this place for a while now during lunch. My usual order is the smoked turkey on French bread, provolone cheese, sprouts, cucumbers, arugula, and roasted tomatoes. To finish the masterpiece, I always add the house dressing on it. This place never disappoints and the service is pretty fast. The shortest I’ve waited was about 4 – 5 minutes and that was during prime lunch hours. A must try for visitors of Charlottesville and don’t forget to add the house dressing!

This sandwich shop is nothing fancy but it does the job.
I order one thing and one thing only: the lentil sandwich with the house sauce. I keep it simple because I know what I like. A healthy serving of lentils slapped between two slim slices of sourdough and some sprouts, cucumbers, and how dare we forget the tomatoes. I know what you’re thinking, lentils? Really? Yes, really, a few places know how to use the overlooked lentil, but Take-​It-​Away knows what they’re doing. If you’re into thoughtfully paired lentils with a mayonnaise like house sauce that oozes over your veggie toppings, order this.
3 star rating because the service is ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ and despite my love of the lentil sandwich, the meat sandwiches are OK. I’ve ordered the roast beef, turkey, and ham, and felt the combination of preselected toppings were average. What I would suggest would be to try their sides. They surprise me with their selection of tasty fruit and pasta options.
Bottom line: the prep is quick and the price is decent for the sandwich.

Take it away is the best! I really love getting their house dressing and adding sprouts (which taste very fresh) to my sandwiches. I’ve tried adding roasted tomatoes as well and it’s fantastic. I’ve gone here countless times now and would definitely recommend getting a sandwich to-​go or eating here on a nice day outside because the sandwich shop is pretty small.

The house dressing is spectacular! I love getting turkey with provolone, cucumber and sprouts and of course the dressing! Can be a little pricier but worth it

Good sandwich, HORRIBLE customer service! I somehow just ordered a sandwich, waited for it to be made and checked out without a single employee speaking to me. I even overheard that the woman who checked me out at the register was a manager; the only words she spoke were «$ 8.52». I made a point of looking right at her and saying «thank you!» And she never even paused the conversation she was having with another employee to thank me back or say «have a good day». I will not spend $ 8.52 on a sandwich at this place again! It’s too bad too, they’re right on campus and make good sandwiches so their business will never suffer from the terrible service they provide!

I ordered a simple chicken with bean sprouts and roasted tomatoes on wheat, with no dressing or cheese, and found it delicious and filling. The service was quick and pleasant (the shop was not overcrowded either).
The four stars are for the food and service and the missing fifth star is for lack of interesting environment.

Great little sandwich shop off the UVA Corner. Sure it is no Bodos, and you are going to spend $ 7 for a sandwich, but you are going to enjoy every last bite. They pack it with a ton of meat and the toppings like bean sprouts, arugula, and roasted tomatoes are so fresh.
Also, order some house dressing and bread ends for later. It is not only incredibly addictive and delicious but at around $ 4.50 it’s such a great snack!

I had my first Take It Away experience this weekend. It has the ambiance of a cozy mom & pop store. The staff was very friendly and attentive. It has a family friendly environment and of course draws in a lot of students.
I got the turkey sandwich on sourdough. There is a board from which you can pick your veggies and other toppings. My only bone to pick with this place is that it doesn’t have enough choices for veggies. Other than that, I really enjoyed the sprouts, roasted tomatoes, and of course the HOUSE DRESSING.
I would definitely come back!

I’m so unimpressed by Take It Away, more so because it’s so hyped up. I had Take It Away for the first time in my first week of attending UVA and was unimpressed. I never went back, but after continuously hearing good things about Take It Away, I had to try it again. I went back last week – but my opinion hasn’t changed.
The sandwiches aren’t bad. The ingredients are good, and there are so many different options. The service is quick and friendly. The bread on my sandwiches has always been kind of gummy, and the filling is never laid evenly, so every bite has awkward ratios of meat to everything else. I love being able to get sprouts in my sandwiches, though, and the oven roasted tomatoes are good too. What gets me the most about Take it Away is that it’s so over priced. I paid something like $ 7.50 for a sandwich (given, I asked for everything on it) that barely filled me up, and what makes me even more upset is that I could have gotten a much more satisfying sandwich less than a block away at Bodos for even less than half the price.
One thing that is worth getting from Take It Away, though, is their bread ends. I had heard about their bread ends before, so I went to get a bag yesterday, expecting a small paper bag of tiny pieces of bread – boy I was wrong. I got this huge bag of oddly shaped, but still so, so, delicious, pieces of bread. And only for 50 cents to! If you’re a carb addict like I am, you will go crazy over this. I also bought a little side of their house dressing (the only other thing worth trying), to dip the bread ends in– it was so good. I had to stop myself from eating the whole bag in one sitting because I knew I couldn’t make a meal out of just bread and a mayonnaise based sauce…
I still don’t understand the hype for Take It Away’s over priced sandwiches when there are cheaper and better options on the Corner. However, I still see myself going back to Take It Away in the future not for their sandwiches, but for their bread ends and house dressing.

I’ll never understand why this place is so popular. A very expensive lunch spot, with above average sandwiches. The prices on the menu are for meat and bread, you literally have to pay extra for everything, and since the sandwiches start at $ 5 – 6 bucks, it gets expensive fast. You don’t even get that much meat.
Its small, there aren’t a lot of places to sit, but its really a take-​out place so this isn’t an issue. Service is sometimes slow. Aside from the sandwiches, they have a huge assortment of chips, and their fresh baked cookies are addicting. Their house dressing is also very tasty.