Holy Toledo! My sandwich date with Danny DeVito as Jersey Mike's opens in London

“I sometimes do bowls because, you know, you and I are on the chubby side,” Danny DeVito tells me, two 15-inch sandwiches sitting in front of us. DeVito picked the fillings: roast beef, pepperoni, provolone, lettuce, tomatoes, “juice” (more on that in a moment) and oregano, my pronunciation of which proves contentious. “How do you say it?” he asks. “Ori-gar-no,” I reply. Matilda’s dad is less than impressed.We’re at Jersey Mike’s on Argyll Street, the American chain’s first UK branch. Days before launch, crowds are peering through the window, watching an animated DeVito rhapsodise about the brand: in the US it’s institutional. Hardly anyone had heard of it here until, earlier in 2026, founder Peter Cancro revealed the company’s plans for expansion over the Atlantic. Danny DeVito and Josh Barrie take bites out of their subs at Jersey Mike’sThe StandardI see Cancro across the room. He’s busy making turkey and provolone subs for DeVito’s entourage. “I could close my eyes and say, where am I? I could be in Jersey right now,” DeVito says, admiring the room. “Except for the rain and the people driving on the wrong side of the street.”Jersey Mike’s is a powerhouse across North America, with more than 3,300 sandwich shops, but it’s dwarfed by its rival Subway, which counts 37,000 locations around the world. Their origin stories are similar: Italian-American sandwiches, bursting with meats, cheeses and salads, though Jersey Mike’s is older by nine years (1956) and Americans generally believe the quality to be higher. “I don’t put my name on something that I’m not totally pumped about,” says DeVito. “Sometimes you just gotta eat, man. Sometimes, you gotta splurge”From what I can see, what differentiates Jersey Mike’s is the preparation, and stronger ties to culture and heritage. Cured meats and cheeses are still sliced to order, portions are generous and then there’s that “juice”, a combination of olive oil and red wine vinegar. “Jersey Shore, a lot of Italians came down,” DeVito explains. “It’s a little Italy. Food is important. From the time I was old enough to ride a bike, we used to go to the sub shop. And the juice is the juice, baby.” We examine a cross-section of our sandwiches. “Look at that, roll down,” he says. “You’ve got meat, cheese, onions; a little bit of spice, but not too much.”As many as 400 stores are planned across the UK and Ireland. DeVito doesn’t know why it’s taken this long to open in London, a city he spends a lot of time in. “I love Bocca di Lupo. It’s beautiful, man. The food is terrific.” He feels a connection: “For a long time it seemed like there was some distance — London’s food seemed very different. It’s better for all of us to be together. Everybody has their differences, but the big thing is cooperation. The pizza scene has boomed here recently.DeVito rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange to celebrate Jersey Mike's Sub Initial Public Offering (IPO) during morning trading on July 30, 2026Getty“And I like going out to buy a cigar, I’m a cigar guy. And those old shops in town. I went to one recently, Turnbull & Asser. It was empty. I looked around and said, ‘Holy shit, this is MI6.’ You open up something behind some kind of display and you see all the equipment, like in the Bond movies. I make movies, so I go straight to that.” But DeVito always comes back to the food: “I like the scones, the cream and the jelly. I put the cream on first because I load them up, man. Make it right, whack!”We’re a fair way through our brunch. The actor has other things to get to. Perhaps a date with a rum-soaked ham. And you know, these gargantuan sandwiches are filling. “Every once in a while, you put your clothes on, look in the mirror and go, ‘Holy Toledo!’” he says. “Sometimes you just gotta eat, man. Sometimes, you gotta splurge.”