Jersey Mike's Secret-Menu Corned Beef Reuben Sandwich: Does It Really Exist?

Who doesn't love a secret menu? There's a little thrill in being able to order something that isn't traditionally available at your favorite fast food place. Like many restaurants, Jersey Mike's has a secret menu, and there are a number of sandwiches you can order that don't appear on the regular menu. However, one secret item has proven more elusive than all the rest. The corned beef Reuben, also known as the R&R sandwich. Only a handful of websites even mention it, so it must be a well-kept secret, right? Maybe too well. There's probably no Jersey Mike's around that can make it for you. But stores could make it, once upon a time.

Right off the bat, you have to wonder what an R&R sandwich even is. Not every description agrees. Some say it stands for Roast Beef and Reuben, which makes sense if it's made with roast beef. Other sources say it's a classic corned beef Reuben with coleslaw instead of sauerkraut. Yet a third version suggests it's a Reuben made with both pastrami and corned beef. It's apparently so secret no one even knows how to make it.

The closest confirmation available that the roast beef version of the sandwich ever existed is in a 2020 Reddit thread at r/jerseymikes. A poster who claimed to have worked at Jersey Mike's offered a suggestion for ordering an R&R. "If the location still serves a #20 Reuben, and if you're really feeling beefy, ask them to throw some roast beef on the grill next to your reuben, and chop/mix them together," they said. But notice there is no corned beef.

Yes, there is evidence that Jersey Mike's once had a Reuben on the menu. However, corned beef is no longer on the Jersey Mike's menu. When Tasting Table called a New Jersey location with an unofficial menu linked to it online offering corned beef, an employee there told us that Jersey Mike's hasn't had corned beef on the menu in many years. Some of the only references you'll find to corned beef and pastrami together at Jersey Mike's are in reviews from 2003.

One 2003 review at Reuben Realm said, "Another interesting feature is the choice of meat for the Reuben: corned beef, pastrami, or both." That's the clearest confirmation that this sandwich did exist, but it's also over 20 years old. To have one today you're going to need to get a little creative and finish the job at home.

Pastrami has also been off the Jersey Mike's menu for a while, but it came back for a limited time in 2024. Making an R&R today will require a lot of extra work, depending on which version you want. If you're looking to get the roast beef part of the sandwich, you could possibly order a Roast Beef and Provolone from Jersey Mike's but swap the Provolone for Swiss. That's hardly a Reuben, however, and you'd still need to add the other ingredients, including corned beef or pastrami, sauerkraut or coleslaw, and Russian dressing. Unless your local Jersey Mike's still carries pastrami, you're better off just building your own Reuben.