Not Burgers Or Chicken Sandwiches — The '80s Classic Burger King Item Meant To Compete With Arby's

Fast food chains copying (or at least taking inspiration from) each other is a tale as old as time. Popeye's chicken sandwich begat a chicken sandwich war in 2019. The Big Mac led to the now-discontinued Big King. It might even be argued that Dairy Queen's Blizzard ultimately led to the McDonald's McFlurry. And in November of 1980, Burger King introduced its version of the roast beef sandwich nationwide. Arby's got its start in Ohio in 1964 and carved its niche in the fast food space with roast beef sandwiches. Sixteen years later, Burger King launched the roast beef sandwich with the tagline, "You just can't beat it!" 

Arby's sandwiches are famous for their simplicity — roast beef on a bun with either Arby's sauce or Horsey sauce, and cheese if you order a beef and cheddar. But Burger King took things a step further, offering customers a sandwich that kept all the elements of a classic hamburger — with a roast beef swap. The sandwich featured thin-sliced roast beef with cheese upon request, tomato, lettuce, and mayo, with au jus and horseradish sauce for dipping.

Burger King went all out in marketing the sandwich, offering buy-one-get-one coupons and a punch-card program that rewarded customers with a free sandwich once they'd purchased 10 of them. It cost just $1.79 (about $8 in 2026). Burger King even went so far as to throw in a free frisbee with the purchase of the sandwich. Despite all those efforts, the sandwich was ultimately discontinued around 1982, according to Retroist.

In the fast food world, chains often seem to live by the motto, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." That's certainly true of the roast beef sandwich, and Arby's has withstood plenty of competition. McDonald's tried releasing its own roast beef sandwich in 1968, and KFC thought roast beef was the next big thing in the 1960s and '70s, as they opened a string of eateries called Kentucky Roast Beef and Ham.

Burger King tried a little bit of everything with its menu in the 1970s, including adding onion rings, french fries, and the double cheeseburger. While the roast beef sandwich didn't last long, it wasn't without its fans. "That sandwich was unbelievably delicious! Bring it back, please!" pleaded one nostalgic YouTube commenter. Others remember it being decent, but not as good as Arby's. More commenters remember other '70s-era sandwiches from Burger King more fondly, including the Yumbo — a hot ham and cheese sandwich that was introduced in 1971, discontinued six years later, and then made a brief comeback in the 2010s.

Burger King's foray into roast beef ended up being little more than a footnote in the company's history. While it offered familiar ingredients with a distinctly different approach from Arby's, it wasn't enough to win over BK customers. If nothing else, the sandwich's brief appearance on the Burger King menu serves as a reminder that trying to copy the competition doesn't always work.