Looking for Ike’s Love & Sandwiches vegetarian options? You’ve got real choices here, not just a lettuce-and-tomato sub. Between the Meatless Mike’s vegan meatballs and the fully customizable build-your-own menu, there’s more to work with than at most sandwich chains. Head over to What’s Vegetarian to see what else we’ve covered for people figuring out what about the vegetarians eating out.
A Quick Look at Ike’s Love & Sandwiches
Ike’s started in 2007 as Ike’s Place, a small sandwich shop in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood. Founder Ike Shehadeh had sold sandwiches on the side out of a liquor store he owned in the Mission District back in 2001. He reopened as a dedicated shop six years later, backed by a loan from his mother. The shop built a following on Dutch Crunch bread, its garlic-based Dirty Sauce, and sandwiches named after local personalities and pop-culture figures.
The chain rebranded as Ike’s Love & Sandwiches and announced a national franchise push in 2018, expanding well beyond its Bay Area roots through the 2010s. CEO Michael Goldberg now runs a chain of roughly 200 locations across California, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Hawaii, Texas, Louisiana, and other states as of early 2026, up from just over 100 locations in 2024. Local sandwich names honoring regional figures change store to store, and the chain runs dozens of celebrity and pop-culture collaborations a year. But the core menu, the bread choices, the proteins, and the sauces, stays the same chain-wide.
Ike’s Love & Sandwiches Vegetarian Options: What to Order
Ike’s runs two menus at once: a huge list of pre-built named sandwiches, and a fully customizable build. Both have vegetarian and vegan paths, but you have to know what to ask for. Here’s the fast read on what’s safe as-is and what needs a swap.
| Menu Item | Vegetarian | Vegan |
|---|---|---|
| Meatless Mike (vegan meatballs, marinara, pepper jack) | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (order vegan cheese) |
| Sometimes I’m A Vegetarian (artichoke hearts, mushrooms, pesto, provolone) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy pesto and cheese) |
| Reading Rainbow (avocado, red pesto, cheddar) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy) |
| Gramps (vegan turkey, mushrooms, provolone) | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (order vegan cheese) |
| James & The Giant Peach (vegan fried chicken, BBQ sauce, cheddar) | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (order vegan cheese) |
| Fall’ing for Ike’s (vegan turkey, cranberry, sriracha, cheddar) | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (order vegan cheese) |
| Regular Dirty Sauce | ❌ No (contains egg) | ❌ No (contains egg) |
| Vegan Dirty Sauce (Veganaise-based, on request) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Wheat bread | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (contains honey) |
| Gluten-free bread | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (confirm current recipe with staff) |
| Vegetarian bacon | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (contains dairy) |
Vegetarian and Vegan Sandwiches Already on the Menu
The easiest order is a pre-built sandwich that’s already vegetarian or already carries a vegan protein. The Meatless Mike (#70) uses vegan meatballs in marinara with pepper jack. Ike’s own marketing cites a PETA nod for the meatballs specifically, so ask for vegan cheese if you want the whole sandwich vegan. Sometimes I’m A Vegetarian (#61) is marinated artichoke hearts, mushrooms, pesto, and provolone. It’s vegetarian but not vegan, because of the dairy in both the pesto and the cheese. Reading Rainbow (#265) keeps it simple with avocado, red pesto, and cheddar.
Beyond those, Ike’s builds several sandwiches around its vegan meat substitutes: vegan turkey, vegan chicken, vegan fried chicken, and vegan steak. Gramps (#202) pairs vegan turkey with mushrooms and provolone. James & The Giant Peach (#246) puts vegan fried chicken under yellow BBQ sauce and cheddar. Fall’ing for Ike’s (#219) goes vegan turkey with cranberry, sriracha, and cheddar. Handsome Owl (#301), Pee Wee (#291), and Time Traveler’s Wife (#235) all build on vegan turkey, chicken, or fried chicken too. Each one ships with dairy cheese by default. Say the word “vegan” if you want the sandwich fully vegan.
Sides and Salads
Sandwiches are the main event, but Ike’s also runs a short sides menu. The Hanging Garden salad, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, croutons, and buttermilk ranch, is vegetarian as built. The croutons and ranch both carry dairy or egg, so don’t assume it’s vegan without asking. Bagged chips come in flavors like sea salt, salt and vinegar, BBQ, jalapeño, and sour cream and onion. Check the bag for dairy in the sour cream and onion or BBQ flavors specifically. Some locations run seasonal or regional sides, including a French onion soup at select stores. Verify at your location, since Ike’s is a franchise and side offerings aren’t standardized chain-wide the way the sandwich menu is.
Customizing Your Order: Bread, Protein, Cheese, and Sauce
Ike’s also lets you build from scratch, which is where the menu gets genuinely useful for vegetarians. Bread choices are Dutch Crunch, French, sourdough, wheat, or gluten-free. Swap in a vegan protein (vegan turkey, chicken, meatballs, or steak), add vegetables (lettuce, tomato, mushrooms, avocado, peppers, jalapeños, pickles, red onion, though mushrooms and avocado usually cost extra), and pick a sauce. Vegan-friendly sauces include the Vegan Dirty Sauce, most BBQ, marinara, teriyaki, and sriracha. If you’re avoiding egg, skip the standard Dirty Sauce, Boardwalk Mustard, Godfather, Green Chile Aioli, Honey Mustard, and Horseradish. All of those use egg in the recipe, and most pestos carry milk too, except the Southwest Pesto.
Cheese defaults to dairy (American, cheddar, provolone, Swiss, pepper jack), so vegan cheese only shows up if you ask for it by name. Say “vegan” out loud on the whole order, not just the protein. That’s how the kitchen knows to swap the cheese and the sauce too.
What’s Vegan at Ike’s Love & Sandwiches?
About a dozen sandwiches go fully vegan once you specify vegan cheese and vegan sauce, including the Meatless Mike, Maya Angelou (vegan steak), Handsome Owl, Pee Wee, Fall’ing for Ike’s, and Time Traveler’s Wife. Vegan turkey, vegan chicken, vegan fried chicken, vegan steak, and vegan meatballs cover the proteins. Dutch Crunch, French, and sourdough breads are dairy-free by default. Wheat bread isn’t vegan, since it’s made with honey. Veganaise stands in for the egg-based mayo in the Vegan Dirty Sauce, and it’s available on any sandwich if you ask. Most bagged chips and the base build of the Hanging Garden salad (minus the ranch) round out the vegan-friendly sides.
Special Dietary Requirements and Allergies
Soy allergy? Most of the bread lineup is out, since all of Ike’s breads except the gluten-free option are made with soy oil. The regular Dirty Sauce, Boardwalk Mustard, Godfather, Green Chile Aioli, Honey Mustard, and Horseradish sauces all contain egg. Milk shows up in every pesto except the Southwest Pesto. Wheat bread contains honey, which matters if you’re vegan but not if you’re vegetarian. Ike’s own “Vegetarian Bacon” item is neither dairy-free nor vegan, worth knowing since the name alone doesn’t tell you that.
Halal is one of the dietary preferences Ike’s lists alongside vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free. If halal matters to you, ask your specific store which proteins qualify, since certification can vary by location. Ingredients and processes can also vary by location because Ike’s operates as a franchise. The chain’s own guidance points customers to its Nutritionix nutrition portal to check a specific sandwich before ordering. Cross-contact between meat and vegetarian items is possible in any shared kitchen, so ask your local store if that’s a concern.
Tips for Vegetarians at Ike’s Love & Sandwiches
- Say “vegan” for the whole order, not just the protein, so the cheese and sauce get swapped too.
- Check a specific sandwich on Ike’s Nutritionix portal before you order if you’re strict about vegan or gluten-free.
- Ask for Southwest Pesto if you want a dairy-free pesto, every other pesto on the menu has milk in it.
- Skip the regular Dirty Sauce if you’re avoiding egg, ask for the Vegan Dirty Sauce instead.
- Order gluten-free bread if you’re avoiding soy oil, it’s the one bread made without it.
- Confirm pricing for vegan cheese and protein swaps at your location. Some Ike’s stores charge extra for substitutions even though the base menu treats them as standard options.
- Try the Hanging Garden salad if you want something besides a sandwich, just swap the ranch dressing if you’re avoiding dairy.
Conclusion
Between the pre-built options and a build-your-own menu, Ike’s Love & Sandwiches gives vegetarians more to work with than most sandwich chains. It covers vegan proteins, vegan cheese, and a vegan version of its signature Dirty Sauce. Just remember to say “vegan” for the whole order if that’s what you want. The default is dairy cheese and egg-based sauce, even on a vegan-protein sandwich.
For more on eating out without meat, see our guide to eating vegetarian and vegan at restaurants, browse the full restaurant guide list, or check what’s vegetarian at Jersey Mike’s, Jimmy John’s, and Firehouse Subs.
