Food & Drink Massachusetts North Shore Guides

The 7 Best North Shore Roast Beef Spots

Rare beef, an onion roll, and the famous three-way. Here is where to find the North Shore's most iconic sandwich, from Revere Beach to North Andover.

By NEP Staff · Oct 10, 2026

The North Shore roast beef sandwich is one of Massachusetts' most specific regional foods: rosy-pink beef shaved impossibly thin, piled on a toasted onion roll, and finished "three-way" with mayonnaise, white American cheese, and sweet-tangy James River BBQ sauce. It barely exists anywhere else, and locals will tell you your first beef is always your favorite.

The story starts in 1951 at Kelly's Roast Beef on Revere Beach, where founders Frank McCarthy and Ray Carey sliced up roast beef left over from a canceled wedding reception and sold it from their hot dog stand's takeout window. It sold out within an hour, and a regional obsession was born. Beef houses spread through Peabody, Salem, Beverly, Lynn, and North Andover in the decades that followed, and Bill & Bob's in Salem is widely credited with adding the James River BBQ sauce that made the three-way the standard order.

Here are seven spots worth the drive, ordered roughly by their place in the story.

1. Kelly's Roast Beef, Revere

The original. Kelly's opened on Revere Beach Boulevard in 1951 and claims to have invented the hot roast beef sandwich, a point some have debated, but there is no arguing with the lines. Order the three-way at the walk-up window, grab a side of onion rings, and eat it across the street on the beach. The chain has since expanded and been featured on PBS and the Food Network, but the Revere original is the pilgrimage.

410 Revere Beach Blvd, Revere

2. Bill & Bob's Roast Beef, Salem

Bill & Bob's calls itself the "Home of the Original Roast Beef Sandwich" and has been at it for more than 55 years. Its real claim to fame is the sauce: it is widely credited as the first shop to slather sandwiches with James River BBQ sauce, the move that completed the three-way. The Salem location keeps late hours, open until 2 a.m. most nights, which has made it a post-last-call institution.

9 Bridge St, Salem (also Peabody and Woburn)

3. Nick's Famous Roast Beef, Beverly

Founded in 1975 by two brothers-in-law both named Nick, this North Beverly spot is famous for consistency. Northshore Magazine named it both Editors' Choice and Readers' Choice for Best Roast Beef in its 2018 Best of the North Shore issue. The move is the Super Beef three-way on an onion roll. Insider tip from the shop itself: bring in a vacation photo from somewhere far-flung and you may join the hundreds on their wall.

139 Dodge St, Beverly · Open daily 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

4. Londi's Famous Roast Beef, Peabody and Salem

One of the early shops that followed Kelly's in popularizing the sandwich, Londi's has been a North Shore staple for decades. Beyond the classic three-way, it is known for a Greek-style roast beef sub with feta and Greek dressing, a nod to the Greek families who run many of the region's beef houses. Worth knowing: the Peabody and Salem locations are now separately owned, and regulars say the two are not quite the same. Peabody is the original.

515 Lowell St, Peabody · 7 Traders Way, Salem

5. King's Famous Roast Beef & Seafood, Salem

A tiny spot with only a few tables, King's has been dishing up beef for more than 25 years and was a Northshore Magazine favorite. The meat is cut slightly thicker than at other shops, which gives it a satisfying bite, and regulars demand the three-way with a generous portion of tender, rare beef.

145 North St, Salem

6. Harrison's Roast Beef, North Andover

Harrison's opened in 1984 and spent decades as a North Andover landmark known for thin-sliced, high-quality top round and a retro dining room. Its recent history has been bumpy: it closed in 2023, briefly operated under another name, and reopened under the Harrison's name and menu in early 2025. Its current status has been in flux, so call ahead before making the trip, but when it is open, it is one of the most name-checked shops in reader polls.

80 Chickering Rd, North Andover

7. Billy's Famous Roast Beef & Seafood

A Boston Magazine pick in its guide to the best roast beef sandwiches near Boston and the North Shore, Billy's has been in business for nearly 35 years. The beef comes BBQ-sauced on your choice of plain, sesame, or onion roll, with cheese on the bottom and mayo on top. The Super Beef adds lettuce, tomato, pickle, and horseradish for anyone who wants to go beyond the three-way.

How to order like a local

Sizes run junior, large, and super. Juniors come on hamburger buns, larges often on sesame rolls, and the super beef, the definitive order, comes on an onion Kaiser roll. Say "three-way" and you get mayo, cheese, and BBQ sauce. Add shredded lettuce and you have what some call a four-way, untraditional but beloved. And if a shop asks how you want it, the answer is rare.

Sources

Hours and prices change, so check with each shop before you go. Cover image is an AI-generated illustration, not a photo of any specific shop.