10 Discontinued Fast Food Sandwiches We Wish We Could Have Back

Whether you're on the go or just need a quick bite at home, nothing beats a good old fashioned sandwich. A versatile meal, every state has an iconic sandwich that features a unique combination of breads, meats, salads, and sauces. While fast food restaurants offer plenty of delicious sandwiches on the menus, sadly, some of the customer favorites have disappeared through the years, leaving a bread slice-shaped hole in the hearts of sandwich lovers around the country.

Flocking to social media and forums, connoisseurs of sandwiches continue to beg fast food restaurants to bring back their favorite items, some of which have now been unavailable for decades. Still, the petitions persist and the threads continue. We're taking a look at 10 fast food sandwiches that have been discontinued, much to customers' dismay. Perhaps you're still pining over the loss of one of them too?

In 1989, McDonald's released the Cheddar Melt, one of the chain's best menu items from the '80s that we'd love to see come back. The Cheddar Melt was a simple sandwich, containing a 1/4-pound all-beef patty, cheddar cheese sauce, and caramelized onions on a light rye bun. 

On Reddit, a former McDonald's employee in the late '80s and '90s shared the Cheddar Melt is "My all time favorite McDonald's sandwich." In the same Reddit thread, user trapperjak wrote, "I'd do anything for McDonald's to bring this sandwich back." Reacting to an old advertisement for the Cheddar Melt posted to Instagram, users expressed how  disappointed they were when the sandwich was discontinued.

The Cheddar Melt's simplicity and unique combination of powerful, umami flavors was what made the limited time sandwich such a smash hit with customers. If you're really desperate to try out the Cheddar Melt, keep an eye out for limited-time runs, as it was offered for a short time in 2025 in Brazil as the Cheddar McMelt.

In 2021, amid an increasingly competitive fast food fried chicken sandwich market, Burger King released the Ch'King, Spicy Ch'King, and Ch'King Deluxe. While the chain is responsible for making one of our least favorite fast food burgers, it didn't miss the mark when it came to the Ch'King, which rapidly garnered rave reviews after a very successful marketing campaign.

Redditors lamented the sandwiches' discontinuation, writing, "Not a day goes by that I don't think about it. Honestly it was better than Popeye's chicken sandwich." Others agreed, noting how delicious they were and how they wish they'd return to the menu.

Unfortunately, the Ch'King quickly ran into a major operational barrier behind the scenes, as it was a labor intensive menu item requiring 21 steps to prepare. In fact, one person claiming to be a former Burger King employee took to Reddit, noting, "we were actually really happy about this because it was way too much added work for us..."

Better known for its burritos, tacos, and the legendary Crunchwrap Supreme, it might surprise fast food fans to learn Taco Bell used to feature a sandwich on its menu, the Bell Beefer. The Bell Beefer was a cheap, simple sandwich containing seasoned ground taco beef with shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, tomato salsa, and taco sauce on a bun. Although the Bell Beefer looked like a sloppy joe, it had taco seasoning instead, making it more like a taco on a bun.

The Taco Bell Beefer was available as a menu item for several decades, before being discontinued in the mid '90s. After being rebranded as the Bellburger and briefly making a comeback in the 2010s, it was cancelled again. This time, the fast food company was met with organized sit-ins in San Francisco, where fans protested at restaurant locations demanding for the sandwich to be permanently re-added to the menu, to no avail.

Wendy's continues to draw customers with its signature menu items like the Baconator burger and the Frosty. In 2006, however, the brand took a step in an entirely different direction, introducing a line of premium deli-style Frescata sandwiches to the menu: the Frescata Club, the Roasted Turkey with Basil Pesto, the Black Forest Ham & Swiss, and the Roasted Turkey with Swiss. Focusing on using high-quality meats and artisan ingredients, the Frescata line was Wendy's attempt to branch out and compete in the cold cuts and deli sandwich market.

The downfall of the Wendy's Frescata sandwiches reportedly came from poor sales and operational challenges. Unlike other sub chains, like Subway, Wendy's restaurants were insufficiently equipped to prepare items like the Frescata sandwich while still selling its original menu. Due to challenges behind the scenes with the Frescata sandwiches, Wendy's eventually ended up pulling the item from menus in December of 2007.

Burger King is no stranger to discontinuing menu items, and yet another item people desperately want to see come back is the Yumbo. Disappearing from Burger King's menu in the '70s, the Yumbo was a hot ham and cheese sandwich focused on championing simplicity and freshness amidst a fast food landscape dominated by burgers and fries. 

A hugely popular menu item, the Yumbo would eventually experience declining popularity throughout the late '70s, leading to some Burger King locations removing it from menus as early as 1976. But on several occasions, Burger King has attempted to resurrect the Yumbo, at first doing so in 1988 in a now famous commercial featuring Chris Meloni,known for his lead role as Elliot Stabler in "Law & Order." 

In a more recent effort, Burger King tried to revive the Yumbo again in 2014, but this time it added lettuce and mayonnaise and used a hoagie bun. This limited-time release of the sandwich was met with backlash from customers who were seeking the nostalgic tastes of the original sandwich from the '70s. That being said, the Yumbo's return in the 2010s gave younger people a chance to try it, with one Redditor saying, "They need to bring back the Yumbo... i haven't had a yumbo since it left us in 2016 and i have always wanted it back."

McDonald's introduced its first grilled chicken sandwich, the Grilled Chicken Deluxe, in the '90's and subsequently released other iterations as it expanded the menu to include healthier options. However, by 2020, the fast food chain decided to discontinue many of its healthier menu items. When asked why it no longer sells grilled chicken options on the menu, Mike Haracz, a former McDonald's corporate chef, confirmed on TikTok that it's due to its lack of popularity with customers. 

@chefmikeharacz

Replying to @Chazman Former #McDonalds corporate chef talks about their grilled chicken sandwich. #mcdonaldshacks #mcdonaldssecrets #mcdonaldsccsing #fastfoodstories #fastfoodlife #fastfood #foodtiktok #foodtok #McDonaldsTikTok #mcdonaldschallenge #fyp #chicken #chickens #chickensandwich #chickentok

♬ original sound – Chef Mike Haracz

According to Haracz, "There are menu items that need to meet a certain threshold to be profitable for McDonald's to keep them on the menu," and the healthier options, such as the grilled chicken sandwich, produced far less sales compared to other burgers sold at the chain. Comments on his TikTok expressed deep disappointment with McDonald's decision to remove grilled chicken items from the menu. 

Over the years, Wendy's has experimented with releasing some of the wildest burgers and sandwiches ever sold by a fast food chain. In an effort to differentiate itself from major competitors, the chain introduced the Ciabatta Bacon Cheeseburger to its menu in 2014. The special burger was available for a limited time, and featured a 1/4-pound beef patty,oven-roasted chopped tomatoes, spring mix,  rosemary-garlic aioli, Asiago cheese, and applewood-smoked bacon on a Ciabatta bun.

According to reviews, Wendy's succeeded in elevating its typical burger offerings by utilizing premium ingredients. As one reviewer wrote on Snippets, Wendy's, "didn't do anything too far outside the box, but by focusing on quality they were able to freshen up the traditional bacon cheeseburger." Another reviewer praised the sandwich on Fast Food Connoisseur, writing, "This was a fantastic burger [...] I was enjoying it so much that several times I had to stop myself to make sure I was writing notes and taking photos."

As a limited time menu item which hasn't made a reappearance since 2014, it's rather unlikely you will see this delicious sandwich make a comeback to Wendy's anytime soon. In the meantime, you will have to look back to old reviews and forums to understand exactly what made this sandwich so special.

When a fast food restaurant like Subway decides to remove one of its options, you'd think there would be enough alternatives to adequately satisfy customers. However, for Subway fans, that was not the case when the Seafood Sensation was discontinued.

Created in the 1990s (and at the time called the Seafood and Crab Sub), it was eventually renamed to the Seafood Sensation. While it was removed from menus completely in 2018, the reason for the its departure was never officially revealed. But, in 2020, Australian Subway customers did successfully push for the Seafood Sensation to be added back to the menu, and today the flavor is still available Down Under.

Posting to the Facebook group "Bring back the Subway Seafood Sensation!," a user shared that after moving to Australia they discovered the sandwich was available. "OMG it has been 10 years or more since this sandwich left North America and I just found it in Port Macquarie NSW Australia I am in heaven." Lovers of the Seafood Sensation outside of Australia continue to express how much they miss the sandwich, and who knows, maybe it'll return Stateside again one day.

Sandwiches as a method of food delivery can really work any time of the day. Some of the best fast food breakfast sandwiches, like Sonic's short-lived French Toaster Breakfast Sandwich, have left a strong impression on eaters and continue to divide people on what combinations are the best.Even though there are plenty of items on Sonic's menu that you're better off avoiding, the French Toaster Breakfast sandwich with eggs, American cheese, and  ham, sausage or bacon is not one of them, as it's an item people wish they could still order today.

One of Sonic Drive-In's best-kept restaurant secrets is the way it uses Limited Time Offers (LTO) to strategically generate interest in menu items and encourage urgency. The French Toaster Breakfast Sandwich is a perfect example this LTO strategy, with customers bragging about grabbing the items before they were gone.

Even though it was only available in 2015 for a few weeks, creators on TikTok loved the French Toaster Breakfast Sandwich so much that they have shared numerous recipes recreating it. Unfortunately, Sonic fans hoping to try the original sandwich will just have to settle for either the regular breakfast toasters or french toast sticks instead.

The McD.L.T. was McDonald's attempt to cash in on the popularity of the bacon, lettuce, and tomato (BLT) sandwich. In 1985, the McD.L.T. was advertised in an iconic television commercial starring Seinfeld actor Jason Alexander.Looking online, you can clearly see how much people loved the McD.L.T. back in the day, with one Redditor writing, "I LOVED that burger so damn much!!!!"

The reason the McD.L.T. Burger was eventually discontinued comes down to the Styrofoam packaging McDonald's used for the sandwich. This Styrofoam packaging had two compartments,one for the bottom burger bun and patty, and the other for the salad, cheese, sauce, and top bun. When you were ready to enjoy the McD.L.T., you opened the lid, folded together the two halves of the packaging, and enjoyed your burger with fresh, unwilted salad ingredients, as if your sandwich was made to order.

Unfortunately, the Styrofoam packaging and the McD.L.T. was discontinued in 1990 due to pressure from consumers, environmental protection groups, and government agencies.This lobbying was because polystyrene contains chemicals that are potentially carcinogenic, harm the ozone layer, and cause air pollution. Even worse, the polystyrene does not break down efficiently after being discarded, which could lead to landfills becoming overrun with fast food packaging.