Something About Her: My Visit to Maloney and Madix’s LA Sandwich Shop

By Amanda Kang

If you are a reality TV fan, food enthusiast, or LA local, you may have heard about West Hollywood’s latest sandwich shop, opened by none other than Katie Maloney and Ariana Madix from the iconic reality TV series Vanderpump Rules. The duo first announced plans to open up a sandwich shop on Season 10 of the series, and fans have been waiting for over a year to see them make it happen. The result is Something About Her, a charmingly cozy spot where you can live out all of your main character dreams. 

Maloney and Madix had a vision for every aspect, from music to decor to, of course, the sandwiches. Inspired by Nancy Meyers’s films, such as It’s Complicated and What Women Want, the duo collaborated with Meyers’s production designer, Jon Hutman. “We wanted to create the ‘cute little place that your main character is going every day,’” quipped Madix in an Entertainment Tonight interview. “Main character, delusional energy every day,” added Maloney. However, the duo wanted Something About Her to be more than a trendy cafe. They collaborated with Hutman to find a timeless look, using vintage-looking chandeliers to trellises inspired by Italian garden structures. After so many years of working together on and off camera, it is great to see Maloney and Madix strike out on their own venture.

Let’s get down to the menu. Something About Her offers nine different sandwiches, each named after an iconic actress. For example, there is The Key, The Reese, The Viola, and many more. Going back to ‘main character energy,’ these sandwich names definitely make you feel close to the stars. Prices range from $14 to $18, which is pretty steep, but we are in LA! There are vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free options. However, with such a small menu, your choices are somewhat limited. Something About Her’s menu also offers various sweet treats, chips, and drinks. Most notably, the drink menu features spritzes and teas from the company Loverboy, founded by fellow reality TV stars Kyle Cooke and Amanda Batula. 

I visited Something About Her on a Wednesday afternoon. Be prepared for street parking, which can be hit or miss in West Hollywood. Luckily, I had good timing and found a metered spot a block down. There was a combined line for both takeout and dine-in, which I should have expected given the restaurant’s limited operating hours and seating. Something About Her is only open Wednesday to Sunday from 10 AM to 4 PM and seats about 10 parties at a time. Yet I was still a bit surprised to see a longer line during the middle of the weekday. The staff was very friendly and proactive in moving the line along. I ended up waiting about 15 minutes to order and another for my takeout sandwich. However, most parties waiting to dine in were still in line by the time I left the shop.

The shop in person was very charming, though smaller than I expected. My favorite design aspect of the interior was all of the paintings and photographs hung on the wall, giving the shop a more romantic and artistic feeling. I also especially enjoyed the exterior decorating. There was a swinging bench, yellow parasols for photo ops or keeping out of the sun, and a blackboard that read, “You are a woman to love” - Something’s Gotta Give.

For my order, I got “The Drew: an artisan baguette with goat cheese, mango-jalapeño jam, apple, cucumber, balsamic, olive oil, arugula, and fresh mint.” The packaging was very cute and the sandwich itself was a good size. Flavorwise, I am happy to report this was a solid sandwich! There were many contrasting elements: sweet and spicy, creamy and crunchy, savory and bitter. However, they all worked together to create what my non-chef palette would call a pretty complex flavor profile. A highlight for me was the crunch of the apple paired with the flavor of an almost peppery balsamic vinegar. If you are open to a sweeter sandwich, I definitely recommend this one. My only negative eating experience was that the sandwich was a bit messy. Most of the sauces and cheeses tended to drip out the back end. Unfortunately, the shop did not give me any napkins. I wish it had been wrapped in a way that was slightly easier to eat. 

So, in the end, is the Something About Her experience worth it? If you are a Vanderpump Rules or a sandwich fan, I would definitely say it is worth trying out at least once. At this point, while the food is very good, the shop does still feel like it is more of a space for fans of Maloney and Madix to check out. For the everyday sandwich enthusiast, a takeout experience might be more appealing. Even ordering to go, I felt a bit rushed given how crowded the space was. That being said, I can imagine this evolving as Something About Her is open for longer and business inevitably stabilizes. However, if reality TV is not for you, there are a lot of great sandwiches worth trying in LA. Something About Her might not be at the top of my list, but it’s still worth a visit.