10 Jersey Mike's Subs, Ranked

Having a local sandwich shop that makes subs worth looking forward to is a luxury. With more than 2,800 locations nationwide, Jersey Mike's is the answer to many people's lunchtime woes, providing a variety of hot and cold subs that are bound to satisfy a variety of palates. Whether you're a vegetarian, a stone-cold carnivore, or somewhere in between, Jersey Mike's has you covered.

To figure out which sub reigns supreme from Jersey Mike's, I tried the 10 most popular ones on the menu and ranked them from worst to best. To be completely candid, none of the subs I tried tasted bad. More often than not, and being fully aware of just how many subs I was trying for this ranking, I found myself going back for multiple bites of several, not wanting to waste a single morsel. However, there were definitely some standouts, including a notable winner at the top. There were also some that I would conveniently forget about during my next lunch break. Read on to find out which Jersey Mike's sub really is the "sub above" the rest, and those you can probably skip over next time the sandwich mood strikes.

Some recommendations are based on first-hand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer/distributor/etc.

In my mind, this is the standard party sub that is ordered for a birthday party, or any sort of sports watching event at someone's house. Made with oven roasted top round, provolone, and a layer of pepperoni, this beefy sandwich is named after the CEO of the Jersey Mike's franchise system, Peter Cancro. 

The top round is good, as it's paper thin and very flavorful, and works nicely with the mild provolone. However, the part of this sub that is supposed to make it a little different from the standard roast beef sandwich, the layer of pepperoni, is completely lost. 

I was also disappointed that it didn't have a more flavorful condiment, like a yellow or spicy mustard, to give it a more exciting flavor overall. In its current state, it ends up being a bit of a bland bite. Considering all the great sandwiches on the Jersey Mike's menu, this one falls the flattest, which is why it earned the lowest spot on the list.

Made with thinly sliced steak, grilled onions, peppers, white American cheese, and chipotle sauce, the Chipotle Cheese Steak is fairly similar to Mike's Famous Philly, except for one noticeable difference — the chipotle sauce. The sauce is good as it offers a little bit of heat and gives an extra creamy component to the hefty sandwich; however, I don't really find it necessary. 

The steak, cheese, onions, and peppers work really beautifully together on their own, but with the addition of the chipotle sauce, each bite just tastes like chipotle mayo and bread, and not a whole lot else. This is a good sandwich with a lot of potential. However, it would work better with a light schmear of the sauce on the sub roll rather than a heavy squeeze. By using less, this flavor-forward condiment could be more of a spicy addition that adds a little kick to the sandwich rather than a featured ingredient.  

As someone who is staunchly pro deli salad, it breaks my sandwich-loving heart that tuna fish subs get overlooked so much. A quality tuna salad deserves more love and acceptance, and I have to give the metaphorical high five to Jersey Mike's for showing so much respect for its tuna fish sub. 

The salad itself is well-seasoned with plenty of black pepper, and it gets a nice kick of acidity from the sliced tomatoes and the necessary crunch from the shredded lettuce. It's creamy without being a mayo salad with only a few flecks of tuna. I want to see actual pieces of tuna in there, and in that respect, Jersey Mike's delivers. That said, I want even more! There's a decent layer of the tuna salad here, but if I'm digging into a sub, I want the star ingredient to be bigger and better. A thicker, more pronounced layer here would make all the difference.

Piled high with provolone, ham, cappacuolo, and the "Mike's Way" fixings, this is a shockingly light bite for a pretty meat-heavy sandwich. I credit this to the thinly-sliced meats and cheese, which is certainly a Jersey Mike's calling card that I hope never goes away. I also very much appreciate the name of the sandwich itself. While I'm not a Jersey Shore native, I do love a good cold cut sandwich on a beach day, and each bite of this one made me think of just that. All that was missing was a cold drink, a bag of potato chips, and that little bit of sand that always manages to get into each bite. 

The ham has a relatively mild flavor, while the cappacuolo has far more prevalent spice and umami. With such a savory, flavor-forward, and meaty bite, it's nice to have that good handful of shredded lettuce for some crispness and a tiny hint of sweetness. Plus, one of the benefits of ordering this Mike's Way means it also has red wine vinegar, olive oil, and oregano, providing plenty of acidity and spice to each rich bite. 

While I'm most definitely a carnivore when it comes to the kinds of sandwiches I tend to eat, I'm also a firm believer that vegetarians deserve just as many delicious options on the sandwich menu. After getting the chance to try the Grilled Portabella Mushroom and Swiss sub myself, I firmly believe vegetarians are very much getting the royal treatment at Jersey Mike's. This hot sub features a hefty portion of grilled portabella mushrooms, green peppers, and a thick layer of melted Swiss cheese, almost guaranteeing a successful cheese pull on that first bite. 

The mushrooms are meaty and well-seasoned, and the Swiss cheese provides a sharp, nutty flavor and an extra creamy element for a little bit of luxury. The green peppers and onions are a necessary addition here, providing a sweet and slightly acidic note to cut through what is otherwise a very savory sandwich. Even if you're a meat eater like me, this is certainly a sandwich that can and will satisfy the need for something hearty and filling on a sub roll. For a vegetarian sandwich, this is truly a triumph.

Chicken cheesesteaks tend to get lost in the hot sandwich world. After all, why opt for chicken when you can have one with beef? That said, the Big Kahuna Chicken Cheese Steak is a bit of a revelation. This sub features chicken, grilled onions, peppers, mushrooms, pickled jalapenos, and plenty of white American cheese, giving real credit to the name itself. 

The chicken is certainly in big kahuna supply, as there's a large portion on the sub. The meat is thinly sliced, and each bite is tender and rich in flavorful spices. My biggest worry with any kind of chicken sandwich is biting into a dry piece of chicken, but I never had to endure that unsatisfying bite with this sub. The pickled jalapenos are really the star here, providing a nice kick of heat to cut through all the richness. After this sandwich, I'm officially a chicken cheese steak believer.

A traditional Italian sub has a lot going on between the bread. While it's one thing to find slight variations on the classic, it's entirely another for a sandwich shop to add in condiments that don't belong anywhere near it (Mayonnaise on an Italian sub? Are you kidding?) or omitting ingredients that make it iconic. However, Jersey Mike's isn't cutting any corners or breaking any rules with its Italian sub. It's the real deal in the best possible way, with no muss or fuss in sight. 

The Original Italian has five different types of meat — ham, prosciuttini, cappacuolo, salami, and pepperoni — plus provolone cheese and the Mike's Way fixings, making this a hefty, but enjoyable, sandwich. The red wine vinegar is the perfect acidic condiment to cut through the richness of all that meat and cheese. Despite the weight of this sub, it offers a wonderfully balanced bite.

This sandwich, piled high with turkey and provolone cheese, is pure nostalgia. Every bite reminds me of the turkey sandwiches I grew up eating as a kid — simple and classic. It's a nice respite from the rest of Jersey Mike's menu that, while certainly delightful, tends to have a lot more bells and whistles between the bread. If you're one to keep your sandwiches relatively tame at lunch time, this is the one to go for.  

The turkey is sliced paper thin, making it easy to taste all the wonderful spices used to flavor it. It's peppery and herbaceous, and the provolone is a nice, sharp contrast. While the sandwiches of my youth never had any of the Mike's Way additions, after taking a few bites, I now realize I was sorely missing out. The tomato gives some sweetness and acidity, and the shredded lettuce adds a fresh, crisp element to each bite. While a sandwich with only one type of meat and one type of cheese may seem almost too lame to be considered all that good, I think it's the simplicity that makes it so darn good.

It seems almost criminal to eat a Philly cheesesteak outside of Philadelphia, but I have to give a very serious tip of the cap to Mike and his Jersey-made cheesesteak. Mike's Famous Philly features thinly-sliced steak that is tender and flavorful. The peppers and onions are cooked most of the way through, leaving just a little bit of bite for a delightful textural contrast to the meat. And above all else, the use of white American cheese instead of a whiz sauce is inspired. It's creamy and salty without being a gloopy, cheesy mess. 

There's also a solid amount of meat in this sub. I'm always concerned that a cheesesteak will feature more cheese than meat, but there's quite a substantial portion on Jersey Mike's version. When the craving strikes (and I'm not within close range of Philadelphia), this is a cheesesteak I'll go back to time and again.

A club sandwich is one of my favorite things to order at a diner. It has everything you want in a sandwich bite— the cold meat complimented by the hot, crispy bacon is palate perfection. The little schmear of mayo is also crucial to the recipe for a little salty, creamy richness. Jersey Mike's Club Sub is that diner club sandwich perfection, but enhanced with the addition of ham and provolone. 

This is a hefty bite to be sure, but each one is exciting and packed with flavor. Plus, in a true club sandwich triumph, the bacon is rich and salty, and rather than being a wilted, sad afterthought, the slices are actually crispy. For the mayonnaise haters, cover your ears: The mayo is crucial to the success of this sub. It's not gloopy or heavy. Instead, it's what ties everything together, adding some extra salty, creamy richness to each bite. Prepared Mike's Way, the Club Sub is a masterclass in sandwich balance. This is a truly outstanding sub.

In order to evaluate and rank each Jersey Mike's sub on this list, I tried each one fresh from a local Jersey Mike's in Brooklyn. I also wanted to recreate that rather rushed lunch break experience, so I made sure to get each one to go rather than eating at the actual sub shop. That 20-ish minute-or-so commute allowed them to sit for a bit wrapped in that branded Jersey Mike's paper. It may not seem like much, but I wanted to try each one the way that the average person would be trying it, which would most likely include some travel time back to a desk or table at home or in an office. 

Each sandwich was ordered on a white sub roll and prepared as described on the menu with no customizations. Every cold sub was prepared "Mike's Way" with red wine vinegar, oregano, salt, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions added to it as well.