Subway's New Sandwiches Were A Letdown: Our Review

Subway is at it again with three new subs to spruce up your summer. These creative options include Honey Mustard BBQ Chicken, Spicy Nacho Chicken, and Cheesy Garlic Steak, all of which feature the newest sauces and toppings from the brand's innovative team. 

Subway fans are getting a fun new topping called the SubKrunch, which is a fried and crispy textural addition. Additionally, the chain launched a new cheddar cheese sauce that blends sharp cheddar, American, and Parmesan, and it is also bringing back its sweet and tangy BBQ sauce. The fans asked, and after three years, they received!

I had the chance to try all of these new menu options too see what they are all about. So, should you grab one before heading to the beach or your next concert tailgating event? Let's see if these new subs are up to the Subway standard — dig in with me!

The first sub I tried was the Spicy Nacho Chicken, and I have to say, it was pretty tasty. This one featured rotisserie-style chicken, green peppers, red onions, jalapeños, the brands SubKrunch addition, the new cheddar cheese sauce, and a small helping of creamy Sriracha sauce to seal the spicy deal. At under $8 for a 6-inch sub, I knew this one might be a winner.

What really stood out with the Spicy Nacho Chicken sub was the cheese sauce. I love a good old-school nacho cheese, and that's exactly the nostalgia you'll get with this sauce and sandwich. Overall, there was a great balance of spice with the cheese/jalapeño combo without going overboard on the heat. There was also flavor complexity here with the spicy additions mixed with the neutral flavors. While my mouth did start burning after a few bites from the sriracha addition, I welcomed the heat.

My only real complaint with this sub option is the chicken. The breaded pieces were delicious, but they were few and far between and were pretty small. There wasn't enough chicken for me in each bite. Other than that, this one offered bold flavors and a heated kick you have to try!

Up next, I tried the Honey Mustard BBQ Chicken sub, ringing in at under $8 for a 6-inch. This new addition also featured Subway's rotisserie-style chicken, along with Monterey cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, pickles, honey mustard, and Subway's resurrected BBQ sauce.

Overall, I'm going to say this was a decent sub option, but not in the ways you'd think. Looking at the ingredients, I felt like certain aspects from the list didn't translate as expected. For example, the honey mustard sauce tasted more like cheese, but that traditional sweet flavor was in there at the end of the bite. However, just like the Spicy Nacho Chicken option, there were limited pieces of chicken (fewer comparatively), which meant limited BBQ flavor. For some reason, this chicken option had a processed texture compared to the other one, too. Something was just off about this one in relation to it's label.

At the end of the day, the flavors did work together, but I think Subway has way better chicken options on its menu. This option wasn't bad by any means, but if you're looking for honey mustard or BBQ flavors in a sub, don't order this one.

Right off the bat, I was deeply unimpressed with Subway's Cheesy Garlic Steak sub. This one was supposed to feature sliced steak, green peppers, red onions, the new SubKrunch addition, roasted garlic aioli, and the new cheddar cheese sauce. However, my sub was sans cheese — what a bummer.

The steak itself was fine. It was kind of chewy with a lackluster flavor, and I think that's where the cheese sauce could have shined. However, if that cheese sauce was present, I'd miss the delicious roasted garlic aioli that was drizzled on a small portion of the sub. To me, this was the best part, but it was hardly present within the plethora of ingredients. What's happening here, Subway? Maybe I should have bought this sauce at the store and added more myself?

For $7.89, this sub was fine, I guess, but considering I've had a real Philly cheesesteak, I can't see myself liking this one with the cheese either. Without it, this sub still needs a lot of work. I'm going to pass on this option in the future, for sure.

Overall, Subway's new sub selection was okay, but I don't think they were home runs by any means. My favorite was the Spicy Nacho Chicken, as this one had the most flavor complexity and harmonious ingredient mix. If you love spice and heat, this one is for you!

With that said, the other two weren't necessarily bad, but I think Subway has better options on the menu, especially when it comes to chicken subs. Both new chicken options were lacking in the chicken department, and it seems there was some confusion when it came to ingredients in the new steak sub.

My final thoughts: It doesn't hurt to step out of your comfort zone and try something new at Subway, but sometimes, new isn't always better. I'd say give the Spicy Nacho Chicken a try, but other than that, stick to your old reliables.