My Ratings: 4.5/5

I remember visiting Subway 3-4 times without ordering anything as I always got confused and didn’t understand what to order and how to order. I don’t know the concept of ‘sub’ and didn’t understand what Subway really offers. Subway is not like McDonald or any other fast food stores where in you just say the number you want and that’s it.   So here I am sharing my views and advices related to Subway.

History

The restaurant is owned and operated by Doctor’s Associates, Inc. It is founded by Fred DeLuca in 1965 after borrowing$1000 from his family friend Dr. Peter Buck. The aim of Fred was to earn enough money to fulfill his ambition to be a Medical Doctor.  The holding company “Doctor’s Associates” derives its name from Fred DeLuca’s goal to be a doctor, as well as Peter Buck’s having a doctorate in physics.


As of November-13, Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world and the largest single-brand restaurant chain and the largest restaurant operator globally. Interestingly, it is far ahead of McDonald’s in terms of number of restaurants .  

Subway started operations in India in 2001 by opening a restaurant in New Delhi. Subway restaurants in India do not serve beef and pork products to respect religious sentiments of Indian but in place offers an extended vegetarian range due to the large number of vegetarians in the country.

Geography

There are total 402 Subway restaurants in India on date. These are conveniently located in all metros and many A&B-class cities. You can search their website to get the exact location nearby.

What it offers

Subway majorly offers ‘Submarine Sandwich’ which is also known by ‘sub’ is a sandwich made of a long roll of Italian or French bread, split widthwise either into two pieces or opened in V-shape on one side, and filled with a variety of meats, cheeses, vegetables, seasonings, and sauces. Subway got its name from these ‘SUB’.

It also offers ‘Salads’ which is similar to ‘Subs’ minus bread. It is like whether you want your ice-cream scoop in cone or cup.

Menu

Subway offers mainly four varieties in their menu.

1. Subs : Submarine sandwiches are their specialties and they offer wide variety of it. Few of their subs are their forte like Italian BMT, Chicken Teriyaki, and Tuna etc. In India they offer Chicken Tikka, Chicken Seekh, Chicken Tandoori, Chicken Achari etc. as non-vegetarian option.

Subway offers majorly six types of traditional veg sandwiches in India as per Indian taste buds- Veggie Delite(fresh vegetables), Veggie Patty, Paneer Tikka(bar-be-cue paneer tikka), Veg Shammi(Soya and Lentils nuggets), Corn and Peas(sweet corn mixed with green peas and mayonnaise) and Aloo Patty. Do note that vegetables and sauces are an integral part of all type of sandwiches except few breakfast sandwiches(egg-based).

2. Salads: You can convert any type of sub into a salad by adding few extra bucks . It will not have any bread and the quantity of veggies will be more.

3. Toasties: Toasties are a piece of toasted bread dressed by limited veggies or meat pieces. There are two options in toasties- Veggie Toastie & Pepperoni Toastie(non-veg).

4. Cookies: There are three types of cookies- Oatmeal, Single Chocolate and Double Chocolate. Personally I prefer single chocolate and it taste really good with soft drinks.

How to order

Ordering a sub as per your taste and choice is a big task if you are first timer to Subway. First time when I tried it, I didn’t mention my choice as I was not aware how a particular bread, vegetable or sauce tastes. Anyway now when I am through that phase, I would let first timers to get a feel of ordering at subway. I will explain 8-step process for ordering a sandwich:

1. Type of sandwich: Go through their menu or displays(as mentioned in above section) and decide about the type you want.

2. Type of bread: First you have to choose type of bread. There are majorly four types of breads available in Subway India- Italian, Wheat, Honey Oats and Parmesan Oregano.  The price of sandwich doesn’t vary with the bread (I thought otherwise initially hence hesitated to try rich looking bread).  

Italian bread has a soft texture with a slightly flaky outside and has neutral flavor without any sweetness.

Wheat bread has soft texture with little flakiness and tastes like Italian bread with slight sweetness.

Honey Oat bread is soft bread with flakes of oats on the outside and sweetest of all the breads.

Parmesan Oregano has a flavor of cheese and Oregano(ajwain).

3. Size of bread: There are two sizes available- 6inches and foot long. If you are alone, 6 inches is sufficient enough for you as snacks, go for foot long only if you are very hungry.   If you have a friend, a foot-long can easily be split in two to save money.

4. Extras: You may ask for extra cheese, double meat, premium veggie, and egg etc. Extras may vary depending on the restaurant.

5. Toast: Normally they will microwave the bread after putting the main filling and cheese(minus veggies) for few seconds or else you may ask them to toast or heat your sandwich. There is no extra charge for it.

6. Vegetables: You can choose all the vegetables or just the ones that you like. If you want a particular veggie in extra quantity you may ask so(no extra charge for that) but better be specific. There are 8 vegetables available as fillings in a sub- Lettuce, Tomato, Cucumber, Pickle, Peppers, Olive, Red onion and Jalapenos. If you don’t like sour taste, it is advisable to avoid pickle. Do notice that pickle is not of typical type you use at home; it looks like a dark green cucumber. Pepper may vary depending on the store.

7. Sauces: In this area they use salt, black ground pepper and sauces. It gives the final taste to the sandwiches. If you don’t want anything you may say so. There are varieties of sauces available- Mustard, Mayonnaise, Sweet Onion, Honey Mustard, Teriyaki, Vinaigrette, Tomato, Hot Chili etc. Normally they will ask you that you want your sandwich spicy and they will decide the sauces accordingly. If you have sweet tooth ask them to pour additional ‘sweet onion’ as it tastes really great. Mustard is obviously very tangy in taste similar to hot chili. Sauces may sometimes vary depending on the restaurant. It is better to ask them to choose the sauces if you don’t have any special preference.

8. Make it a meal: You may finish off the order by making it a meal by ordering soft drink with chips or any one of the cookies by adding few bucks.  

Pricing

I couldn’t be very specific about the pricing as they may vary depending on the locations. I am just mentioning the approximate prices of 6-inch subs and other items.

Veggie Delite Sub(only veggies) is available at Rs.80.

Veg Subs are available in a range of Rs.100-Rs.150.

Non-Veg Subs are available in a range of Rs.130-Rs.180.

Any type of Sub can be converted to Salad by adding Rs.50.

All type of cookies is available for Rs.25 each.

Toasties are available for Rs.30 & Rs.40.

The good thing about their pricing is that VAT is inclusive in their mentioned prices unlike other fast food chains.

Try it Once

If you are bored of pizzas, burgers, roasted chicken then it is time to try something new and healthy. The Submarine Sandwiches are really great in taste and very different from the sandwiches we have at home or corner stores. You will definitely feel the freshness and uniqueness of the taste.

In case of doubt you can always order Veggie Delite. It is simplest and cheapest of all sandwiches available at Subway.

If you have never been to Subway, I suggest you to try it once. I assure that you will not regret.