8 Subway Ordering Tricks Regulars Swear By

Subway is, without a doubt, one of the most popular fast food chains in the U.S. In fact, there are more than 20,000 Subway restaurants in the entire country. For context, McDonald's has fewer than 14,000. So yeah, Subway, which has been around since the 1960s, is still a big deal for sandwich-loving Americans everywhere.

There are many, many ways to order a Subway sandwich. In fact, technically, there are nearly five billion ways to make one, which is a mind-blowing amount. But if you want to get the best out of your order, the best people to ask are the Subway regulars — the customers who live and breathe Subway and have worked out all of the ways to get the best out of their sandwich every time. Fortunately for you, we scanned the depths of the internet (TikTok and Reddit, mainly) to find out the ordering tricks that regulars swear by. You're welcome.

When you step up to the Subway counter, you do so with great responsibility. Get it wrong, and you'll be faced with a subpar lunch that's uneven in flavor and dry in places. Get it right, and you'll be skipping all the way back to your desk. To give you the very best chance of success, many regulars and even Subway's own workers say to always ask for the sauce to be added before the vegetables.

In theory, it's a simple request, but it does involve changing up the usual order of things. Most Subway workers start with the bread before moving on to the main event (the meat, cheese, or vegetables), toppings, then drizzling the sauce before wrapping everything up. Swapping the last two steps, however, often results in a neater, more flavorful sandwich.

Many workers won't mind if you ask them to do this. In fact, as we mentioned earlier, some even prefer it because it reduces mess, but others might be irritated with having to make the sandwich out of order — especially when it's busy. So if you don't want a disgruntled server, maybe this is a hack to save for days when the line isn't already out the door.

If you like to pop to Subway for breakfast, you're probably familiar with its many egg-laden breakfast menu options. But some find that while the rest of their breakfast sandwich is nice and warm, the egg is often cold. In fact, in some cases, people say it's actually frozen through. This is because the eggs aren't usually prepared fresh but are instead sent to each restaurant frozen and already in patty form. To avoid a cold egg, regulars say you can specifically ask for the eggs to be warmed thoroughly first before they go through the toaster again with the rest of the sandwich.

"If the eggs not coming out right tell them to warm them alone then toast them again on sandwich, and maybe let the manager know their toaster isn't warming their eggs thoroughly," advised one Redditor in the r/subway thread. Subway workers agreed that this is the best course of action to ensure that you get a warm egg with your breakfast.

For many regulars, one of the best parts about getting a Subway sandwich is the vegetables. They help take the taste and texture to the next level, plus they add some extra nutritional value, and for the most part, they're free. Well, kind of. They're included with the price of the sandwich, so it counts.

If you're a vegetable fiend, many customers also say you can usually ask for a few extra without an additional charge. "My son likes to ask for 'the most amount of olives you can give me and then some more please,'" said one Redditor in the r/subway thread. A Subway worker confirmed that as long as you're polite and clear about what you want, most servers won't mind being generous with the salad. They explained in the same thread: "Veggies are free, including extra amounts (obviously within reason lol), so it's not a matter of 'entitlement' it's a matter of being as specific as you can."

Nowadays, when you get a Subway sandwich, it's cut like a hinge. The bread isn't sliced in half, but at a 45-degree angle, so it opens, well, just like a door hinge. The idea is that this angle will help all of the filling stay inside the sandwich when you bite into it. But some regulars say this cut, ahem, just doesn't cut it.

When some regulars place their Subway order, they ask for the V-cut or, as some call it, the U-gouge. This slicing method isn't anything new, though. In fact, it's actually the original Subway cut, introduced back in the 1960s. It involves literally cutting a V-shape out of the top of the bread, and removing the top. The ingredients are then stuffed into the center of the bread before the top is placed back on and everything is toasted.

Not everyone is a fan of the V-cut and some think it's actually a pretty messy way to eat a sandwich, but plenty love it. In fact, there's even an online petition asking for Subway to bring it back as the go-to cut. "Bring back the clearly superior way of making a sandwich burrito, where every bite is consistent and the wet ingredients make the rest of the sandwich more delicious," reads one comment on ipetitions.

Some people love Subway's food, but they don't love the way the sandwiches are put together. While the solution for some regulars is to ask for a different bread cut, others want full control over the way the ingredients are chopped by doing it all themselves.

For example, one TikToker asks for all of the toppings on the side and then takes them home, mixes them with mayonnaise and salt, and then chops everything to their liking before adding it back into the bread. Sure, it's more effort, but they maintain this is the best way to get the right texture and flavor for you. "No better way to order [Subway]," they said. And they're not alone. The video has more than 800 likes, and some commenters say they are either going to try it themselves or they already order their Subway this way too. "That's genius, I'm going to have to try that," said one commenter. Other regulars on Reddit say this is a great way of stretching an order further so it feeds more people, while some say it's a good way to avoid wet bread if you're planning to save your Subway for later.

Another way to take your Subway to the next level? Some regulars say it's as easy as flipping the bread inside-out. Yes, really — it's a thing. TikToker 3xkinga is a fan of this method and said in a reply to one commenter that while they can't explain exactly why it tastes better, it "just [hits] different" this way. The video of the "reverse" Subway sandwich racked up more than 600 likes and hundreds of comments. While many were a little baffled by the method, others felt inspired to try it for themselves.

In fact, the TikTok video actually kickstarted a microtrend of people trying it, and some even declared it a "game-changer." One TikToker commented on one of 3xkinga's reverse Subway videos, "Y'all gotta try this it was amazing." Another added, "[You] started a whole new thing here man. I'm doing a reverse one tomorrow."

For some people, Subway is just too expensive these days. It's hard to believe that once upon a time, not too long ago, you could actually get a footlong for $5. Nowadays, some people say that a simple veggie footlong meal is costing them nearly $17. Yes, the better part of $20, for bread and vegetables.

Still, if you love Subway but aren't prepared to pay the high prices, some fans say they have a genius hack: Order from the kid's menu. You'll still get a decent amount of food, as the kids menu mini subs still come with all of those free vegetable toppings, plus a drink and some applesauce, but you'll only have to pay around $9. That said, prices do vary depending on your location, but the kids meals are still usually some of the cheapest items on the menu.

If you like super crunchy, crispy bread, and you haven't yet asked for your Subway server to double-toast your sandwich, let this be your sign to change your ways. Many regulars swear by this ordering trick, noting that it gives the bread a nice extra crunch when they bite down into it. That said, if you just want your sandwich really hot, but you don't want added crunch, many say you can ask for it to be microwaved first before it's toasted.

There is a limit to how much you can toast your bread before it starts to burn, so don't be tempted to go for a third time, unless you like a charred sandwich. "I had a dude who would take it as a lump of charcoal with smoke coming out of it, he was a nice dude," said one Redditor in the r/subway thread. That said, others say it depends on what kind of sandwich you're ordering."[If] it's regular steak, chicken, or even ham then honestly as much as you'd like. [I'd] say for those it'd max out around [six to eight]?" noted another Redditor.