5 Overpriced Firehouse Subs Sandwiches, According To Customers

There's no denying that for a long time, Firehouse Subs has been serving up some seriously top-tier sandwiches. It's not your ordinary sub shop, and with a menu that's heavy on premium meats like steak, brisket, and pastrami, it's the place you go when you want to treat yourself. However, it's no secret this is one pricey sandwich chain, and with some subs, customers say that you might get much less than you expect.

No matter how much you pay for a meal, you want to get something that makes you feel as though you've gotten your money's worth. We wanted to know if there were some Firehouse Subs that were bound to end in disappointment, so we headed to Reddit, Facebook, Google, and other travel review sites to see what people were saying. And yes, some frequently get called out for simply not being worth the price.

Although prices and quality might vary by location and franchisee, we found a plethora of complaints from disappointed people who say some specific orders left them with a bad taste. And that's a shame. There's a lot that goes into making restaurant-quality sandwiches at home, and subs are one of those things the professionals are just better at. Head to Firehouse Subs, though, and you might want to keep in mind that some have been consistently disappointing.

When we here at Tasting Table ranked the most popular sandwiches at Firehouse Subs, the Smokehouse Beef & Cheddar Brisket came in at the bottom. Our reviewer found that while it was definitely tasty, the sad fact was that the sandwich was mostly bread and sauce, with very little meat on it. We're not the only ones who have gotten underwhelming portions of meat on a sub that should, in theory, be overflowing with it.

Unhappy customers have taken to posting their brisket subs on Reddit, and others are quick to chime in to say that these sandwiches are a perfect example of the trend of rising prices coupled with smaller portions. Sandwiches are so empty-looking that some ask if there's any brisket on it at all, and first-time customers have shared photos and asked if that was legitimately what they were supposed to be served. One Reddit user sarcastically volunteered, "It's not skimpy. There is tons of bread there. They were very generous with it." 

The quality of the meat has been called into question as well, and it's been suggested that it has more in common with Steakums than with what you might expect from traditional brisket.  Still others complain about dry meat, a lack of sauce, and subs that have unappetizing cold spots in the middle. The brisket has been raising eyebrows in other sandwiches, too, and that might be food for thought.

At a glance, the New York Steamer seems like it would be a total win. There's almost no way to go wrong with pastrami and corned beef, but some less-than-satisfied customers have taken to Reddit to post photos of equally unhappy-looking subs with only a few slices of meat and not much else. One Reddit user complained, "This is basically a mayonnaise sandwich with like three thin slices of pastrami. Very disappointing and I was still hungry after." They later added another comment, "If you love the taste of wet mayo bread, we have the sandwich for you."

Even customers who say they once counted this one among their go-to sandwiches have had such disappointing experiences that they've stopped going to Firehouse Subs altogether. Even first-time customers are left feeling pretty underwhelmed by this one, so much so that this was the sandwich that made them decide that they weren't going back. 

We also found complaints about meat being so full of fat it was inedible, while others are quick to say that these subs aren't the most visually pleasing. Meanwhile, some YouTube food reviewers have also taken Firehouse Subs to task for sandwiches that come with an amount of meat that just gets overwhelmed by mayo. And when one of the best things you can say about your order is that the napkins are a nice quality, you might start thinking about just making corned beef at home instead.

Firehouse Subs introduced a new Steak & Cheese Melt in 2026, but reviews were mixed. Reddit users were quick to voice their disgust at the new offering, saying that it was pretty terrible, from the cheese and the bread to the flavor of the beef and a from-the-microwave sort of texture. Portion sizes were also called out, with some saying that they walked away from their sandwich with the conclusion that Firehouse Subs was going to be the place they'd go only if there were no other choices.

Some reviewers on TikTok found their subs to be mostly peppers and onions, with stretchy cheese that just served to make it a mess to eat. The meat was so poorly portioned, blandly seasoned, and underwhelming that the sub ended up with a flavor that was exclusively onion.

While steak might be a premium meat, other reviewers pointed out that this sandwich comes with a price tag that might make you do a double take. Even those who like the sandwiches note that things are getting out of hand, so we checked the app and looked at the prices at Firehouse Subs in Buffalo, New York. At the time of this writing, a 12-inch Steak & Cheese Melt was $14.49; adding chips and a drink took that to $18.08, and if you want double meat, that adds another $5. Even without complaints about quality and portion, that's enough to make you second-guess your lunchtime choices.

Happy customers say that there are plenty of places in the U.S. where you can be guaranteed you'll get a standout meatball sandwich, but Firehouse Subs doesn't seem to be one of them. At least, that seems to be the case recently, as we found a number of former fans who claim they taste so different there's speculation that the meatballs have been changed completely. While it's unclear if that's actually true, the number of complaints can't be ignored.

One irritated Reddit user complained, "Used to eat the meatball sub back in the early 2000s. Tried it again a month ago and it was awful. The bread was awful. The sauce was awful. The size was awful. The price was awful." Others agreed, saying there's been a clear drop in quality that has left them unable to justify the cost. Some have even likened the meatballs to dog food, which isn't a great sign.

Other Reddit posts have drawn attention to the quality of the subs, with one in particular showing a meatball sub that hadn't been toasted as much as it had been charred. It was so burnt, in fact, that it led to questions as to whether or not it had actually been set ablaze. Empathetic comments pointed out that the chain charges way too much to be putting out subpar sandwiches, and reassured the OP that no, the sandwich definitely should not have been turned into a brick of charcoal.

When you unwrap — or make — a truly outstanding Italian sub, there's no denying that it's a thing of beauty. All those traditional deli meats come together with the crunchy veg and a drizzle of dressing that ends up greater than the sum of its parts. But we found many are of the opinion that if you're looking for a great Italian sub, skip Firehouse. Some of the more generous customers have called this one just sort of average, and when you put that alongside a premium price, it's a definite skip.

Others note that these particular subs can sometimes come with so little meat and cheese that the dressing and condiments end up turning the bread into something more like pudding, which is enough to make us swear off of it entirely. Still more complaints include the fact that you might be a little blindsided by non-traditional ingredients like mayo, and the strange sweetness that the honey ham brings. 

When we here at Tasting Table put the Italian from Firehouse Subs up against Jersey Mike's, our reviewer didn't have much good to say about the offering from Firehouse. They agreed with others that it was just way too sweet and soggy, and there was no doubt that it was very, very lacking. When a combo meal costs (at the time of this writing, and in Buffalo, New York) $16.98, it had better be the best Italian sub, not a subpar one.

Since prices, experiences, and quality can vary greatly even between franchises, we wanted to get a wide range of opinions regarding Firehouse Subs and whether or not they're worth the price. So, we headed out to Reddit, Facebook, Google, and other review sites to see what customers from across the Firehouse Subs footprint had to say, and looked for those that were consistently mentioned as being disappointing — especially when compared to the price point. Regular complaints about an unsatisfying bread-to-meat ratio were the first thing we looked for, but we also considered repeated issues with overall tastes and textures as well as the quality of meats and toppings.

All prices are current at the time of writing and taken from stores in Buffalo, New York.