Potbelly Vs Capriotti's: Which Makes The Best Italian Sub

Of all the types of sandwiches, very few can beat the deliciousness that is a classic Italian sub. Between the crusty roll, salty-savory meats (and a variety of them at that), cheese, and veggies, the Italian sub is the type of sandwich that truly never gets old. While it's not incredibly difficult to whip up such a lunchtime staple at home, not everyone is going to keep every required ingredient always stocked in their fridge or pantry. That's where a trusty sandwich chain comes into play.

Both Potbelly and Capriotti's are known for their sandwiches, and true to form, both chains offer an Italian sub on their respective menus. As a longtime enjoyer of both chains, I grabbed an Italian sub from each one and compared them side-by-side, all in hopes of determining which one makes the absolute best sub. To determine such a feat, I paid attention to a few key factors with each sandwich. One, the sandwich had to generally taste good and nail the key components of a classic Italian sub (including the meats, cheese, bread, veggies, and so forth). Pushing it further, though, I paid attention to which sub was prepared better, and I also wanted to determine which had a more robust flavor, a heftier piling of ingredients, and overall which one impressed me the most.

Every sandwich shop is going to make an Italian sub a little bit different, and perhaps include different deli meats, so to make sure I was getting two sandwiches that were as comparable as possible from both Potbelly and Capriotti's, I had to make a few tweaks when ordering. Capriotti's Italian sub comes with default toppings like tomato, lettuce, onion, and oil, along with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Potbelly's Italian sub doesn't come with the toppings as default, so I had to specifically add lettuce, tomato, onion, oil, and Italian seasoning (salt and pepper weren't an option). It did not cost extra to add these toppings, but it's worth noting that your Potbelly Italian will be a little barren if you don't make those additions. 

In terms of sampling the sandwiches, I tried them side by side to get the strongest impressions and to easily compare the two. I noted which sandwich had more robust flavor (and there was one that stood out much more here), which one had the better ratio of meat, cheese, and toppings to bread, and which one all-around felt like the tastier, more cohesive, and more successful execution of an Italian sub. Price was less of a factor, since both subs ultimately cost about the same; I did note the price of each sub in the slides below, though, to provide a clearer idea of how much sandwich you get at both restaurants.  

I was impressed by how Capriotti's Italian sub looked right off the bat. It was a pretty hefty sub that seemed adequately loaded with meats, cheese, and toppings. I ordered a small Classic Italian, which was $10.99 before tax, and it came with meats like salami, prosciuttini, and capicola, along with provolone cheese and the various toppings I've already touched on. 

One thing that did concern me about Capriotti's Italian sub was the sheer amount of bread, and this proved to be a bit of an issue once I took a bite. There wasn't the best bread-to-fillings ratio going on here, despite the fact that there were pleanty of fillings at play. The bread was just quite overpowering, and it was a bit bland and lackluster. Actually, I'd argue that the sandwich as a whole was a bit bland, with no distinct meaty, cheesy, or even fresh veggie notes shining through. It didn't taste bad, but the strongest flavor note I picked up on was the pepper sprinkled onto the tomatoes. Overall, I felt like looks deceived me on this one. What initially looked like a hefty, loaded Italian sub ended up tasting bland, overly bready, and just disappointing. If I didn't know any better, I probably wouldn't be able to tell you exactly which meats came on this sandwich — which doesn't exactly bode well for an Italian sub.

When ordering an Italian sub from Potbelly, I went with the classic size, which was $10.39 before tax — ideally hoping to receive a sandwich that was most comparable in size to the Capriotti's one. As I've already mentioned, Potbelly's Italian doesn't come with toppings right off the bat, so I did tack those on for no additional cost; the guaranteed ingredients include salami, capicola, pepperoni, mortadella, and provolone cheese. This sub also came on toasted bread by default.

Right away, I could tell that the bread-to-fillings ratio would be much better on this sub, and indeed it was. Overall, Potbelly's Italian sub offered some decent savory flavors, though I will say that the pepperoni sort of stood out as the main savory-spicy-rich flavor profile. This wasn't inherently a bad thing, as I'm someone who likes pepperoni, but I could see it being a bit off-putting to some who'd prefer a different meat to shine. The toppings admittedly didn't add a whole lot of flavor, but they did add a touch of freshness to cut through the richness of the meat and provolone, which also boasted some smoky notes from time to time. Overall, I found Potbelly's Italian sub to be cohesive and nicely balanced, though I wished that other meats or toppings had shone through more strongly against that overpowering pepperoni.

After trying and comparing Potbelly and Capriotti's Italian subs, I should clarify one thing before dubbing a winner: I don't think either of these were incredibly strong sandwiches. Both left me feeling a bit underwhelmed, but if I had to choose one, it would no doubt be Potbelly's version. Capriotti's Italian sub was a complete letdown through and through, from the incredibly bland meats and toppings to the overly bready sandwich roll. I did not like how the black pepper on the tomatoes was the strongest and most distinct flavor note, and I longed for those rich meats to shine through and make for a tasty, savory sub. As someone who is a fan of Capriotti's and considers it to be one of the underrated sandwich chains, it's disappointing that the Italian was so lackluster, but I simply know that it can do better.

On the other hand, Potbelly's sub at least had some notable flavors at play. I don't love that the pepperoni sort of stole the show, but I'd rather enjoy an Italian sub that tastes like pepperoni than one that tastes like nothing. I also appreciated the balance of this Potbelly sandwich, as the bread undoubtedly served as a vessel as opposed to making up more than half of the sandwich. So, while neither sandwich managed to blow me away, in the strict race between which one is merely better, Potbelly takes the crown.