7 Menu Items To Avoid Ordering At Jersey Mike's

When you're craving a loaded sub and don't have the fixings at home, what's your first stop? If you answered "Jersey Mike's," you're in good company. Even though some would argue that its subs aren't worth it anymore, the sandwich chain still has (and probably always will have) a loyal following ready to take up arms against JM naysayers in any online forum. 

Still, even among its devotees, there's no wide consensus that everything at Jersey Mike's is perfect. In fact, quite the opposite holds true; some items at Jersey Mike's have a less-than-stellar reputation. Some entire subs should be left off of your order, while other ingredients are best left behind the counter. Whether you're good pals with Mike or you're about to make your first foray into the store, here's a list of menu items to avoid ordering on your quest for a satisfying sub. 

We're starting the list off strong with what should be a pretty innocuous, tame sub choice: Jersey Mike's Tuna Fish Sub, aka the #10. Lettuce and tomato are standard additions that don't pose much threat; rather, what customers seem to take the most issue with is the tuna itself. And, if we're being totally honest, we can't say the tuna in the photo above looks all that appetizing. 

One Facebook reviewer didn't hold back in his assessment of Jersey Mike's Tuna Fish sub when he said that it tasted like "Wet dog food." Commenters chimed in recommending the shops they go to for tuna subs, and mentioning their favorite sub at Jersey Mike's — but we didn't see any endorsing the tuna sub. Even more, a taste test we've conducted declared that Jimmy John's has the best tuna sub by a wide margin. 

It begs the question — what makes JM's Tuna Fish sub so mid? Audiences are pretty divided, but one employee offered an explanation on Reddit when they said that the tuna may not be prepared correctly or may not be rest in the fridge for long enough. Wherever the disconnect may be, it sounds like if you want to make sure your sub is satisfying, avoiding tuna is your best bet. 

We know what you're thinking: What could possibly be wrong with a sandwich shop's roast beef, especially when it comes from a chain as esteemed as Jersey Mike's? It sounds like, years ago, all was fine and dandy with the chain's roast beef. Nowadays, though, customers tell a different story entirely. 

When one Reddit user took to the platform to see if anyone had insight into why their recent roast beef order didn't taste good, one comment jumped to the top with a likely explanation. They said the chain no longer trims, ties, or cooks its roast beef in-house. Some commenters chimed in to say that some locations haven't done this for the better part of a decade, others suggested it was a changed practice during the pandemic, and still more said that some West Coast shops may still do everything with their roast beef in-house. 

If true, that would certainly explain the apparent decline in quality of the roast beef, which the Reddit poster in question called tough and pretty flavorless. Is it actively bad? Maybe not, but it sounds like it may not add anything to your sandwich. If that's the case, you should definitely skip it. 

Rush hour is a bad time to go to Jersey Mike's. Obviously, nobody wants to wait in long lines for their food, but the reasons for avoiding rush hour go far beyond inconvenience. If you head to the store during rush hour, you may actually get a subpar sub. We don't know about you, but that would be enough to ruin our Tuesday. 

Anyone who's worked in the food service industry will be able to give an easy explanation as to why quality drops during rush hour. Simply put: Jersey Mike's employees are only human and, as with all of us, they can only handle so much demand at one time. The pressure of having a long line prompts workers to pump out subs faster; therefore, mistakes are more likely to be made, and the usual time and care put into your sandwich may feel impossible to give when you have eight subs lined up on the counter at once. 

Do yourself, and your Jersey Mike's workers, a favor by avoiding peak hours. Your sub will probably taste better, and you won't be adding to the stress employees face when pumping out food during peak hours. It's a win-win for everyone.

Chicken should be a pretty safe bet at any sub shop, right? Wrong. At least we're not talking about food safety issues with this tip — quite the opposite, in fact. While chances are very slim that you'll get undercooked chicken on your next foray to Jersey Mike's, you're pretty likely to get dry, overcooked chicken.

It would be wonderful if the sub shop could find that perfect happy medium and prevent serving dry chicken, but we understand the employees' impulse to err on the side of caution. At least, that's what one Reddit user attributed a customer's complaint of receiving dry chicken to — they said that not only is it really easy to overcook chicken, but the staff is also probably afraid of serving undercooked chicken. We'd rather be safe than sorry, so this is a slightly more forgivable error. 

Still craving a chicken sub from Jersey Mike's? The same Reddit commenter offered a bit of advice in that vein. They recommended ordering a #44 Buffalo Chicken sub, saying that the hot sauce is cut into the chicken, which can reduce the sub's dryness.

Here's a contentious take: You're better off ordering a cold sub than a hot sub the next time you eat at Jersey Mike's. We know, we know; nothing sounds better than a hot, melty sub in the middle of a long work day, right? Well, that theory only applies if the sub in question is nothing short of stellar (our taster ranked the chain's Big Kahuna Cheesesteak as its best). Unfortunately, we've seen some complaints about the hot subs offered at Jersey Mike's. 

When this "hot take" was shared on Reddit, commenters chimed in to agree that Jersey Mike's hot subs are pretty mid. The complaints about the chain's hot subs didn't have much to do with their temperature — rather, customers claim that the hot subs don't have much flavor. One commenter called them visually appealing but lacking in the flavor department, and another said that their only notable attribute is that they're too salty. 

Based on these comments, it sounds like your safest bet for maximum flavor is to order a cold sub. Bare minimum, if you have to order a hot sub, go with our recommendation of the Big Kahuna Cheesesteak. An added bonus of ordering a cold sub? It'll take less time to make!

Jersey Mike's 3-ingredient Chopped Pepper Relish — or CPR, for short — is well-known enough that the chain even sells jars for fans to dress up their at-home meals. We won't tell you to stay away from buying a bottle, but when you're getting your sandwich made in-store, you're better off avoiding the CPR. Though relish should be a winning ingredient on most sandwiches, Jersey Mike's tends to overdo it. 

Multiple Reddit users who frequent Jersey Mike's recommend giving its CPR a wide berth. Some voice complaints about the CPR itself, simply saying that it doesn't taste good. Others just don't like how the CPR interacts with the rest of the sandwich. They say it overpowers all the other flavors on the sub, leaving a CPR-loaded profile. If that's not what you're after, we recommend skipping it.

If you still want to try the CPR, we recommend asking for only a little bit. Or, better yet, see if you can get it in a small sauce cup to add to the sandwich yourself. Who knows? Maybe you'll be a fan and keep the bottle on hand for your own sandwich-making ventures. 

Any menu item with the words "chipotle," "cheese," and "steak" in it should automatically get a 10/10. However, that doesn't seem to be the case with Jersey Mike's Chipotle Cheese Steak, aka the #43. Though the sandwich can be raised to new heights when used as the base of a secret menu item, on its own, it's pretty lackluster. 

Most of the complaints we've seen about Jersey Mike's Chipotle Cheese Steak have to do with its flavor, and some commenters say they've noticed a decline in quality over the years, which seems to be a trend across the food industry. Some say the meat tastes off or compare the sandwich's overall vibe to Hamburger Helper. We won't knock Hamburger Helper, but it's not the best compliment for a sandwich chain to get. 

Maybe the meat isn't properly seasoned, or maybe there really has been a serious decline in quality over the years. Either way, unless you already know and love it, you'll probably want to avoid Jersey Mike's Chipotle Cheese Steak on your next trip into the chain.

To compile this list of Jersey Mike's menu items to avoid, we scoured Reddit forums and considered influencer reviews of the chain's various offerings. We looked for common complaints on sites like Reddit, meaning at least a couple of people had the same negative comments on a particular food item. 

Obviously, palates vary, and the above isn't necessarily a prescriptive take on Jersey Mike's menu items. But if it's your first time in the sub shop, they could be a helpful guide to building your first sando.