The Firehouse Sub So Bland, We're Leaving It At The Deli Counter For Good

It seems like it should be difficult to make a bad deli sandwich, but, unfortunately, it's not uncommon. For every delicious sub out there — like the famous Philly and roast beef and provolone from Jersey Mike's – there's also some clunkers as well. Fast-food sandwich chains tend to be the worst culprits, many of which offer great sandwiches, along with other very forgettable options, on the same menu.

Add Firehouse Subs to the list of these sandwich chains, and the worst offender on the menu – based on our ranking of all Firehouse Subs' sandwiches – is the Firehouse Captain's Club. From the description, this sandwich sounds amazing. It comes with chicken, bacon, the chain's hero sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions. It's like a BLT with chicken. It also comes with Firehouse Subs' Captain Sorensen Hot Sauce which, according to our reviewer, is the sandwich's only redeeming quality.

Unfortunately, the Captain probably isn't too happy about the execution of his club sandwich, which made its debut on the Firehouse menu in 2024. The chicken was bland, likely the result of a lack of seasoning or Firehouse Subs' steaming method to reheat meat and melt cheese. The bread — the only other decent part of this sandwich — oddly enough had more taste than the rest of the ingredients, even more so than the hero sauce and red pepper flakes.

At $6.99 for a 4-inch sandwich, $10.29 for an 8-inch, and $13.99 for a foot-long, you're paying a lot for a mouthful of blandness, though prices vary by location. If you so desire, you can make it a combo for between $11 to $18, depending on the sandwich size. Firehouse recently added french fries to its side options, so maybe that's enough to redeem the combo, but doubtful.

In our opinion, if you're looking for better sandwich options at Firehouse, then try the Italian. It's a darn near perfect sandwich that features pepperoni, salami, honey ham, Italian seasoning, and provolone, topped with lettuce, tomato, and onions. Another delicious selection is the pepperoni pizza meatball sub – one of the best meatball subs around – with marinara, provolone, meatballs, and pepperoni slices inside a garlic bread roll.

But the Captain's Club? Let's just say we weren't fans. Granted, there are some positive reviews out there about this sandwich, so maybe we can chalk it up to a lackluster location or sandwich chef having an off day. Regardless, next time we're at Firehouse Subs we'll take a pass on this sandwich and opt for better ones.