It was just gone 11am during a morning covering court when an email arrived from Subway’s press office, just as I was starting to feel a little peckish. It was about how they were helping people beat the winter blues by inventing some new Mexican-themed snacks.
The limited-time-only subs, the email said, were packed with “bold Mexican flavours”. And one of them also had Doritos “for added crunch”.
It seemed like a good excuse for a food review so I went to the Subway in St Nicholas Place, Leicester city centre, and ordered the new £5.09 six-inch Mexicana Beef Sub as well as one the new £2.99 Triple Cheese Toasties. As the man behind the counter started putting them together, consulting a little guide on what to put in, it became obvious a cheese toastie in Subway is actually just a sub that’s been squashed.
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I also ordered a coffee and the whole thing came to £10.27. The sun was just about managing to shine through the big window and as I sat down to eat I already felt a fraction more like I was in Mexico than freezing Leicester.
The whole thing wasn’t much to look at. It was a bit pathetic really. When Subway first arrived in this country I used to think of their sandwiches as massive, filling things. That may be because I only every ordered Meatball Marinaras, which always left you stuffed, happy and covered in sauce.
As for the Mexicana Beef Sub, it was tasty and the minced beef, peppers and onions worked nicely together. The Doritos, crunched up a bit and scattered along the length of the sandwich, added a nice texture when I started. By the time I got to the end, however, the sweet, tangy sauce had taken almost all of the snap out of the little shards.
Next up was the Triple Cheese Toastie, which was packed with cheese – 12 of the triangular slices of “American cheese” in total – and oozing with chipotle sauce. The sauce gave it a nice kick and for £2.99 it was pretty good value for money, although it wouldn’t have made much of a meal on its own.
The Mexican treats on the menu from now until April also include a foot-long serving of nachos, a similar dish with added beef and a Footlong Taco Beef Dipper – which is a tightly rolled up wrap with fillings including beef, cheese and sauce.
After all the spicy tastes, my white coffee didn’t taste quite right but it was nice to sit in the sun for a while letting all my food go down before heading home. Overall, they weren’t the biggest sandwiches ever but I left feeling nicely full and it had taken my mind off the fact it was zero degrees outside and still early January.
Our rating: 4/5
Official food hygiene rating: 5/5
Subway did not know we would be doing a review and we paid for our food.