Subway Philly Steak

The Subway Philly Steak costs £8.19 and comes to just 297 kcal in a six inch, which is the number nobody expects: the dearest classic sub is also the lightest meat sandwich on the menu, with the lowest fat of any meat option by a wide margin.

The steak comes as thin seasoned strips mixed with onion and green peppers, the Philadelphia formula, and the counter adds the rest: bread, cheese, salad, sauce. Cheese deserves a special word here, because a Philly without it is missing its own point; the American original is defined by the melt.

The taste is savoury beef with the sweetness of cooked onion and pepper running through it, and the texture is tender strips rather than slabs. Toasted with cheese, which is the only correct order, it is the closest the classics get to a hot grill sandwich. The surprise is how light it eats for how rich it tastes.

It suits anyone who wants a hot, substantial-feeling sub while quietly keeping the calorie count low, a trick almost nothing else on the high street pulls off. The honest catches: it is the most expensive of the classics, and its protein is the lowest of the meat subs, so the gym crowd should look at the chicken instead.

Its natural comparison on the Sandwiches menu is upward: the Garlic Cheese Steak on the Signature side is this sub with the decisions made for you, at a higher price and calorie count. Among the classics, the Meatball Marinara is the other hot order, twice as heavy and half as tidy.

The value question is real, given the price, and the answer depends on what you are buying. Per gram of protein it loses to every chicken sub. As a hot, low fat indulgence that does not eat like a compromise, it stands alone, and that is worth the extra to the right person.