Submarines remain an all time favourite fast food, generally affordable and create a fun memory of hanging out with friends or family. Deciding on My Pick for the week was quite tough. I found all the places to be quite good. Overall you could drop into any of the following places and expect a pretty decent submarine. Although I was unable to review it, from what I’ve heard, Burgers King (Slave Island) is supposed to have good chicken submarines, with a very high value for money. It may be relatively small but is extremely filling with a good amount of chicken. With all the hype about Subway I was intent on reviewing this specialized restaurant, however they are yet to be opened to the public.

Ceylon Tea Moments (Racecourse Shopping Complex)

Taste - *****
Price - Rs. 450++ (Chicken submarine with French Fries)
Variety - None
Value for money - High
Overall - Having visited Racecourse many a time this would have been the last place I would venture for a submarine, mainly because of the natural assumption that it focuses on their main product- tea! However being recommended by a friend I was pleasantly surprised by the service I received and of course the submarine. The chicken submarine with French fries was the only option they offered here. It was a 12” sesame bun, served with a side of fries. The filling consisted of chicken ham as well as slices of chicken and vegetables such as lettuce, cucumber and thick slices of bell pepper together with slices of cheese. The vegetables were surprisingly delicious and would have been appetising to even most finicky eaters! All aspects of the meal complemented each other to perfection.

Crusty’s (536, Havelock Road Colombo-6)

Taste - *****
Price - Rs. 320++ (Chicken Teriyaki/Cheese and herbs crusty/lettuce/tomato/olives)
Variety - Plenty
Value for money - Low
Overall - This is a newly opened eatery on Havelock Road that has wraps, submarines and also desserts. The outstanding feature of this place is that you have a huge variety of breads, (healthy farmer’s crusty/ crusty honey oats/cheese and herbs crusty) fillings (tuna/cheese and egg/chicken teriyaki/tandoori chicken/BLT/chicken ham/shrimp) vegetables (lettuce, tomato, onion, olives, green pepper) and sauces to choose from, thus being quite similar to a Subway. You can also choose the size of the bread (4” 8” 12”) and decide whether you want it toasted or fresh, with cheese or mayo etc. It is a relatively pricey place for I had only a 4” sub which amounted to almost the same price as the others that were 10” or more. Also with every filling or sauce you choose you are priced differently so gauging the price before hand might be a bit difficult. If you are a picky eater then Crusty’s is definitely place for you, it caters to all palates. The submarine I had was extremely delicious, generously filled with all the ingredients. However since they focus on healthy eating, French Fries were a fondly missed accompaniment!

Redberry’s (556/2 Marine Drive, Kollupitiya)

Taste - 3 1/2 stars
Price - Rs 390/= nett (chicken submarine)
Variety - Chicken, beef, prawns
Value for money - High
Overall - Redberry’s found on Marine Drive is a fun place to hang out, quite a chilled out spot. Although they had three options on the menu card they only had chicken at the time I went. The sesame bun was around 10” very soft, toasted well and filled with lettuce, cheddar cheese and chunky pieces of chicken with the usual generosity of the sauce and mayonnaise. This was accompanied by fries which were simply scrumptious, piping hot and well flavoured. Staff was amicable although, perhaps a little bored with the lack of customers at that time.

Dinemore (11, Marine Drive, Wellawatte)

Taste - 4 stars
Price - Rs. 430/= nett (Shrimp submarine)
Variety - Chicken, Dinemore spicy chicken, Tuna, Shrimp, Beef
Value for money - high
Overall - Dinemore is perhaps the most commonly known haunt for submarines. A 10” sesame bun served with a handful of fries, it was surprisingly abundant in shrimp, full of mayo and sauce also consisting of lettuce. It had a sweet and spicy taste which made it quite appetizing. The chicken and beef submarine are also common favourites.

Text and pics by Sindhu Ratnarajan