Nick Cooper’s Review of the Subway Spicy Italian Flatizza Pizza

This evening I was out and about and decided to treat myself to a meal out, rather than making dinner at home. Subway happened to be a convenient stop, so I looked to the woman at the counter for a suggestion of something new. She recommended trying one of the "flatizza" pizzas.

If you haven't seen anything about this new menu item, it is essentially a pizza toased in their sandwich oven, and made using ingredients Subway already has available for their other menu items. Their flatbread is the crust and the marinara sauce is the same as that of their meatball sandwiches, while mozzarella smothers all of their flatizza offerings. There are four different varieties of the flatizza: cheese, veggie, pepperoni, and spicy Italian.

I opted for a spicy Italian flatizza, being one who enjoys a little extra flavor and boldness with my pizza. The spicy Italian comes with the following, as their website explains:

Our super crispy flatbread is topped with our marinara sauce, melty mozzarella cheese, flavorful pepperoni and genoa salami for a delicious, meaty bite that’s perfect for meal time, snack time or anytime!

I was offered Parmesan and oregano on top of everything else, and decided both of those sounded like good additions.

Presentation/First Impressions

The flatizza is served up in a small pizza box, adding to the overall vibe of what you're ordering. The creation certainly looks and smells the part of a small pizza, offering the aromas you'd expect with any basic meat and cheese pizza. It is cut into four squares to make it easy to handle while eating, which is also handy.

Rating: 4/5

Taste

While smelling this thing all the way back as it sat in my car, I was getting excited to sink my teeth into it. As I did, I found myself somewhat disappointed. While there is certainly a rich aroma, the flavor is certainly lacking. Mind you, I ordered the "spicy Italian", and found myself not tasting one bit of the bold flavor the meats should have offered.

While I really enjoy cheese, the cheese flavor was way out of proportion to the other flavors. This isn't really surprising, being the flatizza was smothered in mozzarella. Beside the overwhelming cheese flavor, hints of the marinara sauce, oregano, and flatbread crust peaked through. In a word, the overall flavor is bland.

Rating: 2/5

Crust

The flatbread crust could go one of two ways, and I'm sure your experience will vary from location to location. In my particular case, the crust was generally crispy, with a little bit of softness near the center. It wasn't unbearably soft or flimsy, but it was certainly noticable.

Rating: 2/5

Health

Not that I was surprised, but this isn't one of the most healthy items on the menu. The spicy Italian, ordered as recommended, comes in at 490 calories, which isn't too terrible. The whopping 1,290 mg of sodium is what makes this menu item not-so-heart-healthy. You can see the full nutrition information here if you're curious.

 Rating: 1/5

Overall

If you're with other people who want to "eat fresh" and you're in the mood for a pizza, this is a workable option. If you're looking for rich flavor or healthier options, you may want to look elsewhere. The flatizza is overly-cheesy and otherwise bland, and packs a serious sodium punch especially for the relatively small size.

Rating: 2/5