Subway Cafe-Pizza King

We spent Memorial Day weekend way from Harrisburg, and by the time we got back into town late Monday night, I had zero desire to go grocery shopping to get items for lunches. So there I was, sitting at my desk on Tuesday wondering what the heck I should get for lunch! ‘Burger King?’, I thought; but then quickly dismissed the notion of BK from my mind when I remembered that Jackson House was right down the street. After several minutes of pondering, I decided to consult my SME, Google. Google showed me just how close Subway Café was. This was a place that I had been wanting to try for a while, so it was a no brainer.
Food: I came for the pizza. With so many glowing reviews, and its long-​standing presence in the community, I figured it had to be delicious. It was very good, but I warn you that this is not what you are used to. I did not know this going in, and I almost let it affect my disposition on the pizza. So let this review be both helpful and educational!
First, I asked if they did ‘slices’. They do not, but they do have 6.5 inch little pies for about 6.50 (cheese only). I knew I wouldn’t eat the whole thing in one sitting, but I figured, ‘what the heck’. So I ordered a whole pie. Now, he warned me ahead of time that this was a pie with a thin crust. Honestly, that term is thrown around so loosely that I just ignored him and awaited the food.
This pizza is different. If you are into crackery-​thin pizza crust, a light veneer of cheese, all topped with homemade tomato sauce, you will go bonkers for this pizza. For me, it is not my jam. Despite that, I can respect it for what it was…
Dough: The dough resembles something a little thicker than a cracker. The flavor reminded me of Water Crackers. Carr’s is the traditional brand that makes he crackers I am referring to. In fact, the flavor was almost identical. For me, I like doughy, pillowy, tender, and slightly fluffy pizza dough with a good chew. This is the complete opposite. If you like crackery, very thin pizza crust, this will rock your world. Do NOT come into this restaurant expecting NY Style pizza, you will be sorely mistaken and likely not enjoy this pizza. (Dough: ⁴⁄₅)
Cheese: A unique blend of mozzarella and what I believe was aged provolone cheese. I may be wrong, but that is what it tasted like to me. The cheese had a just a little bit of ‘funk’ in there. On this pie, it was very good (⁴⁄₅)
Sauce: This was the incredible element of the pizza. I may, if given the opportunity, drink this sauce. It was fabulous. Definitively homemade and very well seasoned. For my preference, I like my sauce a touch sweeter with a hit of fresh basil. Despite my own personal preference though, this sauce is legit. In my opinion, the sauce needs to be a touch sweeter to balance out the ‘funky’ saltiness of the cheese; but for this pie, this sauce works. (Sauce ⁴⁄₅)
Food: ⁴⁄₅
Service: Outstanding. The guy behind the counter seemed to really care about and value the customers in the restaurant. He even was conversational — an added bonus! Definitely felt like he was inviting me into his home for a meal. That’s serious pride, and I appreciate it.
Service: ⁵⁄₅
Atmosphere: located inside an OLD building in downtown Harrisburg, before I walked-​into this place, I thought it was going to be a dump. The complete opposite and further proves the old adage that ‘looks can be deceiving. Very clean, very well kept, and just a super cool spot. Loved the vibes and I loved the overall ‘feel’ of the joint. Will be back to try something else.
Atmosphere: ⁵⁄₅
Price: For what I got, $ 8 after tip and tax was a little on the expensive side. I personally would not pay that again, but not necessarily because it was over-​priced. Mostly because this type of pizza isn’t how I like my pie. Still though… it was a little much. Compared to a value meal at BK, Subway, or even the aforementioned Jackson House though, and I suppose it is pretty in-​line with what I would have paid elsewhere.
Price: ³⁄₅
Final Thoughts: Again, this pizza is not for you if you are like me and like classic NY-​Style pie. Though, despite that, I believe that this is unique gem that you should checkout and at least try. It wasn’t for me, but you may fall in love with something new! Or… old? Since it has been around since 1948. Either way, I will definitely be back for the homemade lasagna on Thursday and Fridays!

Doesn’t look like much from the outside, but don’t judge this place by that! My wife took me here for lunch recently after a trip to PENNDOT. Very cozy atmosphere, friendly service, reasonable prices, and great food! I suppose it could get cramped in there if it gets really busy, but it’s worth it! Definitely recommend this place for those who have never been!

This place is a hidden gem in Harrisburg. Central PA has a lot of good pizza shops, but not many bringing anything unique to the table. I haven’t had another pizza like this anywhere. Super thin pie-​like crust with the sauce on top. If you’re looking for something out of the ordinary, come see what’s up at the Subway Café.

Everyone has to experience the pizza here atleast once in their lifetime. The pizza is so amazing and unique. The crust is super thin almost like a cracker and the staff is always super friendly. Highly recommend!

First trip back in almost 2 years to this Harrisburg landmark. Got in on a Friday morning right before the lunch crowd hit. Service was prompt and accurate. My pizza with anchovies and onions was exactly what I expected, and I devoured it in no time flat. However, my guest was not impressed with her rigatoni and meatballs. She said that the meatballs did not taste homemade and there was too much sauce in her bowl. Also, it was a little slow getting our check, especially after we’d already asked for a doggie bag to take the pasta home.

The best pizza, lasagne, antipasto salad, peanut butter pie, and iconic bartender, Scotty! Ate at Baltimore Little Italy-Chiaparelli’s recently, found myself wishing their sauce was as good as the Subway Café’s! We’ve been coming here for 35 years! Gotta have a «fishie bowl» while you’re here too!

I heard about this place 24 years ago when I came over from Germany. Which, that alone, sets the tone.
Today I gave a friend a ride for his doctor appointment of Union Deposit Road. Afterwards I invited him for lunch. However, the place I drove to existed on the GPS but not in real life. Nothing knew. So I headed towards Harrisburg and had the brain idea to give this place a try. I mean 24 years ago it was great, right? But today, who knows. This place is outstanding. Not only did I have a friendly chat with the owner who’s wife is from Germany but the Pizza is what Pizza is supposed to be. Now I know, many believe Pizza is an American invention. If it is then only the different sizes. Pizza in Europe and Italy specifically is never bigger than the size of your plate. It’s thin crust unless you are in Sicily which is the inventor of the deep dish pizza. But traditional pizza is not pan and all that. It is thin and loaded. And tasty. This place is it. And it is more fun than eating your usual American Pizza fare. It’s the top!

the star here is their sauce. very good sauce. the pizza is good, different, not NY style but is a very thin cracker like crust. they use provolone, not mozzarella so if you do not like provolone, not the pizza for you.
the pasta dishes were ok, veal not the most tender but breaded well. lasagna ok, little bit mushy and not much taste in the cheese per my dinner mate but the sauce fixes everything.
this is not great italian food but good food.
friendly servers is a plus.
if you have a large group, over 4, this is not a good place as the seating arrangement is limited.

I have been coming here for over 40 years. The last of the «Harrisburg Spots» (Harry’s, Maverick, Piccolo’s, etc.). The food is amazing, but the pizza is what you get. And don’t get chintzy with the toppings, get what you want, load up! See if you can make out the words underneath (oooo…a puzzle) The salad dressing is great! If you want your dinner to be about the food and not the window dressing, this place is it.

Best pizza ever! I’m not even a sauce person but everything about their pizza is great! If it were up to me I’d eat here allllll the time!

Historically known as Harrisburg’s Best Pizza Subway Café! Started in 1948 the Subway café offers a uniquely thin crusted pizza. The crust is so thin and light it is almost as if you eating a wafer. I had a Philly Cheese Steak and the wife had a Pepperoni of course we shared each others. If your looking for the traditional these Pizzas are not by any means the traditional. They cover a 9″ dinner plate and even though they look like they are large enough for two people because the crust is so light it is just enough for one! Tucked Herr st. just off Cameron Subway Café is a throwback to the good olé days of bars and diners once famous in the Fifties. The café is still uniquely furnished and still has the Neon Subway Café Sign that Glorified the era of years gone by. The staff was friendly the service was good the place is clean and the Beers were cold! You couldn’t ask for more in a café’. Except the booths being a little tight but I won’t let that hurt their score. As for them having the best Pizza in Harrisburg I am not really sure on that as for having the most unique style they have that Covered. The choice of what’;s the best pizza is really a matter of Opinion and being a traditional Pizza lover I have my Favorites. I will return time and time again to the Subway Café because this Pizza did make a great first impression. Definetly a place to try if your visiting the area or looking for out of the ordinary!

Did not expect that when I walked through the doors. i passed this place everyday going home from Camp Hill, thought it was a dive bar. Then someone suggested we go to lunch there. i was like, OK… Glad I went. The inside is nice, a little crammed, but nice. I had the house salad and a pizza. The house dressing is awesome. The pizza is really good. I have never tasted crust like that before. Will I be back? Heck yeah, been there 3 times already :-D

Went in to have lunch for the first time after hearing about how good the pizza is. Excellent! The pizzas are personal size, have a unique crispyt crust, and are delicious. I also got a side of the special of the day soup, which was hamburger macaroni. Added a touch of tabasco as suggested… delicious.
The service is top notch. Very friendly and welcoming.
Not sure if I’d say it’s the best pizza I’ve ever had in my life, but it’s pretty darn good… and different.

I knew this was going to be good when we pulled into the parking lot. The vintage neon sign in good repair, the glass block near the entrance on the corner and the metal awnings, how could this not be Shangri-​la just east of downtown Harrisburg?
I almost didn’t want to go inside. There is something to be said for stopping and savoring the moment before knowing — the moment when the possibilities are endless and undefined. But you can’t live there forever and through the door I went.
I’m not sure how to explain the interior. Imagine your favorite uncle sent back in time to the late 1950s or the early 1960s. Imagine him working at someplace like IBM and getting a nice bonus and deciding that he wants to turn the unfinished basement in his post-​war ranch into a happening hangout for him and his friends. So he paints the walls a light green, maybe does a mural and definitely sets up a mirrored bar along one wall. And how could I forget the funky light fixtures from the dropped ceiling?
The Subway Café serves food — thin crust personal pizzas, lasagna and mysteriously named specialty cocktails that I’ve learned to ask in advance regarding the ingredients — but it’s the atmosphere that really makes this place. It has been underwater, twice, according to markings on the wall from previous storms. And so have some of its patrons after a couple of fishbowls of beer.

More like 3.5. Subway café is a good local spot. It has a small town, home town feel.
The pizzas a pretty good. It’s not gourmet, but that’s not why you come here. It’s good pizza with a nice crispy crust.
The beer fish bowls are fun! They’re a good deal too.
Great place to go with friends and chill with pizza and beer!
Friendly service.

To celebrate a gal pal’s birthday, we looked forwarding to chowing down the newly crowned best pizza. Not knocking on the pizza, but to us, it’s not the best, not even close to the best pizza in the area. We were so confused. It might be the most unique pizza, due to the unusually thin and crispy dough, but certainly not the best. However, the café’s humble ambiance and the loyal patrons allowed a special evening nonetheless.

We visited this little joint last Friday evening. We were lucky enough to get a booth before the crowd came in. We ordered two beers, split an antipasta salad, tried the infamous thin crust pizza, and finished with a slice of peanut butter pie!
The atmosphere is just a small, old bar. Don’t come here on a first date! Much «prettier» atmospheres downtown. Not a «café» –per say!
The salad was fresh and the house dressing was a typical Italian. My husband raved over the pizza. He’s from the coal region and a pure bred Italian who knows and loves his thin crust pizza. He agrees with the majority that it is the best pizza in the city.
I, on the other hand, wasn’t quite as impressed. The pizza was very tasty, don’t get me wrong, but it was so tiny! Ok, ok, I am a Sicilian fan so I’m biased, but when my pizza was gone I was still hungry! My husband half joked about ordering another one. The crust was very thin and buttery, the sauce was just right, and the provolone cheese was a unique touch, so overall, it was nice!
Maybe it’s just me, but when I buy a pizza, I expect to be full. This is a personal pan, bar pizza, so if you’re hungry, order the salad first!
The peanut butter pie was very good, smooth, cool. mmm! We even brought a slice home for the sitter.
Overall, yes, the pizza is great! The atmosphere is just an old bar, and the prices are a little salty for central PA. For two of us (2 beers, 1 salad, 2 pizza, 2 slices of pie, and the babysitters pie), we spent about $ 50. I confess, I could have downed another personal pan, it was cheat night after all!
Of course we’ll be back, the hubby loved it and it was different from the regular pizza around here.

First-​timer. Came for the pizza. Tickled pink by the look and feel of the place. Excellent service at lunchtime, even when the place was packed. Felt welcomed. Got a fishbowl of lager, to boot. Fabulous.
Would spring for toppings next time. Crust was to die for; plain pie didn’t have enough pizazz for me. Will be back.

They have a good pizza. Some people called it upside down pizza because the sauce on top of the cheese. the size it similar to personal pan pizza and cost $ 5.90 and add $ 1.2 for each topping. They also have daily special each day and they specialty on pizza and lasagna also.
We also got their éclair ($ 3.85) it’s a pretty big and taste really good too.
definitely will come back again.

Probably a 3.5 stars but I’m rating it up because of the friendly service and fierce loyalty of the locals. My friend and I had dinner at the bar because it was crowded in the restaurant. The bartender was delightful and I was glad we sat there. Started with the goldfish bowl of light beer and had the spaghetti with meat sauce and salad. The dressing was SO GOOD: apple cider vinaigrette with parmesan and olive oil and some other spices. The spaghetti was pretty standard but good. I would have ordered a special if I was hungrier but noticed that the specials sold out quickly while we were there so they must have been good!
Décor is very kitschy and the T-​shirts looked really cute. There were water level marks in the restaurant for various flooding levels in the past fifty years or so (kinda blew my mind). Fellow diners at the bar were super friendly. Subway Café is one of those places where you immediately feel at home.