Firehouse Subs

Yuk. Awful sandwich that took hours to prepare. I was the only customer in the joint.

I had not eaten at one in years because I did not think the food was very good — more filling than substance. I wanted to try it one more time and nothing has changed. I ordered the firehouse (mystery) meat and cheese hot sub. I had hot peppers added with mayo but I could not taste anything in this sub. I have no clue if this was real beef and the cheese was white but that ends what I could figure out the make up.
Place was in need of cleaning and counter was greasy. My partner had the same experience with his meatball sub. Two thumbs down. Won’t go back.
The last thing this hick town needs is yet another fast food place. There are five within a four block radius. But that is Novato, if they can screw it up they will. Yes-​haw.

Subway with better meat. I ordered a sandwich to go expecting to get something close to eat I saw in the pictures on wall and menu board.
I got home, opened the sandwich, and just sat back in disbelief. There was a couple slices of meat and some sauce, everything was completely hidden inside the bun. I ate it as an expensive sandwich appetizer and then went out to get something to eat.
Sam’s Place makes HUGE sandwiches compared to here and you get a salad or side.
Not going back here!

Great sandos great service, this place is great all around impressed and I’m age real contractor I’ve had sandos in every city I work in! Love it so happy they have come to Novato

We went when they first open. The line was packed with tables in the way. The food looks nothing like the photos and they Only had one type of bread that day. The soda machine was cool but in the same area as the line to order so that made it hard and there is only one machine. With that many choice of soda it took people forever to get one. Food was ok but we were disappointed.

The Concept: Adorn the walls with heroic and sentimental images of firefighters and children. Have the staff half-​heartedly shout out a greeting to every (embarrassed) customer that walks through the door. Incorporate silly fire-​related lingo into the menu descriptions and banter: «I’ve got a Code 3 Fully Involved on register 6».
The result: Underneath all the theme-​y distractions, you get an over-​priced Subway sandwich.
This place is like the result of an Apprentice episode where B-​list celebs compete to invent a new franchise.

5 stars for the food. Price is stupid high and unless you have money to burn try it and then wait for them to realize how expensive they are. B Peris right across the street is half the price and better

The yummiest sandwiches ever! Friendly service! Love the firehouse motif… awesome! Had the saracha sandwich and pastrami. Both were yummy!!!

Wow, almost $ 14 for a medium sub sandwich and a bag of chips and a Coke?
The sub was small the BBQ sauce was mixed with mayonnaise. Not a big fan of the food or the price.

The positives — the staff is friendly and accommodating. Hence the two stars.
Negatives — the subs are over priced. I ordered the tuna large and added it into a combo package and got cheated $ 16.50. I could have had two subway foot longs or a very nice meal at a nice restaurant for this price. The subs are definitely not worth this price and honestly not that different from subway at all. It’s just an overpriced subway with a bit more space to sit down at and a nice friendly staff. I don’t want to go again … There are some amazing sandwich places half this price and way better quality in Novato :)

First time to this sub place and I was not to impressed. I Ordered the steak and cheese and Turkey and club sandwich for my girlfriend. Albeit the sandwiches were ok nothing really spectacular it did not warrant the price of $ 29.50 price. Whaaaaaat!!!
Ouch!!! For 2 sandwiches 1 drink and 1 bag of chips. Over priced for «OK» sandwiches at best. So disappointed!!!
I also did not like the 1 POP machine so many choices and people really do not know how to use it. Waited 5 minutes to fill my cup and the place was not even busy, I can’t imagine what it would be like if the place ever got busy.
Will not return again I will stick to Subway!

I’ve been to Firehouse Subs three times to eat, and twice to buy gift cards.
The food is great, fresh, the staff are all friendly and welcoming. I love that they all greet you as you walk in the door. Smiles all around. It does take a while for the food to be prepared, but, it’s so worth the wait. Their soda machine is killer! If you’ve never had Coca-​Cola Raspberry, THIS is the place to try it! Delicious!
My Granddaughter hands out bags and gift cards to the local homeless community; and we bought some gift cards on September 4^th — and had passed them out a few days ago. Unfortunately the woman who sold them to us, did not activate them. I got a call from a family member to tell me one of the homeless men was looking for me. So, I went downtown and found him; he gave me both of his cards, and met me at Firehouse Subs (he had his bike, otherwise he’d have been in my car) — Aurora was very sweet, she verified that the cards had no money on them, and I handed her another card that I had to hand out, it had twenty dollars on it, but I never bought cards for twenty, only ten — I had to go back home, find the receipt and take it back to her. It was a long process; but, when I went back, I told the gentleman to order whatever he wanted and I’d buy his dinner. Aurora was extremely kind, she went above and beyond, and BOUGHT his dinner!
After about an hour of sitting and talking to this gentleman, Aurora finally got the cards straightened out, and found one of them had money on it, but couldn’t get it to activate, and asked if I could come back in the morning to pick it up.
Fast forward to the next day, I went in the afternoon and spoke to Omar, who had an activated card ready for me, and was very understanding about the mix up. I stayed and ordered lunch from a very happy and smiling Alec — who happens to be my Granddaughters Uncle! I wanted to tip them, but they don’t get tips there, the money gets donated to firefighters — that is why they only get four stars. Customers should have a choice to tip or donate — not forced to donate. Oh, and parking is awful at certain times of the day! :)
I’ve never had such a pleasant experience at any restaurant when trying to resolve an issue … and I encourage people to eat here!

Disappointed. Long awaited, new restaurant in Novato. My son-​in-​law ordered sandwiches and brought them home within a couple of minutes. I must say, this was probably the worst sandwich that I’ve ever tasted… mashed turkey with too much mayo & cranberry sauce with mediocre bread and no taste… just a mushy mess. My daughter and I threw out our sandwiches after a couple of bites.
Really hope they get their act together with the food.

Like a lot of buildings with a «For Lease» sign, the former home of a paint store at the intersection of Redwood and Olive sat vacant for quite some time. But it was a perfectly fine building, as evidenced by the presence of an adjacent automobile repair shop and car rental franchise. So, it irks my nerve just a little bit when I hear about developers trying to build more buildings, conveniently ignoring the presence of perfectly fine office/​commercial space readily available.
So, I was rather excited to suddenly see signage advertising the coming of a Firehouse Subs franchise. Granted, one can get a sandwich fairly easily this day and age — that is, if you enjoy Subway (I don’t), or like Safeways (the sandwiches are ok, the corporation on the other hand has been going downhill for some time). There are also a handful of family-​operated locations such as Perry’s and Tagliaferri’s, which are hit or miss.
The Novato location opened its doors while we were on our roadtrip, but we made it one of our first stops upon our return. Certainly the staff is very enthusiastic — I get the sense that for many of the cashiers and cooks, it is their first job. The flip side of that is that a long of them are also very green, not quite knowing what to do when a customer has questions, and not directing traffic when needed.
On the other hand, the shop offers a lot of choices sandwich-​wise, from both a standard menu and a dieters list of options. Plus, one can build their own sandwich from all of their ingredients available. And the soda machine — I don’t know how long this type has been around, but one can get over 100 varieties of Coke via a vending machine with a digital menu.
I ordered a Pastrami sandwich, and it was good enough. Regrettably, my wife’s order didn’t come out quite right, but by the time she realized that it had gotten busy. I do think it’s a bit pricey for what you get, and if you don’t want a sandwich, well then you should feel kind of silly because it is a sub shop, after all. But seriously, the only other things on the menu are chips and cookies.
I also think that with experience, the customer service will be more expedient. I also think the soda machine is bound for a different spot in the restaurant so as to not interfere with the sandwich-​ordering queue.

It has such a large menu that it takes time to really decide. The staff is also still learning and I account that to the errors in my order. However, the staff is very welcoming and friendly. I had a steamed beef sub on rye and the sandwich was decent (way better than Subways!). Their novelty is a soda machine that offers over a hundred different varieties of sodas made to order by the press of a button. There is ample seating both indoors and out while there are a lot of staff making sure the place stays clean and organized. I will come back in a few weeks to give them time to find their grove.

I was excited to have a new sandwich place in Novato. But he food was just okay. The subs look way better in the picture. Not much different then subway.
There was three customers along with me. And it took them 14 minutes to make my sandwich with 6 guys behind the counter. three of them talking and joking around.

Went last weekend with my dad. I did not ordered anything. My dad ordered the Philly cheesesteak To Go. Mid sandwich he found a hair! YUK!!!
Threw the sandwich away and was disgusted the rest of the evening.
Food preps should wear hair nets and hats to prevent that from happening.

Ok, so some reported my review here a week ago as not valid. Check my profile first fool… Great place, had a great brisket, melted in my mouth. Buttery soft. Great staff, everyone very friendly. Will return. Love the Coke machine with like a hundred flavors.

While the staff seemed nice the food itself raised a lot of questions for me. To start with why do they cut the BBQ sauce with mayo on the Brisket and Cheddar sub? The sauce itself isn’t spicy enough to warrant an adjunct to lessen its heat. If anything the mayo detracts from the overall flavor of the sauce. While the meat itself was nice the cheddar seemed like a pointless addition, I couldn’t taste it over the sauce/​mayo combination.
The majority of the subs here are heated. I realize a meatball sub needs heat, and the brisket, steak sub and pulled pork could use heat, but the other subs? The heating of the meat and cheese has some unintended consequences — namely the vegetables end up getting steamed as well. Soggy lettuce and onions that have had any semblance of flavor leeched out (in the case of the Turkey, bacon ranch sandwich). The bacon on the aforementioned sandwich was über floppy more like a well done noodle than proper bacon it was also lacking in that smokey porky goodness that comes from bacon. Once the ranch is added the turkey bacon ranch sub becomes a soggy relatively bland mess.
I might go back and try a different sub but would definitely ask for it not to be heated. There’s a bottleneck problem in the restaurant. There is only a single spigot freestyle machine to dispense the soda in the to-​go cups. Combine that with customers that don’t know how to work the machine along with the need to return to your selection a few times (you’re taken to the main menu while waiting for the foam in the cup to subside) or waiting for those who want to make a 30 flavor drink and there could be a long wait to get your drink.

This place is fantastic!
Ordered the Hook and Ladder Light with jalapeños and it did not disappoint. The bun tasted like bread, the shaved meat was tender and juicy, and well, it really didn’t seem like a light sub. Delicious!
The soda machine offers 120 types of beverages, from plain water to any regular or diet combination. I chose a medium lime Coke (new flavor; quite refreshing) and was surprised at just how big their medium-​sized drinks are. The large would be for the truly thirsty among us.
The staff was enthusiastic, and while a bit green (hey, it was opening day!), were doing a great job.
The manager was there to assist explaining the menu as well as expediting, and it was nice to see everyone working so well together.
Lunch came to $ 9.00. Well worth the slightly higher price, especially when compared to other offerings in the area.
If you’re looking for a great meal, this is your place!