If you have never ordered The Bobbie, you are in the odd position of choosing blind from a menu that runs about twenty sandwiches deep. Here is the short version: The Bobbie is a cold sub of slow-roasted hand-pulled turkey, homemade stuffing, cranberry sauce and mayo, and it is the sandwich almost every regular orders. Once you set that aside, the best Capriotti’s orders run from the chopped cheesesteak to a pastrami-forward Capastrami, a meatball that is pure comfort, and a tuna sub that divides the room harder than any other item on the list.
What follows is a ranking of ten Capriotti’s orders written for someone without a favorite yet. Every entry says what is actually in the sandwich, how it tastes next to The Bobbie, and who should order it. Pick the one whose description sounds like something you would eat, and skip the rest.
Table of Contents
- Best Capriotti’s Orders if You’ve Never Had The Bobbie at a Glance
- 1. The Bobbie
- 2. The Roast Beef
- 3. The Turkey
- 4. The Chicken
- 5. The Pizza Steak
- 6. The Steak with Peppers
- 7. The Sausage Pizza
- 8. The Meatball
- 9. The Tuna
- 10. The Capricciosa
- How to Order Your First Capriotti’s Sandwich
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion
Best Capriotti’s Orders if You’ve Never Had The Bobbie at a Glance
| Order | Main filling | Flavor profile | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Bobbie | Slow-roasted hand-pulled turkey | Savory, herby, sweet-tart cranberry finish | Your baseline, and most people’s first order |
| The Roast Beef | Roast beef | Meaty and uncomplicated | Someone who wants a plain, traditional sub |
| The Turkey | Cold sliced turkey | Light, cool, mild | Turkey fans who want none of the stuffing |
| The Chicken | Grilled chicken | Warm, mildly seasoned, lighter than beef | People avoiding turkey and red meat |
| The Pizza Steak | Chopped steak with pizza toppings | Cheesy, salty, topping-heavy | First-timers who like pizza more than sandwiches |
| The Steak with Peppers | Sliced steak and peppers | Sweet or hot peppers cut through rich beef | Steak-shop fans rather than cheesesteak fans |
| The Sausage Pizza | Seasoned sausage | Pizza flavor with a spiced meat punch | People who want pizza toppings on a sub |
| The Meatball | Housemade meatballs | Soft, tomato-forward, saucy | Comfort-food ordering, sauce lovers |
| The Tuna | Cold tuna salad | Creamy, briny, cool | People who like classic lunchroom tuna |
| The Capricciosa | Mixed meats and vegetables | Broader, busier, more topping variety | First-timers who want to taste several things |
Two notes before the ranking. Capriotti’s is a made-to-order chain out of Wilmington, Delaware, and its menu splits into turkey subs, cheesesteaks, Cap’s Classics, the American Wagyu line, and a smaller vegetarian and salad group, so you are not choosing from one flat list. And every sandwich is built after you order it, which is why the answer to almost any Capriotti’s question is a modification rather than a different store.
1. The Bobbie
The Bobbie is a cold sub of slow-roasted hand-pulled turkey, homemade stuffing, cranberry sauce and mayo on an Italian roll, built to taste like Thanksgiving dinner in sandwich form. Capriotti’s roasts whole turkeys in-house daily and hand-shreds them, which is why the texture is loose and uneven rather than uniform deli slices.
It earns the number one spot in a guide for people who have not had it because every other order on this list is easier to judge once you know what The Bobbie tastes like. The dressing is sweet and herby rather than heavy, the cranberry cuts the salt, and the texture is soft. If that combination sounds appealing, order it and skip the rest of this list. If it sounds like too much bread and too many components in one bite, the items below are your alternatives.
The one recurring complaint is dryness. A Yelp reviewer put it plainly, saying the Bobbie was fine but the turkey was somewhat dry. Adding extra cranberry sauce or mayo is the usual fix, and asking for the turkey freshly pulled helps. A sandwich built around a holiday meal is going to run heavier than a standard cold sub, so start with a smaller size than you think you need.
2. The Roast Beef
The Roast Beef is the order to pick when you want meat and not much else. There is no stuffing, no cranberry, no holiday reference, just sliced roast beef, cheese and condiments on a roll, which makes it the least complicated sandwich at Capriotti’s.
Where The Bobbie tastes layered, The Roast Beef tastes like a single sustained flavor. That is a feature if you are the person in the group who always removes half the toppings. It is also the easiest sandwich to eat one-handed on a commute, because nothing slides out when you tilt it.
The Wagyu roast beef version comes up constantly in customer discussion. A Lehigh Valley food group poster called the Wagyu roast beef a can’t-miss alongside the Capastrami, and it is the more premium build of the same idea. The base roast beef is the better first order if you want to know whether you like the meat before paying up for the upgraded version.
3. The Turkey
The Turkey is what The Bobbie would be if you removed the Thanksgiving from it: cold turkey, cheese, and condiments, with no stuffing and no cranberry sauce. The texture is firmer than the hand-shredded Bobbie filling, and the flavor is quieter.
This is a genuinely good order rather than a compromise, and it is the one to make if you like cold turkey subs and do not want dessert flavors in your lunch. Ask for provolone or Swiss, add a hot or sweet pepper if you want some bite, and hold the mayo if you want the sandwich to stay together past the second bite.
It also solves a specific first-visit problem. Ordering a plain turkey sub lets you find out whether you are a turkey person at all, without the cranberry sauce tipping you either way. If you come back hungry in twenty minutes, the sandwich did not fail, you just ordered the mildest option on the menu.
4. The Chicken
The Chicken is a grilled, seasoned chicken sub served warm, and it lands in a different category from the cold turkey items entirely. Warm bread, warm meat, and a lighter finish make it the sandwich to order when turkey sounds like too much and beef sounds like too much later.
Against The Bobbie, it trades richness for seasoning. There is no sauce sweetness, no stuffing, and nothing that clings to your fingers the way a cranberry-loaded sub does. It is also the safer pick in a mixed group, since a picky eater who will not eat turkey will usually still eat grilled chicken.
For first-timers, ask what cheese comes on it before you order and request extra if it is a light layer. Grilled chicken without enough cheese is a dry sandwich, and this is the second-driest risk on the menu after cold turkey. Add a pepper to give it something to work against.
5. The Pizza Steak
The Pizza Steak is a chopped cheesesteak with pizza toppings folded in, which means the cheesesteak you already know arrives wearing a pizza costume. Pepperoni is the usual addition, along with the cheese blend and sauce that come standard.
The toppings do real work here. A plain cheesesteak is rich and soft; the pepperoni adds salt and a slight chew, and the sauce adds a brightness that keeps the sandwich from tasting like one long dairy note. It also makes the order more substantial, which matters because a chopped cheesesteak on a small roll is easy to finish and still hungry.
If you have never had The Bobbie and you are not sure you would enjoy a Thanksgiving-flavored sub, this is the low-commitment way into a cheesesteak. Anyone who orders pizza more often than they order subs will recognize it immediately. Anyone who dislikes pepperoni will, obviously, ask for it off.
6. The Steak with Peppers
The Steak with Peppers is sliced steak with peppers, cheese and optional onions, and the key difference from a cheesesteak is the cut. A cheesesteak is chopped thin and cooked on the flat; a steak sub keeps the meat in pieces with seared edges, so the texture is chewier and the flavor is more evenly beef-forward.
The peppers are the point, not an afterthought. Sweet peppers give a mild, friendly crunch that softens the richness of the beef, and hot peppers add a slow warmth that builds across the sandwich rather than hitting you at the first bite. You choose between them, and onions are worth adding if you like the sweetness caramelization brings.
Consider this one when The Bobbie is too soft and too many-component for your taste. A steak and pepper sub reads as a straightforward sandwich with two or three clear flavors instead of a pile. It is also the order to make if you have been to a steakhouse sub place before and want that flavor profile at Capriotti’s.
7. The Sausage Pizza
The Sausage Pizza sub is the one for people who think of a sub as a pizza delivery format. Seasoned sausage carries the flavor, pizza toppings and cheese sit on top or underneath depending on the shop, and the whole thing is baked or toasted until the edges crisp.
Sausage brings a different kind of richness than beef. It is spiced rather than meaty, with a fat ratio that reads as savory instead of hearty, and it holds up well against strong toppings in a way that plain sliced turkey does not. You get the pizza experience without a pizza, and it is more substantial than most bread-based lunches.
Order it when you want something that will not read as a health-food decision at 1 pm. It is also a good order for a group with mixed preferences, since the toppings carry the sandwich and the sausage is the only thing anyone has to agree on. Skip extra sauce if you want to taste the seasoning, and add it if you want the pizza resemblance to be unmistakable.
8. The Meatball
The Meatball is a cold sub of housemade meatballs, cheese, and sauce, and it is the softest and sauciest item in this ranking. Where The Bobbie is chopped and loose, the meatball sub is dense and forgiving, which makes it the sandwich least likely to fall apart in your hands.
It is pure comfort food, and regulars treat it that way. A burgerbeast review singled out the classic meatball as the kind of sandwich that justifies the drive on its own, and a St. Charles Facebook group poster listed the meatball alongside the Cole Turkey and a melt as a fresh-tasting favorite. That is about as much endorsement as a meatball sub needs.
Ask for extra sauce if you like it wet, and consider a chopped version if you prefer the texture of a cheesesteak. The marinara is bright enough to make a cold sub feel warm, which is unusual in a good way. Choose this one when you want the least adventurous, most reliably good order on the menu.
9. The Tuna
The Tuna is a homemade tuna salad on a roll, and it is the outlier in this list in the most literal sense. Cool, creamy, briny from the fish, and served cold, it shares almost nothing with The Bobbie except the fact that both arrive on bread and neither is wrapped.
Give yourself a clear expectation before ordering. Tuna is not a tuna melt, it is not grilled, and it is not a strongly seasoned modern tuna salad. It tastes like a good deli sandwich, and if you grew up on that, it is a top-tier lunch rather than a novelty.
It is worth ordering for reasons beyond personal taste. A tuna sub gets shared easily, it does not leave a heavy after-dinner feeling, and it is a good answer when someone in your group is not interested in meat at all but does not want a plain salad. Capriotti’s also carries salads and soups, which are discussed further down the page.
10. The Capricciosa
The Capricciosa is the widest menu: multiple meats, vegetables, and cheese in one sub, closer to an antipasto than a sandwich. It is the order for a first visit when you do not want to commit to one flavor profile and would rather taste several at once.
More toppings means more going on, and that cuts both ways. Someone who loves variety will find the combination of ham, salami, vegetables and cheese genuinely satisfying. Someone who prefers one clean flavor will find it busy and slightly undetermined, the culinary equivalent of turning on the radio and forgetting to pick a station.
It is also the practical choice for a group. When four people cannot agree on turkey versus beef versus chicken, a Capricciosa lets everyone eat the same sandwich without anyone negotiating their order. Ask for the toppings you dislike to be held back, and order a smaller size than the topping count suggests, because a heavily loaded sub is heavy.
How to Order Your First Capriotti’s Sandwich
The menu is huge and the ordering process is short, which is the good news. Capriotti’s sandwiches are named by size rather than by inches, and the nicknames trip up almost everyone on a first visit.
| Size name | Length | Order it when |
|---|---|---|
| Rookie | 5 inch | You want to try a sandwich without committing to a full lunch |
| Beloved | 8 inch | One person, one meal, ordinary lunch |
| Always Right | 10 inch | You are genuinely hungry or eating after a light breakfast |
| Notorious | 18 inch | A group of two to three, or leftovers for tomorrow |
Start on the Rookie or the Beloved for a first try. The most common first-visit mistake is defaulting to the largest size because it feels like better value, then finishing half of it. Every sandwich is made to order, so a smaller one is fresher when you sit down and nothing wasted when you do not.
Then work through the build in this order:
- Pick the size. Rookie for a sample, Beloved for lunch, Always Right for a big appetite, Notorious for sharing.
- Pick the filling. One meat only, decided, before you look at anything else. Turkey, beef, chicken, or a vegetarian option if that is your constraint.
- Decide on cheese. Provolone and Swiss are the common cold-sub choices. Ask what comes standard, because the default is not always what you would pick on your own.
- Add two or three toppings, not six. Pick one vegetable, one pepper, and one extra. This is where first-timers overbuild, and every extra pushes the sandwich toward wet.
- Choose hot or sweet peppers. They are a real flavor decision, not a garnish. If you are unsure, go sweet.
- Ask about substitutions. Capriotti’s is used to modifications. Leaving off an ingredient costs nothing and prevents the half-eaten sandwich.
Sauces are where this menu is most adjustable. Russian dressing on a pastrami sub, chipotle ranch on a chicken sub, and extra cranberry or mayo on a turkey sub are all routine asks, and adding sauce after assembly keeps the bread from getting soggy in the bag.
If you are ordering for a group where someone else is getting The Bobbie, the Capricciosa and the Always Right size solve the problem in one move. The larger sizes are cut into sections, so a single Notorious sub can feed a table of Bobbie-lovers and steak-and-pepper fans at the same time. Pairing two smaller sandwiches is cheaper and less risky than one enormous one, and it gives people options.
On price, this chain is consistently described as more expensive than an average sandwich shop, and that is the most common reason people cut an order short. Three offsets help. Signing up for the rewards program at pickup gives you a new-member discount on your first visit, a half-sub pairing is a legitimate way to sample a second sandwich without a second full price, and choosing Beloved instead of Notorious removes the over-ordering cost altogether. Prices vary by location and by delivery platform, so treat any number you see as a local snapshot.
For a companion who does not eat meat, Capriotti’s carries a vegetarian section plus artisan salads and savory soups. It is a small part of the menu, which is the honest limitation: a vegetarian order at Capriotti’s is a salad or a soup, not a sandwich that happens to have no meat in it. Order the sandwich everyone else is having, and add a salad for that person.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is on the Bobbie sandwich at Capriotti’s?
The Bobbie is a cold sub built on an Italian roll with slow-roasted hand-pulled turkey, homemade stuffing, cranberry sauce and mayo. Capriotti’s roasts whole turkeys in-house daily and hand-shreds the meat rather than using deli slices. It is served year-round, not just in November, and it is the chain’s most recognizable sandwich. Most people describe it as Thanksgiving dinner in sandwich form, sweet-herby rather than heavy, with a tart cranberry finish.
What is the most popular sandwich at Capriotti’s?
The Bobbie is the most popular by a wide margin, and it is the order the brand itself leads with. It works as a default because turkey, stuffing and cranberry read as familiar rather than experimental. Cheesesteaks are the second tier of popularity, and the Classic Cheesesteak is the version most first-timers recognize. If you want a non-turkey order that still feels like a safe bet, the roast beef or the meatball are the closest analogs.
How big are the sizes at Capriotti’s?
Capriotti’s names sandwich sizes rather than listing inches on the menu: Rookie is 5 inch, Beloved is 8 inch, Always Right is 10 inch, and Notorious is 18 inch. The Beloved is the standard one-person lunch. Always Right suits a big appetite, and Notorious is built for sharing, usually cut into sections. For a first order, the Rookie or Beloved is the right call, because everything is made to order.
What is the best Capriotti’s sandwich besides The Bobbie?
The Capastrami is the strongest alternative, combining hot pastrami, Swiss cheese, cole slaw and Russian dressing, and it appears constantly as a regular’s pick in customer discussion. The Classic Cheesesteak is the best choice if you want grilled meat and melted cheese, and the meatball is the most reliably good comfort option. If you want a cold sub closest in feel to The Bobbie, choose the Cole Turkey or the roast beef.
Are Capriotti’s sandwiches spicy?
Mostly no. The standard orders are savory and herby rather than hot, and heat comes from optional hot peppers or a chipotle-based sauce you have to ask for. Sweet peppers are the default alternative and the better choice if you want flavor without heat. Grilled items like the cheesesteak and the steak with peppers carry more seasoning than the cold subs, but that is pepper and char, not chili heat.
Does Capriotti’s have vegetarian options?
There is a vegetarian section on the menu, plus artisan salads and savory soups. Vegetarian orders are thinner than the meat list, which is worth knowing before a group visit. There is also no vegetarian sandwich that rivals The Bobbie or a cheesesteak for size, so a meat-eating table usually orders a sandwich or two and a salad for the person who does not eat meat.
Conclusion
Start with The Bobbie if you are curious and want the sandwich that defines this chain. If its combination is more than you want in one bite, order the Capastrami for layered cold-sub flavor, the Classic Cheesesteak for grilled and cheesy, the meatball for comfort, or the roast beef for something plain and dependable. Whichever one you pick, size down to the Beloved on your first visit, keep the toppings to two or three, and adjust the sauce before the sandwich is made. Updated for 2026, with sizes and availability varying by location.