Italian Sub, Cheesesteak, or Reuben: What Is the Difference?
Three of the most recognized sandwiches in any sub shop are the Italian sub, the cheesesteak, and the Reuben. They appear on menus across the country, they each have loyal followings, and they are often ordered by name without much thought about what actually makes each one different. Understanding the character of each sandwich makes it easier to order the right one for the kind of meal you want.
The Italian sub is a deli-style sandwich built around layered cold cuts. A traditional Italian sub includes a combination of meats like salami, ham, capicola, and sometimes pepperoni, paired with provolone cheese, shredded lettuce, sliced tomato, onion, banana peppers, and a dressing of oil and vinegar. The sandwich is typically served cold, which keeps the meats and vegetables crisp and gives the whole thing a bright, sharp flavor. Some people prefer it toasted, which softens the bread and warms the cheese slightly without turning it into a fully hot sandwich. Either way, the Italian sub is defined by its layered, deli-counter character and the way multiple meats work together in every bite.
The cheesesteak is an entirely different kind of sandwich. It is warm by nature, built around thinly sliced beef cooked on a flat grill and topped with melted cheese, most commonly provolone, American, or Wiz depending on where you are ordering. Common additions include sauteed onions, peppers, and mushrooms. The bread on a cheesesteak needs to be able to handle the warmth and moisture of the filling without falling apart, which is why a good cheesesteak roll is slightly firmer than a typical sub roll. The cheesesteak is a heavier, beefier sandwich than an Italian sub, and it does not have the brightness or acidity of deli meats and vinegar dressing. It is a warm, savory, filling meal.
The Reuben is in a category by itself. It is built on rye bread with thin-sliced corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island or Russian dressing. The entire sandwich is grilled, which presses the bread, melts the cheese into the meat, and warms the sauerkraut until it becomes softer and slightly milder. The Reuben is tangy in a way that neither the Italian sub nor the cheesesteak is, and that tang comes from both the sauerkraut and the dressing. It is also the only one of the three that is traditionally made on rye bread, which gives it a distinct, earthy base that influences the flavor of every bite.
Knowing which sandwich to order comes down to understanding the flavor profile you want: layered and bright for an Italian sub, beefy and warm for a cheesesteak, or tangy and grilled for a Reuben.
Each sandwich also reflects a different regional tradition. The Italian sub is rooted in American deli culture and draws from the immigrant food traditions of Italian-American communities. The cheesesteak is closely associated with Philadelphia, where it developed as a working-class street food built around affordable, thinly sliced beef. The Reuben has disputed origins but is widely associated with Jewish-American deli culture, particularly in cities like New York and Chicago. Ordering any of these sandwiches connects you, even loosely, to a real food history.
Portion weight and fullness also differ across all three. An Italian sub can be built lighter by emphasizing vegetables and keeping the cheese modest. A cheesesteak is inherently rich and filling because the cooked beef and melted cheese give it a fat content that a cold sub does not have by default. The Reuben falls somewhere in between, with corned beef that is leaner than a cheesesteak but dressing and sauerkraut that add both flavor and substance. If you are thinking about how full you want to feel after lunch, that difference matters.
Ordering any of these sandwiches from a shop that takes its ingredients seriously will give you a very different result than ordering from a place that does not. Corned beef that has been properly brined and sliced makes a Reuben taste the way it should. Beef that is sliced fresh on the griddle makes a cheesesteak worth going back for. Meats that are rotated and fresh make an Italian sub come alive. The quality of the core ingredient in each sandwich determines everything else.
The next time you are looking at a menu and trying to decide between these three, think about what kind of eating experience you want. An Italian sub is the right call when you want something layered, fresh, and bright. A cheesesteak is right when you want something warm, beefy, and filling. A Reuben is right when you want something grilled, tangy, and a little different from both of the other two.