Fat Sam’s Sub Station

For shame that anyone could leave Fat Sam’s a bad review. Based on previous reviews I knew that ambience wasn’t a key factor for this sub joint, so i opted to get my food to go. Since I had never been before I asked who I presumed to be Sam what I should get. After a few suggestions I opted for the customer favorite: the Philly cheesesteak.
I feel like the best sandwiches typically come from the gruff-​looking places. After placing my order Sam lit up a cigarette and sat back on his bar stool to watch Spike TV while someone else made my sandwich and fries.
My food was promptly made, and since I got it to go I had to wait an entire 5 minutes before I could get home and eat it! The sandwich was massive and perfectly cooked. The fries were home cut and seasoned well. Everything about this place screams home grown sandwich shop. I love me a good sandwich. I’ll definitely be back.
And sorry there’s no picture. I opened it and couldn’t wait to eat

Is half, or no stars possible? This was the scariest sandwich I’ve ever laid my eyes on. And there was a man smoking in the kitchen… What. Should I go into how poorly kept the WHOLE place was? Yikes.

Since I live in the area, I have been to Fat Sam’s quite a few times now and have even tried the breakfast. The sandwiches served there are tasty, depending on the one you get. The most recent visit, I had a chicken Philly but was not impressed. Also, during this visit the fries were very greasy. While I was there, I happened to notice what many of the others have, which it is it’s very dirty, cluttered and outdated. If this is how it looks out front, I’d hate to know how it is for the rest of the kitchen.

I really love this restaurant because I love the owner and employees here. I started eating here when a friend introduced this restaurant fourteen years ago. The food is delicious with every bite. I really love the Philly cheese sandwiches. Everytime is great, you can’t eating anything on this menu.

Fat Sams is the best sandwich shop in Birmingham. This is hands down the best philly cheese in Birmingham. Portions are very generous. Service and staff are great. Everyone needs to try this place.

My sweetie introduced me to this place a few years back. I knew by looking at it there was going to be something quite yummy cooked up inside. This place is the epitome of a «greasy spoon» as my mom would call it. It’s not much of a looker from the outside… or inside, but don’t fret! What you come here for is the food, not the ambience. Sam is a character, and if you’re sensitive to dry humor, you’re in the wrong place. You either like him or you don’t. It’s just that simple.
I always get the 6 inch chicken philly, no mayo. It’s more like 8 inches to me and it’s often packed with meat and veggies. It’s seasoned with just the right amount of spices to leave its mark on your taste buds. The home styled fries are made fresh to order and are always crisp and hot. My friend always gets the regular philly, extra meat and cheese. He likes this place so much I thought he owned stock in it.
Summary: great food, average price, large portions, grumpy but cool owner. Worth a trip down.

Sam is the man; and his take on the Italian sub is the best I’ve ever had in Birmingham.

Had omelettes with my daughter today. I had the Western with a side of those wonderful fresh hashbrowns. My daughter had a veggie omelette. Delish!!! We’ll be back! One day when I’m feeling brave I’ll the 7 meat and 3 cheese. I could eat the hashbrowns everyday!

This place is definitely a dive. I got a veggie pita and it was good. The veggies were still crunchy and overall I enjoyed my sandwich for the price. But service was super slow. I mean really does it take 15 min to stuff some veggies and mayo into a pita pocket when there is no other customers?
Also the place felt dirty and one of the employees was smoking in the kitchen… I am not from Alabama but that can not be in code…

If you’re living in Birmingham, you need to go by Fat Sam’s!
Don’t expect anything fancy or classy. This place is gross, don’t get me wrong. I came here in the winter once and Sam had a propane grill going in the dining room to keep the restaurant heated. It was hilarious. There are stains on the ceiling and a giant hole in one of the walls. Sam will probably smoke a pack of cigarettes while making your sandwich. There’s no promises that your sandwich meat wasn’t on the floor at some point. Sam must be married to the health inspector, because this place is ridiculous.
That being said, this man can make a mean sandwich. I get the Italian when I come and it’s always great. I’ve heard the Philly is fantastic too. Try the fries, for sure! They’re greasy, kind of starchy, but always fresh and hot and delicious. Everyone who works here is awesome.
When I have kids, I’m going to tell them about coming to Fat Sam’s «back in my day». It’s a greasy spoon with killer sandwiches and a heart of gold.

What can I say about sams. This man goes out of his way to make sure your experience is always good, he knows everyone’s name and what they want to eat! Everything from the kitchen sink sandwhich to the chicken biscuit is always amazing. My hands down favorite on the menu is the philly, always perfect! ! Do your self a favor and go find this whole in the wall that has been around for 20+ years!

Had a chance to check out Fat Sam’s today since the reviews were so positive. However, I must say I was totally disappointed. It’s so hard to find a good philly cheesesteack in Birmingham and I really thought I had found the perfect spot. But I must say this was not what I expected at all. I ordered a philly cheesesteak, fries, and a drink. The meat tasted kind of leftover and lacked flavor. It needed something, not sure what, (KEY WORD-​SEASONING). On top of that, for the price, I expected more meat than bread, NOT. The fries were decent, hand-​cut and seasoned, a little floppy though. The service is slow and the place needs updating and a good cleaning. I really wanted to give Sam’s a good rating, but I didn’t enjoy this meal at all. Probably won’t be back.

Since subs were wanted, Unilocal dug up Fat Sam’s for us to try. When you walk in, you aren’t exactly bowled over by the atmosphere. Divey is correct. It smelled cigarette smoky upon entering but luckily that stopped. Fat Sam took our orders and was welcoming and quite friendly.
Prices are reasonable with half subs around $ 5.50 and footlongs around $ 7.50. Huge selection of sandwiches. I got the Genoa salami & provolone. Fat Sam told me that they ran out of provolone, so Swiss was substituted. That was fine. The sandwich was kind of on the oily side, but it was very satisfactory, both with regards to taste and portion size. Lunch Companion agreed with this assessment of 4 stars. The Son of Italian for him was up to his standards.
Discount for students, think it was $ 0.50 off a drink. Bathroom is bleak.
Would we return? Yes!

I enjoyed this place in college. But when I revisited it, the place was littered with fishing equipment in front of the counter; the fries were cold; Fat Sam made a joke about not printing out my receipt, which seemed like he was involving me in the joke over the taxes he didn’t pay. The subs are good, but go when it’s busy and demand a receipt and hot fries. Ask before you order. If they can’t give you both – leave.

First the good news. The guy is super friendly and that goes a long way with me. It shows the guy cares about his customers and his food. The cheesesteak was good. It wasn’t the best I had but it was good enough to go back again and again. The bread was real soft and the fries were excellent. I wouldn’t worry about the looks either. It’s a no-​frills place but I don’t care about décor.
The only down side is I felt there wasn’t enough meat and product on the bread. It’s a huge piece of bread and I would thought it would be over flowing and it wasn’t.
Price was fair and not out of line.
I will definitely go back as it strikes me as a great hole-​in-​the-​wall place you get in college towns.

So yes, people are correct. The philly steak is pretty darn good. And really filling. My lunch partner said her Reuben was very good. The fries, although had great flavor, were pretty mushy.
I wouldn’t mind eating the food again, but I think someone else would have to go pick it up for me. The place is totally divey, and the staff are really friendly. BUT, I just can’t imagine watching the kitchen again. Nobody wore gloves while making food. One guy went from inside to outside, back to inside, really sneakily picked up the tip money and put it in his pocket, then touched all the food with his bare hands without washing. They didn’t use clean knives. They cross contaminated the knives as well, and only wiped raw meat from the knife with a towel.
Maybe I am just too prissy. I am all for getting down and dirty. But I think I’d rather someone else get down and dirty for me.

I was taken here for lunch last week. I feel I need to return again to try other things but I’ll go ahead and review what they’re known for which is their philly cheesesteak.
All in all I thought the sandwich was pretty good. It was meaty and cooked to my liking as far as toppings. I think standard is onions, cheese, and bell peppers. My onion qualm about the actual sandwich is that my bread was cold. I like my buns warm (oh yea baby)…which makes sense bc it’s a hot sandwich.
Fries were decent although slightly undercooked. I believed them to be freshly cut fries… they were just a lil too potatoe-​y.
Very dive-​esque atmosphere… small, few tables, but clean. Prices were very reasonable as well. I’d like to return to try some other things on the menu.

Solid sandwich shop in the Southside. The philly cheesesteak is pretty good, a little greasy for my taste but still good. I also tried the Kitchen Sink, which somehow was voted the best sandwich in Birmingham. It has too much stuff on it (as the name might imply) and all the flavors compete so that in the end, there is no distinguishing flavor at all. It is also a cold sub which detracts from the flavor, and might have better flavor if the meats and cheese are warmed or served hot. I’ll have to go back and try some of the other sandwiches for sure.

Stop by Fat Sams and you’ll get enough food for two meals at a great price. If I could give it a half dollar sign for price I would.
I got the Dragon Belly, which is a buffalo chicken pita roll-​up.
Sam butterflied breaded and fried a fresh chicken breast, slice up a real potato for the fries and had a great conversation with me at the same time. Hard to find fast food truly made fresh and Sam knows how to do it.
The guy in front of me got the Reuben and it looked AMAZING, probably going to go for that next time.
Sam does box lunches for catering too.

Fat Sam’s is the place to go in southside for a selection of delicious unique sandwiches with a friendly, casual environment. Top choices: Son of Italian (grilled), Philly cheesesteak, Dragon’s belly, hot wings, and Sam’s hand breaded chicken fingers. Also try the Russian dressing with the homemade French fries. Top choices of conversation topics with Sam: UAB, fishing, San Francisco, and Birmingham politics.