Pop's Subs
The Italian Stallion · pacific beach · $
Open since '94. The kid running the slicer is the grandson of the guy who built it. Sub rolls baked on-site every morning. Greasy in the right places.
The score
Late-night MVP
The basics
1232 Garnet Ave
Open · closes 10pm
Pairs with
A glass-bottle Coke and a friend who's hungry
Late-night PB lives and dies by sandwiches like this. We've eaten here at every age PB allows you to be, and it's still right.
“Greasy in the right places.”
The bread
Sub rolls baked on-site every morning. They get sturdier as the day goes on. By 9pm they're at their best — they've absorbed enough oil and vinegar to taste like the sandwich, but haven't given up structure. My cousin maintains this is the most underrated bread on the list. I think it's a notch below Mona Lisa's, but the gap is smaller than people think.
The filling
Capicola, salami, ham, provolone. Mike's Way is their version of the works — onion, tomato, lettuce, oil, vinegar, oregano, salt-and-pepper. It's the canon. Nothing surprising, everything correct. The salami is the underrated piece — they slice it thicker than you'd expect.
The people
Three generations behind the counter. The kid on the slicer is the grandson of the guy who opened it in '94. The dad is on the register. The mom is somewhere yelling at the dad. It's a family, openly.
The verdict
This sandwich at 9:47pm is one of the great San Diego experiences, and the price is the rest of the magic. A foot-long for $11 in 2026 is a small act of resistance. They could charge more. They don't.