The Yeller Sub – Albuquerque, New Mexico

In the town where I was born…
Lived a man who sailed to sea…
And he told us of his life…
In the land of submarines…
– The Beatles: Yellow Submarine

The phantasmagorical 1966 Beatles song Yellow Submarine may or may not have been the inspiration for Albuquerque’s venerable Yeller Sub, but one thing’s for certain.  Since it launched in 1979, the Yeller Sub has been the Duke City’s land of  oversized sub and torpedo sandwiches. Long-time residents will remember that the Yeller Sub was first located on Juan Tabo not too far from Manzano High School. Today it resides in the Louisiana Plaza Shopping Center off Montgomery.  Its current corner storefront has remained a popular dining destination for more than two decades.

The restaurant’s familiar marquee includes a cartoonish Beatles style yellow submarine sliced in half with piled high sandwich ingredients forming the “body” of the submarine.   Original Beatles “action figures” (my Star Wars loving friend Ken gets upset if they’re called figurines or dolls), some featuring the famous yellow submarine, can be seen on the counters.  Many of them were gifts from faithful customers and remain in their original wrapped boxes.  Should you opt to dine in, you’ll be immersed in the musical stylings of the 70s and 80s (at least that’s been our experience).  We didn’t hear a single Beatles song during any of our visits.

In many ways, Yeller Sub is the antithesis of the ubiquitous sub sandwich chain leader.  All sandwiches are made-to-order.  They’re not crafted from hermetically sealed packages of  pre-wrapped and carefully measured portion sizes of meats with mountains of shredded lettuce forming most of the sandwich’s filler.  All sandwiches are made on Yeller Sub’s housemade fresh-baked French or whole wheat rolls.  Available in seven- and fourteen-inch sizes, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find that each is longer than advertised (unlike the industry leader’s fallacious contention that it offers foot-long subs).

Throughout the fruited plain, sandwiches crafted from long rolls of Italian or French breads split lengthwise and stuffed with meats, cheeses, vegetables, sauces and seasonings are known by many names, most based on regional variations.  There are submarine sandwiches, hero sandwiches, Italian sandwiches, hoagies, grinders, torpedoes, subs and more.  Yeller Sub offers both subs and torpedoes and though they’re crafted from the same breads, they’re not synonymous.

Torpedoes, which can be served cold or hot, are garnished with shredded lettuce, sliced tomato, onions and Yeller Sub’s own special blend of Italian dressing which is made daily.  It’s an outstanding Italian dressing which is available for purchasing.  There are nine sandwiches on the torpedoes menu and seven sandwiches on the “signature subs” menu.  Subs, designed to be served hot, are crafted without garnish though garnishes are available for an additional charge. Yeller Sub also offers a variety of extra toppings such as green chile, mushrooms, jalapeños, grilled onions, omelet-style eggs, sliced cucumbers and more.

Optional toppings for torpedoes include black olives, mushrooms, bell peppers, banana peppers, jalapeños, grilled onions, cucumbers, sliced pickles, pickle spear and green chile.  Torpedoes are adorned with the cheese of your choice:  American, Swiss, Provolone and Pepper Jack.  Premium add-ons, price dependent on the size of your torpedo, are extra cheese, bacon, egg (omelet style), avocado and double meat.  Three “breakfast all day” subs are also available.  Obviously, Yeller Sub has been creating sandwiches for a long time which New Mexicans love.  In 2025, Yeller Sub earned “Best Sandwich” honors from Albuquerque The Magazine readers.  Framed certificates showcasing other honors reflect both both Yeller Sub’s longevity and the love Duke City sandwich aficionados have for this institution.

The Yeller Sub menu isn’t limited to sandwiches.  In fact, one of the best reasons to visit is for ice cream and desserts featuring Blue Bell ice cream, a gift from Texas to the rest of the world.  All ice cream scoops are generously portioned to a full quarter-pound per scoop.  Banana splits–three scoops of your favorite flavors–easily serve two.  Other dessert options include a banana royale, shakes and malts and a “fudge-nutty” brownie sundae.  My favorite Yeller Sub sweet treat, alas no longer available, was a double-scoop waffle cone with Whoppers malted milk balls.  It was terrific!  For my Kim, the milk shakes are a must while her lesser half loves the malts.

3 February 2026:  Side orders include seasoned criss-cut fries, onion rings, macaroni salad, potato salad, fresh baked cookies and more.  The onion rings are excellent.  They’re  crispy, crunchy, and  breaded just right to a light gold hue.  When you bite through the crunchy breading, an intact sweet, juicy onion greets you.  Best of all, they’re available in two sizes: regular and bucket (not quite two dollars more).  You’ll want a bucketful.   Four salads are also available including a tossed vegetable salad with no meats.  Yeller Sub also offers party trays and party subs, each serving approximately five to six guests per foot.  Box lunches can also be requested.

31 August 2012: The meatball sub is special–a generous portion of housemade meatballs smothered in Marinara sauce and topped with melted Provolone cheese.  The meatballs include just enough filler to bind them together so that what you’re tasting is very well seasoned and utterly delicious meatballs.  The Marinara sauce is also nicely seasoned. One of the first things you’ll notice about the bread at Yeller sub is how chewy (a sign of just how fresh it is), moist and delicious it is. It’s a better bread than you’ll find at Dion’s.

3 February 2026:  Since leaving Boston in 1979, it’s been my one of life’s quests to find a pastrami sandwich and a tuna sub to compare with those with which I fell in love in the east coast.  Finding an outstanding tuna sub is the greater challenge of the two since there’s no way you’ll ever find fresh, out-of-the-boat tuna anywhere near Albuquerque.  Yeller Sub’s tuna torpedo didn’t give me much hope that I’d find a good tuna sandwich there because one of its components is eggs (along with mayonnaise, celery, pickles and spices topped with a garnish of onions, tomatoes and lettuce).  Surprisingly, the tuna torpedo, it turns out, is a terrific sandwich, albeit not as engorged with fresh tuna as at my favorite Boston haunts.  It’s not only “good for New Mexico;” it’s just plain good!  It’s one of few sandwiches in which I don’t mind a pile of lettuce because Yeller Sub is generous in dousing veggies with their outstanding Italian dressing.

16 February 2013: It’s been pretty well established in recent years that New Mexico’s foray into the nationwide discussion as to the best burgers in the fruited plain stops and ends with the green chile cheeseburger.  Enterprising restaurateurs throughout the Land of Enchantment have created their own unique takes on this ubiquitous classic, most commonly replacing burger buns with tortillas or sopaipillas.  At the Yeller Sub, you won’t find tortillas or sopaipillas, but you will find a burger on a sub sandwich bun.  You’ll want green chile on the Burger Torpedo and you’ll want the full fourteen-inch size (which is closer to 15 inches than it is to 12).  The Burger Torpedo is made from 100% ground patties made on-site to fit the sandwich rolls.  It’s topped with lettuce, tomatoes, onions and the special Italian dressing which prevents a tangy counterpoint to the piquancy of the green chile.

3 February 2026:  Even the most ardent of Arby’s aficionados will find Yeller Sub’s Roast Beef Torpedo several orders of magnitude better than the chain sandwich shop’s mediocre offering.  Yeller Sub adorns this torpedo with thin slices of top-round roast beef cooked medium well then topped with lettuce, tomatoes, onions and the signature Italian dressing.  Order the fourteen-inch long and you’ll have half a sandwich left over for later.  The roast beef torpedo is as good cold as it is warm. Even better than the roast beef torpedo is the steak and grilled onions sub.  It’s the nearest thing Yeller Sub has to a Philly cheesesteak (provided you add cheese, of course).  The steak is grilled on a flat top along with the onions.  You might be able to tell from the photo above that sometimes the steak and onion spend too much time on the flat top.  It helps with caramelization, but not so much if you don’t like so much char.

3 February 2026:  Too much time on the flat top also desecrated my pastrami torpedo.  There is no excuse for desiccated pastrami.  It’s a mortal sin!  In anticipation that the pastrami would not be of the caliber I enjoyed so much in Massachussets, I asked for it to be  topped with lettuce, onions, tomatoes and as much Italian dressing as could be added.  Those additions proved the torpedoe’s saving grace.  Ordinarily the only additives a pastrami sandwich should need are a good deli mustard and cheese (preferably Provolone).  Yeller Sub’s pastrami torpedo needed all the help it could get.  It’s not a sandwich that will ever grace our table again.

The Yeller Sub is staffed with an enthusiastic and friendly crew who will make you feel like a welcome guest.  From providing sandwich recommendations to refilling your drinks, they’re as attentive a staff as you’ll find at a five-star restaurant.  The wonderful staff is just another reason Yeller Sub truly is the land of submarines in Albuquerque.

The Yeller Sub
7200 Montgomery Blvd, N.E.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
(505) 888-9784
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LATEST VISIT: 3 February 2026
# OF VISITS: 5
RATING: 20
COST: $
BEST BET: Onion Rings, Super Yeller Torpedo, Tuna Torpedo, Meatball Sub, Burger Torpedo, Waffle Cone, Chocolate Malt,