Williams Sub Shop — Restaurant in Saint Petersburg

These are the full size Yum Yum Club and the Meatball sub for $7.20 and $7 respectively at William’s Sub Shop in Tyrone, St. Petersburg! This is a small casual hole in the wall with the atmosphere of a homier Subway. If I lived or worked next to this place, I’d make it a regular staple of my diet. It’s VERY reasonably priced, it’s got high quality ingredients that they don’t skimp on, the staff is very friendly and accommodating, and it just overall feels like the kind of place that when you walk in, they nod at you and say “Hey, Chuck. The usual?” And I LOVE that! It’s what St. Pete thrives on! That being said, the casual appeal of the joint also makes it hard to rave about it in an exciting narrative, the way I may have done with other places.

The Yum Yum had a healthy amount of ham, turkey, and roast beef. It also had bacon, but I felt like there wasn’t enough to really make a huge difference in the flavor or texture. There was a good amount of cheese, mostly because of the shredded mozzarella on top, but I wish that the sub had been toasted with the cheese on top because the shreds on this sub were very dry and rubbery. The diced tomato and hot pepper mixture that made this club unique was a refreshing kick, adding some brightness and spice to the mix and the flavor was nicely offset by the slight creaminess of the mayo. One major problem with this, though...when I unwrapped the club immediately after getting home, the tomato juices had already soaked the bread! The flavor of the bread was nice and fresh compared to the yoga mat texture of sandwich chain bread, but when half of it is falling apart and getting all over your hands, it’s a bit more difficult to appreciate. Perhaps if they had drained the diced tomatoes more, that would have worked out better. Good news is, both the cheese and the soggy bread problems were fixed with a 5 minute trip to the air fryer! The pic is below and you’ll likely agree it looks more appetizing!

The meatball sub was one I just had to order because it’s a staple of any sub place. It’s like my “test” - with one bite, I can tell how much they care about their craft in general. The order taker on the phone assured me that the meatballs were very popular and well received. I have to say, they were right! The meatballs had a hearty and juicy consistency, the flavor was perfectly balanced with the cheese, and the freshly cooked marinara sauce added the perfect addition of tang and smokiness. My only wish was that the meatballs were a bit bigger, because the circumference of the sub was a bit lacking compared to others I’ve had, as well as compared to the Yum Yum club. However...for $6-$7, it’s still an incredible value!

At the end of the day, this place is a casual sub shop, not looking for Michelin stars or critical acclaim. It’s looking to accomplish a homey feel where you have no reason to go to Quizno’s or a Subway because just down the road, you have real people with real ingredients who know you by name and charge the same price. They do this well. I wouldn’t drive 20 minutes there and back just for this again, but I’d gladly stop by on the way to the beach or walk there every few days if I lived close by. I give William’s Sub Shop a casual 4 out of 5 quacks! Keep doing what you’re doing!

Tampa...

I have been going to William’s since I was a kid and have never had an experience like I did today. We walk in and order our sandwich to go. 1 yum yum. While we are waiting around 6 people that ordered after us had already gotten their food. In fact, while we were waiting another woman that had walked in and ordered well after us stated she can’t believe she got her sandwich before us, she didn’t seem too impressed with the level of service either based on her comments. My boyfriend inquired about our sandwich and was brushed off and told they are going to make it. He decided he had enough and went to sit in the car. I waited a few minutes and then I inquired about my sandwich and the young woman that was working responded with “we’ve been busy, you need to relax”. I explained I’ve waited over a half hour and that everyone eating in the shop had ordered after me. She continued to be nasty to me telling me to relax. Another customer in the restaurant didn’t appear to appreciate the way she was speaking to me and stated that I had been waiting patiently for over a half an hour and out of the more than 20 years he had been coming here he had never seen it this disorganized. I get mistakes happen and our ticket was lost in the shuffle of things but there is absolutely no excuse to treat a person the way this young woman did. I feel the other patrons in the restaurant felt similarly as it was quite shocking. In the end we didn’t get what we ordered exactly but at that point it didn’t matter, we just wanted to leave and be done with...

I heard about this place on Tik Tok and decided to give it a try on my way home one day. I had the "Yum Yum" club sandwich, tuna macaroni salad, and a lemon berry jazz bar for dessert.

The sandwich was decent it's not the best I've had but I would have it again if I'm in the area. I wasn't a big fan of it cold so maybe hot would be the way to go for this one. The tuna macaroni salad wasnt that flavorful to me personally. And the lemon berry jazz bar was very good and I'm not huge on sweets but I ate the whole thing.

The service was awesome the two women working the counter were willing to talk to me and give suggestions about what's popular as well as providing some information about how long they've been around.

If you are in the area why not stop by and give them a shot. I would go back and give some other...