J & M Italian Specialty

Why did this place close! The food here was top notch. One of the best steak subs and the best onion rings I ever had. I ate here every day here when I was doing a painting job up the street. The people who worked there were very friendly. I can’t remember all the different stuff I tried in the two weeks I worked over there I would have eaten there more but they closed for vacation! If it’s true this is a loss for Saugus! I am supposed to do another job in the area soon I’ll have no place to eat!

Ordered the steak tip sub and it was delish… very happy with everything we ordered will def be back!!!

This place has gone through a number of changes since I moved to Saugus nine years ago. The menu and the service hasn’t changed much over the years, but that’s not necessarily good.
The order takers/​counter men can be abrupt, if not rude. And there has been several order mistakes made on deliveries. But overlooking that, the food is actually good.
Their subs are served on seeded, braided rolls. a good bread is so important to the sub experience. And these rolls are great! The sandwiches are filled and tasty. A really good deal is their combo platter: meatballs, sausage, chicken and eggplant. Through in a couple of orders of spaghetti or ravioli and you could feed a family (or two very hungry people). Also, it is one of the few non-​Greek pizzas in Saugus. Another plus.
Delivery can be slow, and when you go in you never know what to expect from the guys on the other side of the counter, but if you can deal with that, you’ll get some good food at reasonable prices.

Try the baked loaded potatoe pizza its awesome! I heard about it online on a friends facebook. At first I didnt know what to expect but yummyyyyyy.
New owner is nice and staff is ok.

Another place that USED to be good, but changed management and went downhill. Got pizza the other night. Wished I hadn’t. Would have taken a few rolls of paper towels to get the grease and oil off. Why does Saugus have NO good pizza places?

excellent, there was so much bacon in my blt the vegtables were crisp, the roll was soft, will surely order again.

Was once a great sandwich and pizza shop. Wow has it gone downhill over the last several years. Miserable bastards working behind that counter could care less if they make your sub right. Forget about ordering takeout, it will take forever, if they even remember to make it. If you talk to people who have never been there they think J&M has a good reputation for making quality food. Please let them know that was the old J&M they’ve heard about, pre-​2005. Ever since then this place has been a disgrace!

We were pretty disappointed with our experience. We got barbecue wings, a cheese pizza, and the baked potato pizza. We have had J&M before and there is a decrease in quality. The baked potato pizza was less full and didn’t have scallions on top. The barbecue wings were ok, but quite spicy for barbecue sauce. The big kicker is the just dumped the wings in a paper bag in a plastic bag, no aluminum foil, not even a little container. I just feel like they have gotten sloppy.

Ordered a Steak and Cheese for pickup. I get there after 20 minutes only for them to tell me they have no steak and id have to come back in another half hour. Because i enjoy their food i brushed it off came back 40 minutes later. Still no steak. Like are u kidding me? U cant call me to tell me the first time that your out of steak (which i dont get how u can be in the food industry and run out of steak) dont get me wrong as i stated above i like their food but this was so unproffesional i kind have felt embarrassed for them…

I have been going here since I was a little kid and for a long time it was my favorite subs, period. Unfortunately, they have been gradually getting worse. Especially the portion size. They do still have great bread & one of the best steak & cheeses around, but no longer have the wow factor. They make a good pizza as well. Both Sicilian style and regular thin crust.
The service is hit or miss. Sometimes it’s really good and other times there is a miserable girl who acts like you’re inconveniencing her when you order. Not that I go there for the service, but it doesn’t help the experience.
A few years ago this was an easy 5 for me. Now it’s barely holding on to a 4.

I haven’t even had my sub yet but I feel the need to review. I walk in and there is two muserable adults, one helpful teenager and a bunch of younger boys behind the counter. Not one says hi. I look around for a menu… The wall… The counter… nothing but a flimsy laminated 8×11. This is fine but the lack of help/smiles…not good.
I wanted a procutto basil and mozzarella sub. Whelp they say no fresh mozzarella. An Italian specialty shop with Italian platter catering and no fresh mozzarella. Ordered a pastrami and swiss instead.
I took notice of the family who retreated to the kitchen. Boy put finger in mouth and/​or touched face then bare handed helped by cutting a roll for another order.
Kids don’t belong in the kitchen. I thought it was only chinese restaurants which doubled as day care centers… I was wrong!
Have yet to decide whether to eat or trash my sub. Perhaps I will feed it to the dauchunds. Two stars… because one star seemed mean without trying the food.

I went here based off a friend’s recommendation from a few years ago.
It costs approximately $ 8 for a mediocre small Italian Sub and cool (not cold) 20 oz. cola.
* Beverage fridge must have had the temperature turned down low as my cola was not cold, and it was sparse, with only a few of each item to choose from (only Pepsi, no Coke).
* The floors, tables, and chairs in the dining area were littered with food, salt and pepper flakes, and ketchup.
* The trash bin was overflowing.
* Food preparation, money handling, phone calls, and everything else were all done together without gloves or hand washes. My friend pointed this out to me after. Eck! I hope I don’t get sick.
* I waited ten minutes to put in my order, then another ten minutes to get a small cold Italian Sub. There was only one person in front of me, who already had an order in when I got there.
* I asked for napkins, which were not given with the sub. The person told me twice he would bring napkins to us at our table. We ever got them, and he still could not find them anywhere when I mentioned he forgot me as I left. There were no apologies, and no rectification for later customers.
* Uncaring and unenthusiastic staff.
This is the last time we will go to J&M Italian Specialty, unless they make major changes for the good. The only thing missing were roaches or mice.
It’s getting harder and harder to support local businesses with experiences like this growing more and more frequent.
Sorry J&M, but people have got to know.

This place flys under the radar and its too bad because people are missing out. A buddy of mine took me over there to grab a sub and to my surprise it was on another level. It’s honestly in a class that about 10 — 15% of sub/​Pizza/​Deli etc. places fall under. The Bread is ridiculous, it’s a seeded Braided Roll that is so damn fresh. The bread isn’t a filler either so don’t be afraid to go big. Steak and cheese, chicken Parm, buff. Chicken arancini are all fantastic. The pizza is also very good, I posted a picture of a large cheese.

It was suggested that I change my rating from five stars to one star.
Why the 5 stars? What I was served was a quality sandwich. The service was great. If I had never been to J & M before and didn’t know that I was paying the same price for half the sandwich, I would have unimpressed but satisfied.
I loved going to J & M.
I’m not trying to change them.
I probably won’t go back.
If they had an email address, I would have emailed them directly. It doesn’t appear that they look at Unilocal

One word… the «BREAD»… braided/​seeded roll; it makes everything taste so good — even though the owners are not the «original» owners, they were very smart to continue carrying the perfect ingredients. My «go-​to» sandwich is a ham & cheese w/​mayo. Well, this place makes an impeccable ham & cheese. Now. onto my other faves… chicken park. WOAH BABY. On the seeded braided roll you just can’t get any better you really cant. Their steak and cheese is an icon it really is. The perfect amount of steak vs cheese ratio and that bread, it is just perfect. Their sandwichs are so fricken good, when ordering with friends we all get something different so we can share b/​c you just need to have a taste of it all when going there.
The staff… so friendly. Even the customer’s are great when you are waiting. Good food really does make people happy.
If you have never been — make the trip. You will not regret it.

I’m done with this place. Last time I was there I stood at the counter for ten mins any nobody greeted me or took my order. During that time I assume everyone in the business walked by me. But when someone one of the employees new came in they were greeted and served right away. Also they do no stick to there hours. There is a HUGE sign that says open till 7 or 9 I forget. But on more than one occasion I called to put in a order or walked In they were closed.
Not to mention the food has gone dramatically down hill.

I have been to J & M only twice and I would only suggest going here every great once in awhile.
The staff isn’t that friendly, and came off rude both times I was there. The dining room and kitchen area are both very messy and not the cleanist of places.
I have had the Steak Bomb Sub, and The Baked Potato Pizza, both are amazingly delicious. If you have never had a Baked Potato Pizza, you should try one. Slices of red potato, crumbled bacon, drizzled with sour cream, on a cheese pizza topped with chives, MMMMMM very very good!!!

The one thing that stands out to me about J & M above everything else is the bread. It seems like every sub shop buys the same sub bread from the same distributor. It is nice to get a sub on a fresh huge braided roll like I can get at Anthony’s in Stoneham square. I have been a bread slut ever since my dad drove a bread route when I was a kid… driving around in the back of that van with that hot fresh bread… mmmm. I always wondered why more places that serve subs don’t concentrate on the bread… I mean it’s half of what they mainly serve.
Any mom and pop shop can serve you a decent steak and cheese, but to get it on moist and tasty bread is a huge bonus. I should also note that much like Anthony’s in Stoneham, J & M doesn’t skimp on portion sizes. The subs can be considered two meals… unless of course you have the munchies (drunk or otherwise) and then it morphs into a single serving pretty quickly.

I was in the ‘hood and could not WAIT to go by for a slice of heaven but instead, I got a crappy, soggy, tasteless slice of pizza, dropped in a bag, with no plate. Oh did I mention it was COLD? And I heard the meatball subs were also good so I got one of those and I chucked it out the window on RT. 1 after taking two bites. DISGUSTING. Also tasteless.
Guess they forgot the hots, too, which at least might have added some zing before I zinged it out the window. Then… LIGHTS FLASHING in my REAR VIEW MIRROR… a cop pulled me over and was going to issue me a citation for defacing government property since the meatballs hit his cruiser and ruined the paint job on it. His window was open too and he was considering charging me with assault with a deadly weapon as he wiped skanky meatballs off his mirrored shades. Then I had explained I was just assaulted by the most criminally negligent meatball sub on the North Shore and he said «You went to J & M, apparently. I’ll just write you up for illegal disposal of garbage on a state highway. Just stick with Santoro’s and we won’t have any problems.» And with that, he just was kind enough to issue a warning as I am issuing to you: Avoid this place or your day will go downhill from there.
On the plus side, they now have seating and the inside has been remodeled.
Ugh. Crappy though. Ewww.

J&M has the best Steak and Cheese Subs that I have ever had, and I have had a lot of Steak and Cheese Subs! The rolls are thick and amazing, the cheese is perfect and the steak is cut up exactly right. Most places now-​a-​days you have to order extra cheese, but J&M doesn’t skimp on the cheese at all. The subs are never too greesy either, you know when the grease soaks the bread? Not here… A++!!!
They even deliver with no minimum delivery where a lot of other places won’t.
I also have had the pleasure of trying some of the specialty pizza, also delicious.
When I wasn’t living in Saugus, I would make a special trip to Saugus just to get J&M. I love it and you will too…