Sparrow's Philly Cheesesteaks — Restaurant in Melbourne

It's got a rustic feeling and easily accessible being at the fringe of the city. It's self service so order at the bars for drinks and at the kitchen for food. They'll variate their drinks but have quite a selection on tap and on the racks. I had a cloudy apple cider off the tap which matched up quite well with my Philly cheesesteak.

If you've never had a Philly cheesesteak, it's essentially sliced beef that is seasoned and cooked with caramelized onions and green bell peppers, it's cooked on the girdle and provolone (or American cheese) is added to get a creamy consistency. Finally piled on to a soft roll and extra cheese is piled on top. Variations of it exist.

Understandable there's a gold standard when it comes to the rolls, but that's going to be a hard ask being away from Philly. However in opinion, it must come with green bell peppers. This is a personal condition and its like having a burger with pickles or Vegemite with butter on toast.

I can't say I was pleased when my cheesesteak came with American cheese and that is all my fault as the option exists to have it with provolone. However it came without peppers. They have sweet peppers but no option for green peppers. A Philly Cheesesteak without green peppers should be listed as cruel and unusual punishment that should be against the Geneva conventions.. Life isn't worth living if you dream all day and night and when presented with reality your joy turns to ash in your mouth.

OK so I'll deffo be back mainly because the vibe is relaxed and there are other things on the menu that may deserve a try, but if I ever crave a Philly Cheesesteak I'll be bringing my own peppers next time(jk).

(BTW, I never liked Green peppers to begin with but through my love of Philly Cheesesteaks, I've managed to overcome and gain +2 survivability additionally added +5 sociability among family and friends when I don't pick at my pizza when dining out also -5 order time when I don't decide to get the backhouse staff recreating the menu. On a serious note, I do wish it was an...

Date/time of visit: 21 April 2024 at 8:30pm

We first tried Sparrow's Philly Cheesesteaks at their food truck in Welcome to Thornbury. Since then, I've been wanting to try them again. So, we decided to go The Catfish where Sparrow's is currently co-located. The cheesesteaks are still just as exciting and I can't wait to go back to try another. For this visit, I had the Sweet Pepper Cheesesteak. Great flavour with hint of nice heat. My dining companion ordered the Spicy Chook - greatly enjoyed. We also ordered chicken wings - delicious; and a small serving of fries - decent serving size, a little cold when received but good flavour. Ordering was via a QR code but it seemed you could order in person. The venue, The Catfish, doesn't do reserved seating and has limited seating. It may be difficult to get seating on a busy night or you might need to share a table. This night had a number of groups who seemed to be there for the cheesesteaks. Another small group did ask to share our table due to no other available space. They moved when a table became clear after 15 tr so minutes. The venue itself is not my personal scene - there's nothing wrong with it but it just wasn't me (I did order drinks to go with the cheesesteaks and the drinks were fine). I didn't pay attention to the price - I knew I wanted the cheesesteaks again and was excited by the meal. But looking at the receipt while writing the review we paid $66 for the food and that was worth it. Definitely going back and have recommended it to...

Edit for latest visit on 10/05/2025: I had committed to not giving it another try. But, was in the area and said “why not”. I have to say, my previous review below was accurate at the time. But perhaps it was just a particularly bad day. I ordered the jalapeño with American (double) cheese and this time it was fantastic. Flavorful, full of great tasting no beef, jalapeños and cheese. Reminiscent of the early days that made me happy. So, they’ve definitely improved immensely. Anyone else that has had a less than satisfying experience, I urge you to give it another try now. Previous review: I am a U.S. ex-pat and have been coming to Sparrows/the Catfish for 5 years. Over the first couple of years, the cheesesteaks were awesome and gave me a true sense of back home. They really knew what they were doing. However, over the course of the last few years, they have steadily declined. Now to the point of my last visit, which will be my last. The meat is tolerable but tasteless. The buns are decent. But the cheese and spices are a zero. They don’t even do peppers (capsicum) anymore This time I ordered a “hot” with extra cheese (provolone). The cheese was minimal, there were no jalapeños, no peppers and minimal meat. So disappointed that they’ve ruined the one good cheesesteak experience that I had...