Philliez Minchinbury — Restaurant in Sydney

Go here now! Or as soon as is Covidly convenient.

We ordered a take away from here last week while it was still possible, and I was glad we did. Firstly the service was great. We had been trying to call a few times but the line was constantly busy. As I had been waiting for them to open for months, I was determined to get in touch, so I jumped on the Instagram page and messaged to see if they were closed.

Whoever mans the Instagram was as friendly as and super helpful, not only informing me that they were open, but took my order, passed it on to the store, ensured that it was received and informed me how long it would be. 10 points. Then when we got to the store, the staff were apologetic and similarly exceedingly friendly. 10 points.

Right, to the business of food. We ordered a Pulled Beef Burger, Double Double Burger, BLT Burger, Mexican Chilli Cheese Fries and Magic Mushrooms.

Magic Mushrooms - Magic. The crumbing/batter was light but big on flavour. Due to the serving size, we had left overs of these, and the morning after they tasted even better if you can believe it. Similar to a certain famous chook shop and there 11 herbs and spices, but better. Not oily at all, surprisingly. 10 points

Mexican Chilli Cheese Fries - Moreish. Unlike other loaded fries, these didn't leave you feeling as though you had just drank a oil thick shake. They weren't excessively spicy, just full of flavour. Full disclosure, I wasn't the biggest fan of the type of fries themselves. I would have preferred thinner fries, but the topping more than made up for it. 9 points

BLT Burger - Surprising. I didn't read the description, so when I bit into it and tasted the beetroot it did a thing to my mouth. The different flavours just worked. Egg, lettuce, tomato, onion, beetroot. Then the beef rashers. Don't be put off by the fact its not bacon. Yes the store is 100% Halal. The beef rashers work, trust me. 10 points.

Double Double Burger - Addictive. I'm glad this burger ended when it did. I would have kept eating until I suffered a medical emergency. The buns are perfect. I think they use the same buns across all burgers, and they are the perfect burger bun. Not sweet like some of this appearance can be, and they maintained their integrity as required, not turning to mush. I hate pickles. Hate is a strong word but if you dislike pickles you know what I mean. These pickles though. DAMN. Just try them. You will not regret it. They aren't vinegary and pickley at all. Just add good crunch. The Philly sauce is the champion of this store though I think. Its offered on just about everything, and I'm glad I got it on this burger. The beef patties are top shelf, blue ribbon quality. 10 points.

Pulled Beef Burger - Juicy. Anyone who has pulled anything before, knows that it sometimes, often even, can be dry. Even if it looks wet. Even if it has a tone of sauce. Not this stuff. Tender, juicy, beef briskety goodness. The slaw salad was good stuff. Obviously fresh. A seriously good burger if you want something a little different than the standard beef patty style burger. 10 points.

As you can tell from this novella, we were more than impressed by our first experience with this store. I can't say enough, so I won't say any more....

My first visit here (making a takeaway order) my partner and I waited 30 minutes for two... TWO basic Philly cheese steaks. That's it. After noticing so many other people coming, collecting, and leaving, we started to realise that we were forgotten about; which felt quite absurd, considering we were the only people standing inside the restaurant. But hey, at least we got to stand there and reminisce about Loony Tunes tazos; so it's not a complete loss...

Finally, one of the staff members approached us and said "Hey... were you guys waiting on an order?" I was nonplussed at this, since she literally TOOK our order 30+ minutes prior.

After we politely reminded her, they gave us our food and we left. Too bad that when we arrived home we noticed the Cheese Steaks didn't contain half the fillings... :/

Though, like a domestic abuse victim, sometimes we return to those who've hurt us, to offer a chance of redemption; hopeful that they've changed.

...if you've read this far, dear intrepid gourmand, I assume you know where this is going. But alas! A tale is a tale, and tautology aside, I must share.

We decided for our encore, that we'd order through UberEats. We ordered another cheese steak (for their chance at redemption), as well as a salad, fries, and a Bananarama milkshake.

50 minute wait time? Unwelcome, though, expected. And it gave my partner and I some time while we played a particularly hard co-op game on Ps5 (life gives lemons, so we planted the seeds to grow our own orchard. F**k lemonade...)

We sat and watched as various poor delivery drivers were subjected to the fabled Phillies wait-time. ... we felt bad as we watched them come and go. Finally, one battle-hardened warrior of an Uber driver displayed no small amount of grit, and persevered through the evening to deliver us our food. Obviously, this absolute mensch deserved a tip.

We swiftly checked our items, and were yet again met with the sorrow that fills one whose stomach has been speaking to them for the last hour and a half.

The cheese steak, again, missing half the fillings. The salad, a lacklustre attempt (using iceberg lettuce). Fries? So loose I could have strung them together and made a noose to hang myself; which I almost felt like doing at this point (I jest, friends). And finally, but also, most egregiously, no straw for my milkshake. My internalised rage was nearly palpable, as the room around me rose in temperature by a noticeable 6 degrees. Talk about global warming!

My partner decided to forego her meal to have leftovers.

Honestly, I won't be going back, and I'd share a cautionary tale to all you adventurers out there:

Quest for your sustenance in other valleys, for this one is tarnished with the curse of...

The only reason there is 1 star is si I can write this review.

This is the first and last time getting what they call "food" from here! Poor customer service to begin with, not serving customers and all staff at the front counter were talking to an older gentleman (may have been manager/owner but was not on shift), with no apology on the initial wait - should've walked out at that moment!

Had to wait nearly 30min for food and only got it when had to approach the counter, querying where the food was? The very rude comments and attitude from the female staff member on the counter "claimed" she'd been calling our name and said she didn't remember serving us, even though we had confirmed we were eating in too...noticed she still put take away on the receipt regardless!

We had chosen to sit outside (the only ones out their too!) as tables were dirty and cleaning started 20min after we ordered - we noticed this when watching from outside looking at the staff members for any indication that our order was ready!

We didn't stay and chose to eat in the car instead as did not want to be around this unpleasant environment!

Our food received was barely warm and horrible after taking a bite/taste. Very disappointing and will never eat from Philliez again!! 🤮

Also the nerve of this female staff member with her snidely comments, behaviour, poor attitude and including the male staff member behind the counter laughing at what was happening too, not wearing his face mask when serving (just had it under his chin).

Both were confronted and called out on their disrespectful behaviour at the counter - no apologies received just continued rude behaviour!

This female staff member certainly looked like she hated being at work and didn't care what she said to a customer or about them under her breath, though I could still hear her in the face mask! Even when she walked into the kitchen, she was still making comments and the male staff member was also commenting and laughing!

This was my bad experience this afternoon and hope others have had or do have a better...