Philly Sandwich Bar — Restaurant in Antwerp

Being from Philadelphia, the last thing I expected to see in Antwerp (Belgium) was a store called Philly. At first, I wondered what "Philly" might mean in Flemish. Turns out the store sold Philly Cheesesteaks! Even though I was on a river cruise with formal dining served nightly on the ship, I had to try a Philly cheesesteak. It turned heads in the ship's dining room when I brought in a bag for dinner and opened it up to a beautiful cheesesteak!

Philly is more of a take-out, rather than dine-in, place. This is why Atmosphere only got 4 stars. But as a Philadelphian who has enjoyed cheesesteaks in and around Philadelphia and other places in the U.S., Antwerp's Philly far exceeded my expectations. Note in the picture, I added the pickles. Philly also had options for mushrooms, peppers, and most of the other fixin's you would add to a cheesesteak.

One of my habits when trying out local food (e.g., pizza and gelato in Italy, lody in Poland, chimney cakes in Czech Rep.) is to give ratings to each aspect of the food with a final grade. In this case, the very best cheesesteak in Philadelphia (which is a matter of personal opinion) is a Geno's cheesesteak with American cheese, fried onions, mushrooms, lots of rib-eye meat, and ketchup all on an Amoroso roll. Here is my rating for Philly-Antwerp (out of 5):

Roll (4.7)-Not a perfect Amoroso or Liscio roll, but still a wonderful European bakery-style roll, and absolutely delicious.

Meat(4.4)-Rib-eye steak is the best. I prefer a little less grease as I get older and my stomach can't handle it as much, but the Antwerp version was loaded with excellent rib-eye steak shredded to perfection. I did find two pieces of gristle in my sandwich and the steak quality could have been a little better, but all-in-all, it was terrific.

Cheese(4.5)-When I asked for American cheese on my steak, I was told that Belgians don't consider it real cheese. I always thought that only applied to cheese whiz, but Europeans are very picky about their cheese. Instead, I chose a mix of cheddar and provolone. The result was a very tasty and gooey mix that was just as good as any cheese I've had on a steak.

Fixin's(4.8)-I like my fried onions carmelized or burnt. The chef did as I asked (not like many Philly places I have been to) and cooked the onions a bit extra before adding them to the meat. Perfecto! And the mushrooms were delicious and tender. (I added the pickles, which were gherkin- rather than dill-style, but were also delicious.) One other thing: Europeans don't do ketchup like American's do. It is usually mixed with something like cream or curry (huh?) and is much sweeter than in the States. Philly's ketchup clearly came right out of a Heinz bottle.

Location(4.9)-For a take-out restaurant, Philly was perfect. They even had the store window covered with Philly memes like the Liberty Bell, Ben Franklin, and of course, my beloved Eagles, Phils, Flyers, and Sixers! I also give extra points for the fact that the store was in Belgium's old town.

Overall-Philly Antwerp gets a solid A for its cheesesteak. Now if I could only get it delivered to be back in the States! I highly recommend you try it next time you...

A taste of the US finally here in Antwerp, an authentically American designed place that sells authentic Philly cheesesteak.

The classic Philly cheesesteak in this place was phenomenal, it is the only place in Antwerp that sells this kind of sandwich. The sauce selection was really good, I personally enjoy the garlic sauce with my sandwich.And you must have the curly fries with it as a side when you order. Service was fast and very polite, the service here is immaculate. The guy working the counter is very nice and helpful and the food reached me fast and hot. The restaurant is very clean which shows how good the service is. The location is very close to the city center, it is a 1 minute walk away from the Grote markt of Antwerp which I found really nice and makes this place a must to come to.

In conclusion I would highly recommend people to come visit this restaurant for it is a great experience for a new type of food in the city...

This Philly cheese steak sandwich from this restaurant restored my faith in this sandwich as a whole. When I was in high school I had a Philly cheese steak sandwich for the first time that was so nasty that I never wanted to have one ever again. So initially when my husband chose this place to eat, I was skeptical and didn’t want to eat here based off my previous experience. I am so glad that I gave it another chance! I wish I could give this restaurant a 10 star rating. The sandwich was so fresh and flavorful, savory, not overly greasy, the cheese was melted to perfection, and it was a perfect portion for my husband and I to share! You can tell the chef loves to cook because it shows in the work of art that these sandwiches are. Staff attitude is 10/10 very nice.

Thank you for this wonderful dining experience. I hope one day to come here again!

I will recommend 10/10 to anyone thinking of coming here.

Much love 🫶🏻from...