Passyunk Avenue (Fitzrovia) — Restaurant in London

Decked out in dollar bills, sports memorabilia, a life size Danny Devito cut out and a huge Gritty, this dive bar wants you to feel like you've just stepped off the streets of Philly. The equivalent of a locals pub, but unlike most of the UK where you're stared at for not being a regular, you're encouraged to take a seat, chat away at the bar, inhale picklebacks and whisky coke floats until you don't want to leave.

You'll become a regular before you know it. You'll come back for the plethora of sports available to watch. The chat. The vibe. A couple came in at 2pm and asked "can we stay here all day?" since the MLB was on later and all evening (the Philly's won 9-3). If you're not watching that, or staring at the walls, they also have IASIP reruns on another TV.

I had my first cheesesteak back when they used to sling them out of a truck near Spitalfields Market. A glorious hot mess of meat and cheese-wizz on a soft bun, one is plenty, and you'll feel a bit dirty afterwards, but it's so good. This time around I added mushrooms and chillies to it, and it broke up the texture perfectly. Washed down with their Passyunk Pale from Sambrooks - light and sessionable. Dreamy.

Their new breakfast is hefty too. Pancakes, sausage, tater tots, eggs, bacon, maple. I'm surprised we polished it off. We'd already hoofed back the wings, I'd say some of the best buffalo wings I've ever had in terms of flavour. Pure tang. The same tang is found in the Bloody Mary too, again, I say with absolute sincerity, one of the best Bloody Mary's I've had. Cajun seasoning and red wine forming part of the base, along with pickle juice, it's scarily good.

Not had this much fun in a bar for a while. I'll be back for the Wing Wednesday challenge (although I doubt I'll hit 106!), and now I know where to watch all the American sportsball games. Bring on the...

Nice surprise in a pretty quiet part of central London. North Fitzrovia near the post office tower next door to the commendable Fish Bone chippy.

went with the family, all 5 of us with an age range of 24-60.

Having visited before for a work mates catch up, I decided to give it another go as an early evening precursor to the lifesized Monopoly thing in TCR.

The service was impeccable, the day we visited was super bowl day! We were unable to book online (due to super bowl) but the phone booking was seamless.

We were assigned a table at the back of the bar. The vibe is very defo shabby USA chic sports bar.

The music was perfect for me. Loud enough but not too loud that you couldn’t communicate. Think Green Day, Muse, Red hot chilli peppers, Foo fighters, MCR etc….. perfect!

Drinks were impressive and served perfectly. Cocktails were different and interesting, beer was cold and the pickle juice chasers were to die for!!

Food was hot tasty and filling. most of us had the signature Philly Cheesesteak with Wiz cheese (think orange elastin American burger cheese). These were big. We had fries and onion rings as sides and was more than enough.

This isn’t Michelin star foams und ju’s, but it is a belly filler stick to your ribs type nose bag. Don’t come for pretty food that won’t fill you up, come for tasty big food that might preclude a night on the tiles.

Last mention goes to the servers. They were the perfect blend of professional but laid back, perfectly complimenting their surroundings.

The walls are adorned with US sports paraphernalia and an english couple next to us requested that they put the Liverpool football match on the telly on the wall. Happily, the staff politely dismissed this request. Kudos!

Overall, a great place to visit if you like cold beer, good music, a cool US vibe and PICKLE...

A cheesesteak is about the trinity....a trinary marriage...of thinly sliced steak, gooey cheese and soft hoagie roll, and you find the promise of ooey, gooey goodness and a good time fullfilled at Passyunk Avenue.

Passyunk (properly pronounced Pass-yunk, two syllables) Avenue is perhaps the most authentic cheesesteak you will have outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the US. While I'm not from Philly I am from the Eastern US and have eaten my weight in cheesesteak sandwiches over the years and see both sides of the Cheese Wiz / Provolone cheese debate equally well. Both cheeses are delicious!

The bread is as close to a hoagie roll as you will find in the UK and the thinly sliced ribeye is spot on. The Cheese Wiz is made on site, as real CheeseWiz is not sold in the UK/EU due to legislation around what is and is not a cheese product. Real Cheese Wiz has a creamy, oozing characteristic and is supremely sticky & gooey. The homemade Wiz used at Passyunk is both of those, though it does tend to be a little runnier than real Wiz. No matter because the flavour is brilliant. The three sandwich ingredients combine to form the most magical experience. Once you have a good cheesesteak you will be hooked for life.

The restaurant isn't very big so I would expect it to be quite busy especially during these socially distant times we are in. Philadelphia has a rich and storied tradition of team sports and here is a plethora of memorabilia from all of Philly's sports teams (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS etc.). It really does feel like a little dive bar from Philly from the moment you enter.

You should run, not walk, to Passyunk Avenue..... and make sure you order the tater tots with Cheese Wiz....