CHEESSTEAKS — Restaurant in Belmar

Wow! Never have I walked into an eatery with such uncertainty after reading some scathing and concerning Google reviews about the behavior of the employees, the cleanliness of the restaurant and the quality of the food. I was expecting to have a mediocre experience at best.

Additionally, I went into CHEESETEAKS with a grudge. This new eatery takes the place of SONNY'S, one of the best places to get food in the Belmar area. Why that place went under is beyond me and I'll start by saying that looking at the interior of this new establishment brought quite a bit of disappointment. Gone are the nostalgic photos and collectibles that aligned the walls of SONNY'S restaurant. Instead, the interior looks quite horrific with its painted cartoonish depictions. It's brash, ugly and not inviting at all.

However, the interior of this eatery should not be a reason to be deterred from trying the food. It was pretty damn good and my girlfriend and were very impressed.

Though there has been much criticism about the shenanigans that go on behind the counter, we were greeted by a young man who was extremely polite and walked us through our cheesesteak order and its array of options (do we want grilled onions, seeded bread, peppers).

Since they don't sell half subs, my girlfriend and I shared a 10" cheesesteak, an order of fries and two drinks. It came to just under $35, which is expensive. From the reviews I read, I did not expect this place to be cheap.

Our cheesesteak was phenomenal. It was packed with meat and oozing with cheese. The bread was fresh, crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle. I didn't think a half sub would be enough for me, but I was full after eating. You get a huge order of fries, enough to share for two, which is appreciated at a cost of almost $3.50 (if I remember correctly).

The place was empty on the late Thursday afternoon we visited, so it afforded enough time for the guy behind the counter to come outside where we were sitting several times to ask how our food was and if we enjoyed it. Before we left, another guy behind the counter came out and asked the same thing and was very much appreciative of the fact we thought the cheesesteaks were incredible. So, to us, it seems as if the staff here is making strides to make impressive sandwiches and make their customers feel appreciated.

Anyone who knew SONNY'S will immediately feel the loss when walking into this establishment. It's a soul-less eatery with a counter, kitchen, and tables scattered about. That being said, despite the high price of the food, we found the cheesesteaks to be the best we have had in this area. We also appreciate the way we were treated at the counter and the follow-ups thereafter as we ate and...

To start with positives, the portions are great and the beef is good quality. It’s clearly sliced ribeye, there’s a lot of it, and the semolina roll was fresh. Positives end there, however.

The decor was horrible. Dining room was sparsely decorated, with cheap metal tables, uncomfortable seats and nothing more. The walls look like they were ripped straight out of the design book of a VC-backed ghost kitchen startup, with vague references to Philadelphia all done in a street art style that adorn every corner of the dining room. It’s very busy, and clashes with the warehouse like sparseness of everything else. The floors were unfinished, and the whole place smelled like chemicals.

It’s clearly designed for takeaway, with no plates, no table settings, and no service. You order your food, and you’re handed a buzzer. You then sit down and wait. You are not a guest, not even a customer, you’re an order, and they let you know. Even if you are eating inside, the food is wrapped in a paper bag with the receipt stapled into it, as if the only people ever meant to see the interior were poorly paid and mistreated delivery drivers, which adds to the post capitalist, dystopian nightmare vibe they are going for. If you want the flavor of a startup that hemorrhages money every quarter and eventually is gobbled up by venture capital, this is your spot.

It is completely devoid of soul, and the food is no different. My cheesesteak was unseasoned, no salt, no pepper. It was flavorless. The peppers and onions were a dollar each as add ins, and were barely present on the sandwich. Every good cheesesteak I’ve had has not only been seasoned, but had those toppings mixed into the steak as it cooked. Gino’s is a great example of this. CHEESSTEAKS didn’t do that. Thus, the sandwich was flavorless, the add-ins clashed with everything else, and were also unseasoned.

This is not a restaurant. It’s half a ghost kitchen. If you’re high and looking for something smothered in cheese, delivered to you by an underpaid gig-driver, you might be happy. However, if you want a good cheesesteak, go...

Cheese steak was good and prices are decent. Chicken cheese steak was big chunks of overcooked chicken, not sure if that’s how they do it. “Fried” onions were very slightly cooked and huge pieces. I was looking forward to the semolina bread, but they must have ran out and failed to mention. If you get the long hots, mine were HOT. Like habanero hot. Fries: awesome.

Service: wow. Placed an online account order, said ready at 7:50. Came in then to 3 tables, one of which had food, and about 6 people that did not look happy. I was told 10 more minutes for my order by “Stoner #1”. Came back and was told 10 minutes by “stoner #2”. Then he said let me check, and came back and announced they were out of cheesesteaks and it would be 30 minutes. I expressed the prior events that led up to this, as neither of them remembered our interactions, and asked for my money back. He then said hang on and I watched him walk back to the kitchen and grab my order from a shelf and handed it to me with a great big feeling of accomplishment. I said “thank you” and then walked passed the miserable patrons with a feeling of guilt like I just got the last seat on Noah’s arc.

The seating area was clean (new). You can see through to a part of the kitchen. The floor was gross, and the rest looked pretty grimy considering it’s a new place. You could also partially see there was at least 6 workers back there, but clearly one or two of them were actually working, and the rest were just hanging out.

If they have an present owner, or a half decent manager, this place could probably thrive. As is, it’s riding out the hype from some social media reviews and I give it a year tops until they fade away like the last 5 eateries in that spot.

It wasn’t that busy for a friday at dinner time. Pull it...