Philly's Famous Cheesesteaks/ Sweet Street Desserts — Restaurant in Largo

Not the best Philly Cheesesteak in Town and High Priced - Go to Delco's

This is a small Philly Cheesesteak focused restaurant located in a strip mall center in Largo, FL. They have been in business since 1990 (although previously in a standalone kiosk on East Bay) and claim to have the best Cheesesteaks in town. My wife and I disagree.

We often go to Delco's up in Dunedin. However, I thought we would try Philly's to see how they compared. Frankly, it isn't even close on taste or value.

I ordered a 12" Cheesesteak ($11.99) and a large order of Onion Rings ($5.99). The cheesesteak wasn't full and had lots of filler with large onion chunks (which I like, but not when it offsets the amount of meat). The bread was larger than the amount of meat. Taste wise, I didn't think it was even in the top 50% of cheesesteaks I have tried. Frankly, I think some of the national chains do a better job than this place. As for the onion rings, there were less than 10 onion rings (including the very small ones) in the large basket. They tasted fine but a little short on quantity for a large basket. They charge $2.99 for a small fry (in a small bag) and $4.99 for a large fry in a slightly larger bag. Frankly, looks like you get McDonald's quantity at higher prices. A can of soda pop that they buy in 12 packs (because I saw them sitting next to the register) was $1.59.

If you want a real cheesesteak, go to Delco's in Dunedin. For $9 you get a much bigger and tastier cheesesteak and the sides are cheaper and larger too. Not to mention the Philly sports atmosphere at Delco's is great!

Since the owner challenged my review, I will follow up with this: While we were there, NO ONE ordered a small cheesesteak for dinner. Every single person ordered the 12". So, to argue that a 12" is enough for two people is ridiculous at least at dinner time. Additionally, I will point out that the location is very small, cramped and they have black curtains hanging behind the register so you cannot see them...

First of all, I have had Cheese Steaks at Pat’s and Geno’s. I have also had them in FL. The ones at this restaurant are nothing like the ones in Philly or anywhere else. The meat tasted like it came out of a can. It was gross. The cheese that was on the fries was like a gritty cheese flavored paste. It was a lower quality than the cheese that is put on nachos in a high school football stadium. This was not exactly a trip to flavor town. It was gross. I took a few bites and threw away my food. I won’t be returning.

Edit: LMAO. Just in case whomever wrote the response to my review decides to delete it, I copied it into my review.

Without further ado here is the response:

"Sorry to hear you expected us to make them like pat's & Geno's but we really do appreciate this review for others to read. We take it as a "Badge of Honor" for someone to tell us we aren't like Pat's or Geno's. If that is they type of cheesesteak you expected, you definitely would not get that here. They use a thick sliced eye round steak that most find hard to chew and is not as flavorful as the ribeye/Sirloin mix that we use. As any friend in Philly would tell you, those places are tourists traps and there are much better places to get a cheesesteak. Most place places use rib eye/ Sirloin and season and chop the steak to make it easier to eat. Our steak, rolls and many other items come direct from Philly. We use the highest quality. Our cheese sauce is an aged cheddar, which most people appreciate the higher quality than basic nacho cheese sauce. Our recommendation if you are going to Philly, stay away from tourist spots. Try Jim's on South street, Dalessandro's, Johns Roast Pork & Steaks or for a non traditional cheesesteak but really good, Angelo's in South Philly. When you come back here, you'll have a better appreciation of what a good one should taste like and give us a 5 star review like most people...

We love this place and feel lucky to have found it just on a whim. While in Clearwater, we had a craving for cheesesteaks and did a Google search and this was the first one listed in the search. Was so happy with our food we now regularly drive from South Hillsborough county to get cheesesteaks and those awesome onion rings and cheese fries! The lady at the front counter is ALWAYS so friendly and polite. I'm sorry these "1 star Karen's" have literally nothing going on in their life so they decide to make up lies about a locally owned small business. Your food is known locally and throughout the entire Tampabay area so your regular customers aren't leaving. We see through the lies. Also, anyone complaining about lack of seasoning in their cheesesteak apparently has never worked in food service. It's widely known you don't season food the way you eat it cause not everyone likes heavily salted or peppered food. If your eaten your food there you could have said something, but instead you hide behind social media to complain. Geez, if I felt as strongly about an issue as these folks state I'd be calling tomorrow to find out when I could bring the leftovers back and meet with the owner/manager. Those type of people only want to complain and I bet they were sitting there eating their food while typing that complaint and waiting for the owner to bow down and offer up free food. Enough about that. I'll keep making that trek across the HF bridge to enjoy the wonderfully tasty cheesesteaks and sides as long as you are there. You guys...