Phil's — Restaurant in Upper Freehold Township

My family and I have been going to Phil's since I can remember.

The owner recentlly sold the restaurant to one of the chfs that worked in the kitchen. So as a graduate from culinary school also I would expect better food than the previous owner. In some regards it is better but also it's different and all the OLD regulars need time to adjust or find a new spot.

THE FOOD My order was chicken franchese w/ spaghetti, chicken marsala w/ spaghetti and chicken + chips.

Buffalo Chicken Rolls used to be 1.75-2$ each + tax now they are $3 each with no update to the menu in store price. Also the chicken roll / buffalo chicken roll the only difference is heat. The buffalo roll has red sauce which makes no sense. I ordered 2 cups of BLue cheese and they were both not even half filled.

BOTH spaghettis for BOTH chicken dishes that BOTH had sauce already were sauced with red sauce and cheese.... enough said.

The franchese sauce was thicker but ultimately needed more salt, more pepper, more lemon and more wine. It was a chicken sauce with a hint of lemon

The marasala I cannot speak upon as my brother ate it but it looked about the same color and consistency of mine.

The fried food is better than it was (it looked like they didnt use to change the oil regularly... EWWW GROSS) and the mozz stix are improved definitely as well as the chicken tenders but they still need to add a vent to the container so the fries dont get all soggy.

THE SERVICE The woman on the phone was attentive, got my order right except if i ask for extra sauce for chicken franchese you would think that the spaghetti would come unsauced and as I stated previously it did not

THE STORE Not much has changed except when you walk inside it feels very empty. The shelves are gone loaded with snacks and candy and

although a small thing for a regular customer but a disorienting one for a regular, the soda is all in different locations in the fridge than it used to be. so I kind of got confused for a little trying to find my dr, pepper ( normally far right now is far left)

THE PRICES

The prices on most menu items have gone up slightly because of a few factors.

Buying a restaurant instantly puts yourself into a massive amount of debt especially because 60-80% fail in the first 1-3 years so I expected a slight increase in price but nothing drastic and for the most part I was right.

Pizza prices ARE NOT UPDATED ON THE MENU so ask first

Overall if they fix a few things they are shaping up to a be a fine replacement for the old owners.

Change doesnt have to bad as long as the quality remains better The quality initially upon going here was much better but has started to fall off and become worse than previously. I understand they want to make more of their own food but then why even keep the old items if the quality suffers.

When i asked about the price changes I was met with " lots of things have changed goodbye" GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE LOVE...

My family has been going to Phil’s for 25 years. I recently heard that the business was sold. After returning home with our order we found that the quality was not the same. For staters Phil’s veal is always fork tender. The veal we had was like rubber and the sauce tasted like ketchup. We always loved how Phil’s prepared the spinach. The garlic in the spinach was rancid and it tasted like they added some teriyaki based sauce to mask the rancid garlic taste. Well it didn’t work and it was nasty. The chicken parm was thicker than my hand and also hard to chew. We also had an order of vodka rigatoni which is a signature dish of Phil’s. They gave us ketchup and with butter over the rigatoni. Phil’s has taken a turn, and it is understood that their has been a change in management. However it is so bad that they should consider changing the name to Pedros or something because this is a disgrace to Phil. We were also advised that the bill was 31.50. Funny thing is when I picked up the food the bill was 34.00 I guess he charges differently for each customer. I contacted the management this past Saturday night, after we sat down and attempt to eat the rubber and leather with rancid garlic, he didn’t seem to care much. Very poor business practices. Good luck my man we won’t be ordering our holiday catering from Phil’s any longer. Enjoy the rubber...

I’ve been eating Phil’s for I would guess about 40 years since he had the stainless steel diner on Rt. 130 in Robbinsville. On Friday evenings the line was down the steps, across the front of the building and down the side. When he opened Phil’s 2 I naturally still supported him. His veal parmigiana was the best. It was tender and the sauce was spiced to perfection. I always had leftovers and the price made it the best bargain around. Italian hot dogs were to die for. I bought lunch and dinner there about 4 times a month. Having moved out of the area, I recently made my first trip back (30 minute drive each way) and ordered 2 veal parmigiana. Noticed a totally new staff, asked about Phil and was told he’d retired. I figured the food would be the same. How would anyone make drastic changes from Phil’s success. Was I ever wrong. There were only 3 pieces of veal (Phil had 5), there were no visible spices in the sauce…it tasted like plain tomato sauce, and the price went up. I had no problem with the price but I was still hungry and the food was average at best. Thanks for 40 years Phil. Your name should be off the building since your love of supplying awesome food was not passed on to...