New England Grinders — Restaurant in West Chester Township

Update: I thought I was being really fair and polite giving a detailed review, but it was met with sarcasm. So I took another star off for the abysmal attitude of the customer service and won't go back for the pastrami. If you're not a dude that works in the surrounding industrial park with 30 minutes to eat and few options, I would reconsider.

A shame. Again, I was actually really hopeful about this place after reading some of the really high reviews.

Original: I'm really torn on this one.

I came in on a Monday at like noon, and it was very busy. I walked out at a little after 12:30, and the lunch rush was definitely over. They served me very quickly. I enjoyed the wall art. Lots of black background white text pictures with various sayings and references. I got a chuckle at some. Wish I could have seen them all. The rest is a little dated. You can just tell the booths and such haven't been remodeled in a while. Not dirty, or uncomfortable, but showing its age and looking kinda spartan.

The staff seemed ready for me to order, eat, and get out. I know it was a Monday lunch rush, but still. Never felt very welcomed. More like an inconvenience.

The food was good, for sure. I had a 10" Philly Cheesesteak and a cup of Clam Chowder. Chowder came really fast and was good. A little thin, I had to keep remixing to get the potatoes up from the bottom. But tasted good.

I was really here for the philly though. And it was good, for sure. I've eaten a bunch of Penn Station phillys. And so, for better or worse, I compared this to a Penn philly. I liked the beef better here. But I wanted the philly to be more gooey melty and for the onions and peppers to be cooked more. In another review, the owner enjoyed pointing out to a negative critic that the onions aren't raw, they go through the oven! But they are pretty close and don't have the nice flavor development that better cooked onions have. However, I liked that I didn't come out of the sandwich here with hands covered in grease. It felt better. But the things I wished for, melty cheese and sauteed veggies, I know are the cause of that greasy handed mess at Penn Station. So I don't know. Not sure what I wanted or expected, but didn't come away raving.

I really wanted this to be a hands down win for me over Penn Station, but it just wasn't.

Also, my bill for the sandwich, soup, and drink came to nearly $20.

And speaking of pricing, no clear pricing on the sandwiches. There are nice restaurants in the world that can get away with no prices on their menu. This place should have prices. Its definitely not that kind of place.

I may come back - I see they have pastrami, and I really like...

Review Edit: That second sandwich I got was 🔥🔥🔥 My tonsils was about to fall out it was so spicy. But it was really good!

Establishment was clean. Sandwich (9Wood) and bread had good texture to it when you bit into it. Unfortunately the sandwiches had ZERO seasoning on the meat. Not even salt and pepper. I watched him prep both of them. Didn't register with me that he didn't add any until after I left and ate one. Maybe you have to request it to be seasoned or.. Lol? Just a bland, hot sandwich. Asst manager who made them seemed distracted. Maybe it was because it was 20 minutes until closing time but I was the only one customer in there. My first baguette was placed right on the metal cooking prep surface and I had to ask if that's the regular process for making them. He was nice and made my sandwich on another baguette. A little disappointed since the reviews are good.

Maybe I'll come back earlier in the day to see if that will make a difference. I have high hopes that my next visit...

I honestly didn't even get the chance to walk into the building and I've already gotten a sour taste in my mouth due to the customer service. Looking online for a new place to eat, I was so excited when I looked at this specific spot! I had a coupon off of a fully priced food order and before going I wanted to make sure that it would be okay to bring. (Some restaurants don't take coupons) So as soon as I call I'm put on hold which is understandable but when the man returns back to the phone I ask him about the coupon and tried to explain where I received it from and he cut me off then proceeded to say "I don't have time for you to try to sell me something".... Of course I'm baffled! So then I explain to him that I'm seriously asking about the food and a coupon before I come and possibly wasted their time. He then says "mam I'm busy right now sorry" then hangs up! I'm just sitting there in disbelief because I hardly got 7 words out throughout this...