Philly's Finest

Just happened to see this city search website for the first time. After reading reviews for my favorite restaurants I checked out one of my favorites Philly's Finest. The guy who was bad talking it was a fool. He obviously is NOT from Philly bc being from Philly I know what a ""real"" cheesesteak taste like. He probably eats at Pat's or Gino's. Philly's is the Best hands down in Florida. The ""other"" restaurant he is referring to is a seafood crack shack. They have terrible food and an even worse atmosphere. But that is a whole different story. I have been going to Philly's Finest for 10 years, YES 10 years. They have been open for even longer. (that says something right there) Their cheesesteaks are awesome, they always have been. Everthing is from Philly. I am from Philly not West chester as this guys says the owner is from. I was born and raised. Yes, I have met the owner a few times. He seemed like a good guy to me, I have nothing negative to say about him. (again I have been going for 10 years) The food is ALWAYS good. I have also had the stromboli's and let me tell you they are not only great tasting but they are HUGE! As for the ice bar, it is really cool and a great concept. We love it!! The restaurant is always clean, as are the bathrooms which is a big thing for our family. more

Being from Philly myself (not WestChester as I found out Jeff the owner is from who claims to be from Philly) I know a good cheesesteak and pizza when I see it(&taste it), and this WAS NOT it ! The menu lacks luster, which consists of about 6 ingredients arranged differently throughout the menu. I've had a better cheesesteak at a local seafood restaurant(yes you know the one). So maybe the stromboli is up to par? Hardly. Well, then again, its not even stromboli. Order stromboli and get a calzone. Or at least that's the closest thing I can compare to. Its really a pizza, folded in half!!! Yes! In HALF! & I'd thought I had seen it all. Unbelieveable!! But, what the menu lacks, Jeff (owner) makes up with his horrible attitude. He's about as cold as his ""Full Ice Bar"" which is about 6 inches of frosty bar space. If your wondering what I am referring to, just open your freezer (assuming it hasn't been cleaned in quite some time) and take a peek. You'll get the idea. I am almost embarrassed that the name has Philly in it. I could keep going, but I am currently at Beachside Seafood eating a real cheesesteak and loving every cheesy minute of it!!! more

Went there after reading a few reviews highly recommending the Philly Cheese Steak sandwich. Didn't go to drink a lot, just to eat. Ordered the regular Philly Cheese Steak sandwich, chips & beer. Waited, must have been thirty minutes and the place was only about half full and just when I""m ready to walk out, the sandwich arrives piping hot, apparently micro-waved. I ate most of it, mainly because I was very hungry, but honestly, the sandwich seemed not much more than corned beef with onions and some sort of cheese. I suspect the long wait was to glean a few more beverages from my wallet. They had good live entertainment, but the Philly cheese steak sandwich wasn't top 40. more

I personally did not enjoy these cheesesteaks at all. The onions were way too sweet, the meat felt undercooked and very bland and even the cheese wiz wasn't appealing. I did however enjoy the waffle fries very much. more

Great Philly Cheesesteaks, awesome service whether we eat in or have it delivered! Wonderful owners! Pros: Great Food, Fast delivery more

My friends told me about this restaurant with a ice bar so I went in on saturday night. The restaurant was absolutly packed with people. I ordered a cheesesteak and my wife ordered a BBQ chicken pizza. The food was great. The service was good, I was impressed with how many people were there that the food came out in a timely matter. I would recommend this restaurant to some one else. Pros: great food and most unique ice bar Cons: ice bar kept my beer to cold so I drank to much more

The cheesesteaks are good. The rest is fried. Although, there is always a different staff it changes weekly. The owner is always there and always yelling and cursing at employees and customers. If there was a biggest @sshole at the beach award this guy would take it by a mile. Claims to be a family man but is always hitting on the young girls making them feel uncomfortable. The cheesesteaks arent good enough to make up for service. Pros: Amazing cheesesteaks Cons: Owner is a Pervert more

As this is the only place at Jax Beach with Philly ""style"" cheesesteaks not bad. The rolls are from Philly area and probably what make the sandwich. Friendly service from staff but be prepared to wait for a sandwich unlike anywhere in Philly. Here is the kicker the owner is a straight up @sshole and probably enough to keep people away. Pros: Decent food Cons: Owner is a D!%k more

Philly's Finest is true to its word. It is a family owned business situated right off the beach. The owners re-did the place by making it larger and a really nice place to eat. They even put in an ice bar for all the sports fans out there. I grew up in Philly and ate at all the well known cheese steak restaurants Ex; Pat's, Steve's and Geno's all my life. Let me tell you Philly's Finest is just like home even better. We loved the fresh Amoroso rolls with the loaded steak, cheese , and fried onions. It is the best in the Jacksonville area for a real good down to earth cheese steak. I will go there every time I am in Jax , because we loved it there. Kudos... to a wonderful cheese steak restaurant. They also favor the EAGLES....Go Eagles!!!! Pros: Love the Atmosphere more

my friends told me about this place philly's finest at jax beach.I am from philly and I really miss a good cheesesteak. The place is a no joke philly style rest. I watched the eagle game against the giants with my girl friend the place was packed. The cheesesteaks were for real. The amarosa bread was a great reminder of home. I would have thought the food was going to be mass made because of all the people there, but i was way wrong. The owner told us that it is always busy during the eagles games and went out of his way to get us 2 seats from the back and made us a spot so we could stay. My girl friend is not from philly and she got a chicken cheesesteak and she said it was the best thing she has ever had. I would definitly go back and will be there for the nfc play off game.. go eagles Pros: great cheesesteaks and even better service Cons: needs to have more room , so get there early for football games.. more

I have eatten here mainly because Jacksonville has nothing else to offer. I have eatten many many many steak sandwiches in my life, Jimmy's downtown and in West Philly, Pat's, Geno's, Explorer's Den in Olney, Delesandros in Roxborough, you name it. Forty years of steak eatting.......the sandwich doesn't come close to any of the above. The claim that they use Amorozo rolls is true.......and that's nice is if the rolls weren't stale. The service is great. The girls that work that are very nice but, the owner is another story. Pros: The girls that work there are great! Cons: The food is just okay. Seating is horrible during football games - fire hazard. more

I lived in Philly for 40 years (St. Tims parish, Father Judge grad 1979). I've had every kind of cheesesteak in Philly, and I am far more picky about my cheesesteaks than even most Philly guys. There are a number of different styles. Philly's Finest offers the type of cheesesteak you'd get at your local pizza shop or deli/sandwich shop up in Philly, which is to say; The steak is chopped/diced, the roll is an Amoroso hoagie roll. They will add the type of cheese and other toppings that you request. For my money, I prefer the type of cheesesteak that you get at the traditional cheesesteak specialists (Steve's, Pat's, Geno's etc.), which use center-cut rib-eye 'medalions' and are served on far better Italian bakery rolls (vs. the Amoroso which is more of an average every-day roll). Having said that, Philly's Finest makes a decent cheesesteak that is by-far the best one served anywhere in the Jax area. If crispy waffle-style fries are your thing, you won't be disappointed since their fries are always served hot and crispy. If you are from Philly, you'll find it's a passable Philly-style sandwich, just don't expect Steve's Steaks (on a Lisco's-style roll). Expect something more along the lines of your neighborhood pizza shop. As for the hoagies, sorry but there is only one place on earth to get a 'real' Philly hoagie, and that's Sarcone's in South Philly (their bread is legendary and the meats are high-end authentic Italian cuts). BTW, bashing the owner is just bogus. The guy's an authentic Philly guy with a long history of being an excellent member of the Jax business-community and, like all Philly guys, he's very passionate about his Philly sports teams and the decor reflects that. Pros: Better than the rest in Jax Cons: Don't expect Steve's Steaks (7200 Bustleton Ave, Philly) more

So, my brother has been in town, before he flew out he wanted to find a place w/ a good Philly Cheese Steak to take on the plane ride back to Cali. So up on google i went, and vuala.... Philly's Finest pops up. 15 minutes from home, 2 minutes from Jax Beach. So we hop in the car and here we are. 2 Philly Cheese Steaks, Jeff's Cheese Steak and a Chicken Finger Hogey later. And let me tell you, DELICIOUS. The waffle fries were golden and crispy, soda's always topped off and a pretty short wait time to get the food. The sandwiches..... great, tomato's, unions, cheese, lettuce & the meat...... My dad and brother were stuffed, my brother couldn't even finish 1/2 his sandwich. Of course the Navy in my desimated my sandwich in about 2 minutes so i got to watch them eat haha. All and all it was a great experience. check'm out. more

I love their cheese steak with just cheese and steak. Best I've found around Jax. (1) Cheese Steak: My fave... more

I love their cheese steak with just cheese and steak. Best I've found around Jax. more

The food is good, I like the crisp waffle fries. The service is good too, there are lots of friendly servers. The only downside is the owner. He is kind of a perv and makes me uncomfortable when he is there, but luckily that isn't often. It's a convienient relaxed place to go if you want to watch a game and enjoy a beer. Pros: Service Cons: owner more

I met a hot guy that works there, he's got tattooes all over his arm...other than that, the food was good, fries were kind of weak, but, the philly's are loaded with cheese. The restaurant in located in a great area, so that's a plus. more

i'm from philly, so i know what a cheesesteak tastes like. This tasted like a roastbeef sandwich with cheese. blah. more

I grew up eating cheesesteaks and hoagies in Philly and I can honestly Pros: Great cheesesteaks and great service from the crew Cons: No coffee and no tastycakes. more

I read the reviews on here and had high hopes for my order. After having some trouble getting through to order, I was still confident the meal would be great. So was my fiance. Then..they delivered it. Granted it was on time, but it was pretty gross. The sandwiches are OK, edible I guess. Mine was the ""jeff"" or something, I don't recommend that one. My fiance ordered the cheesy bread sticks which were horrid and the cheese fries were more overpriced than gas and worse then your local fast food joint. $5 for a large cheese fry, which includes waffle fries with a cheese cup, ridiculous. It was $27 for the meal, and we ate about 1/2 a sandwich each and threw everything else away. I do not recommend this place to anyone. I was not expecting a 5 star meal, but I was also not expecting a bunch of grease with some food on the side....greasier than the arches. Just go to Angie's for a great sandwich. Pros: Order was delivered on time, delivery guy was nice, phone ordering guy was nice too Cons: Food is not good, and greasier than greasy, and overpriced more