Tony Luke’s Beef and Beer Sports Bar

Not the best. Bread could have been softer and the sandwich was lacking meat and cheese

Very friendly employees and accommodating unlike genos or pats!!! I actually enjoyed the hoagie I ordered as well all the bread is baked fresh everyday and they have the best sharp provolone … next time I will try something more of what they are known for but this hoagie was DELICIOUS !!! Lol make sure you have cash they only use cards if it is over 15 $ I think but there is an ATM right there as well! Oh and the eating area is inside a clear awning safe and comfortable eating space!

Ordered one of the cheese steaks. Been hearing the hype of the philly cheese steaks for years. To me, how much better can it get from what I can get in Los Angeles. Well… I was wrong. I forgot the add-​ons I ordered but I remember mushrooms and pepperjack cheese. Best cheese steak I have ever had… by a mile.

OH.MY.GOD.
I’m gonna start off with salted caramel sweet potato fries. If there was ever an appetizer that could be a meal, this would be it. I could eat this all day, but probably wouldn’t, or I would become a sweet potato. You are what you eat, after all. The fries were glazed with salted caramel in a crosscut style that really brought out the caramel flavor mixed in with sweet potatoes. I definitely recommend this!
The philly cheesesteak was solid. I thought the portions were good, and although the roast beef did look a bit bland and boring, it did not taste bland.
Seating seemed pretty limited considering how popular this place is. I think there were maybe 6 or 7 tables, so seems like a take out and go home kind of a place. Customer service doesn’t really apply here since you just order at the window, and find a seat. I will say the wait time for the food is a bit long considering the fast food nature of the business, but if it’s good food, I am generally okay with waiting longer. That was the case here!
Bill Tip: I would come here at around 6 or even earlier because the lines can get long! Definitely avoid if there is a game unless you come before the game crowd.
Bill Tip #2: Try the salted caramel sweet potato fries… you won’t regret it! Well, your body will, but your mouth won’t!

They have the best fries I have ever had, anywhere.
The cheese steak was a huge disappointment it was bland, boring and really needed to be seasoned. The roast pork was just the opposite nice juicy and well seasoned.
The sandwiches themselves were on the small size compared to what I’m used to. Atmosphere was nice.
I think some of the other reviewers who weren’t happy just ordered the wrong thing. The place is known less for cheesesteaks than for hot porchetta sandwhiches.
Will definitely go here again, I like the place but I’ll order something else.

If you want a more upscale cheesesteak (yes, this exists), then Tony Luke’s is the place to go. Mind you, I said upscale cheesesteak, not upscale place. Tony Luke’s is covered with a tent with minimal seating space. And if there’s an Eagles game going on, don’t even think about getting a seat.
Now the reason why I say the cheesesteaks are upscale is because of the bread. At the end of the day, a Philly cheesesteak is a Philly cheesesteak because of the bread that is used. Other cities just can’t mimic this. Another reason why I deemed this as a place for upscale cheesesteaks is the selection of rib-​eye steaks, chicken steaks and specialty steaks. I definitely recommend people to try all of the specialty steaks. My favorite is the broccoli rabe with provolone cheese. And please don’t order anything «wit whiz.» If you want wiz, then go to Pat’s or Geno’s.
Oh, and note, this place actually closes unlike Pat’s and Geno’s who are opened ²⁴⁄₇.

This place I knew would be money before I even got there. As I drove deeper into South Philly’s shipyard district, I thought, I hope if I get robbed I at least get to eat this philly first. Well I didn’t get mugged or robbed, and the sandwich was a classic well made authentic philly cheesesteak. The crunchy baguette bread is where it is at! I saw, I ate, I conquered… nothing. I just ate a sandwich, big deal.

Brought here by a Philly local. I have to say that the cheesesteak was pretty good as were the fries. Compared to Pat’s or Geno’s, I’d say it’s very comparable to Pat’s.
The line for Tony Luke’s was literally out the door for lunch, and for good reason. I’d come back again when I’m in Philly.

What can you say about Tony Luke’s? It’s a Philadelphia staple. The sandwiches here are absolutely delicious. Naturally I would suggest the cheesesteak. They have BBQ fries as well, but stay away from them. I got a side of them and felt like I had to whipe off the seasoning off each frie before I ate it.
If you come here be prepared for two things: to wait in line and not be able to sit down. They dont have a hug area for seating so it is wise to just get it to go. I went the day of an Eagles game so you can imagine how packed the place was. So maybe on an off day you can be in and out and get some seating, however I doubt it. Tony Lukes is a Philadelphia original and if you are visiting the city you should come to this place.

Tonny Luke’s is the gold standard I have been told. But what makes Tony Luke’s great is the bread. It’s super crusty. More so than Pat or Geno’s. I don’t really think the whiz is very good here, it tastes super chemically and artificial.. . even for whiz.. . I would probably opt for the onions and provolone. The beef is ok. Not amazing, slightly lacking in flavor, but ok.
The bread though, is truly what Tony Luke’s is good at!
Limited table space, if you are from a warmer climate like I am, it can get a little cold.
Parking is behind Tony Luke’s under the underpass :)

This is the correct address if you are trying to find this place through GPS. My review can be found for the other place though since a majority of the reviews are there.

Sorry to down grade from a 5 to a 4 BUT Paesano’s in the Italian Market on 9^th street, if you want a sandwich good golly head in that direction. They stole your star… right out of my muncher…

Oh god I’m so fat right now. Hours after eating at Tony Luke’s and I’m still full. We stopped in before a trip to Target because I was ravenous and shopping on an empty stomach makes me bitchy.
The atmosphere & service were ok. It kind of smelled like chemicals in there, I’m assuming from cleaning supplies. The food was really good though. We started out with the Tony Luke’s fries. The fries themselves were just average, but were smothered in cheese and bacon (2 things that will make ANYthing taste good) — decadent fatness. I then had the Italian Roast Pork sandwich: thinly sliced pork, sharp provolone, deliciously bitter broccoli rabe… YUM. I ate the whole thing since I wouldn’t be going straight home afterwards & couldn’t take it with me. I was painfully full.
Expect great sandwiches, not great atmosphere and you won’t be disappointed.

Finally, I make it out to a place known for their Cheesesteaks.
It’s hard to believe I have been living in Philly for 4 months and have visited a top spot yet. But, when you hear I have a baby slightly over 3 months, it all makes sense.
Anyway, I had heard Tony Luke’s was one of the top spots in town. And, it did not disappoint. But, until I try a few more, I cannot commit it to being the best. I’ve had Pat’s, Geno’s and Jimmy’s. They were all good. Luke’s is up there with them, maybe better. But it’s been awhile since I had the others, so who knows.
Anyway, I started off with some Italian Fries, which basically is fries with Italian seasoning and parm cheese. They were pretty dam good.
Then, came the beast. The steak was tasty. The provolone, layered inside and out, was a nice touch. And, while I liked the peppers and mushrooms, I might bare it down to just steak, cheese, and onions next time.
Good spot though. I definitely recommend it.

Everyone from Philly kept telling me to try Tony Luke’s. It was a little off the beaten path for me but I really wanted to say I did a fair comparison to all the cheesesteaks in Philly.
The place is pretty nice inside, comfortable booths, bright and friendly (for Philly). I got the cheesesteak wit onions and wiz for a true comparison. The bread was different, it has sesame seeds on it and wasn’t as chewy as it should have been. I have to admit, it threw me off a bit. I enjoyed the flavor of the sandwich a lot but the bread was different enough to alter my opinion here. The rest of the elements worked well and I did enjoy the sandwich overall (finished it with a smile).

Here’s where I am super confused… I had eaten at the TL in New Jersey (the one near Turnersville) last month and had the most INCREDIBLE french fries I’ve ever had. Thinking Tony Luke’s was all one in the same, we came here to order them. WRONG.
The fries here are kinda lame-​o. Standard non-​crispy fries with a dollop of cheese and bacon. Egh. But, the sandwiches here are better than the ones from the New Jersey location (different bread) so that’s where the extra kudos come from.
Add to that, you can have beer and liquor with your sandwich along with table service which you can’t get at the original location across the street or the location in New Jersey.
To sum it all up… I like Tony Luke’s, either for hoagies or fries, but it just depends on the location. You will leave here feeling disgusting and full, so plan the rest of your night accordingly (read: you’re gonna need Spanx if you’re gonna rock a bebe dress later in the night)

This place is known for it cheesesteak but I’ve had better. The wait was way too long after you order.
There’s not that much seating so you’ll either have your order to go or eat standing up until a spot opens up.
If you want good Philly Cheesesteak, go to a hole-​in-​the-​wall that’s not a tourist spot (like Geno’s or Pat’s). Dalessandro’s Steaks & Hoagies is my favorite spot to eat Philly Cheesesteak. And since it’s in the suburbs, it’s not very busy at all and parking is plenty.
This place is a good place to get that industrial Philadelphia feel while eating a cheesesteak.

Tony Luke’s has the best cheesesteak in Philadelphia, so far! Let’s face it, it’s all about the bread and the quality of the meat and they use rib eye baby! Their roll has to be the best out there with a toasted sesame seed crust and a soft interior which laps up all those wonderful juices from the rib eye, onions, peppers and mushrooms, so yummy good and oozing with cheese.
Across the street you will find the original Tony Luke’s enclosed cheesesteak stand, I was amazed at how cars parked in the middle of the street, between lanes, just to run in for a cheesesteak! At the Beef & Beer sports bar you have full advantage of a large bar surrounded by big screen TVs.
Seven of us went and they had to split us up into two back to back booths, which was fine as the place was fairly crowded and we wanted to eat. The restaurant itself is fairly clean with a huge bar in the center, the kitchen is semi open and you can see them working furiously to get the orders out.
Each table had a huge basket of fries covered in cheese and loaded with crispy bacon. The combination of flavors was good but they use «crispers» and I am not a fan of those. I had a bowl of NE clam chowder and it was thin, the clams were beyond tough and the flavor was, well just not there.
Two had the burgers and loved them, Tony Luke’s grinds their own beef daily. Four had the cheesesteak and they all had it differently, I tried a bite of hubby’s wit onions and American cheese (he is so damn adventurous he puts me to sleep), but it was outstanding. My daughter had one loaded wit onions, peppers, mushrooms and whiz and the other two had one like my daughters but without peppers and one had provolone.
I could not resist the special of the day and that was a combo fried shrimp and oyster Po boy with shredded lettuce and a spicy mayo on an awesome roll. The shrimp was not fried as advertised but poached and I actually was thrilled with the switch up. The oysters were fresh and lightly breaded and so tender but tasted like mud! Seriously mud, I ended up pulling them off and ate just the shrimp.
My daughter and I split our sandwiches and she agreed the oysters were murky and handed it back to me so after one bite I was forced to return her half of the cheesesteak, not really but I felt guilty.
When you pass through the portal, under the wall of celebrity photos you will enter filthy hell as taking this kind of whiz has it’s own meaning and not so easy to handle, yep folks the restrooms are totally disgusting!
I’ve had Tony’s cheesesteaks before at the ball park and I loved them then too. I would return in a heartbeat for his awesome cheesesteaks, but I would piddle elsewhere. BTW not sure where the cut off line is but 20% was added to our check for gratuity.
I am not the only one who agrees they are the best in town and America, they have won numerous awards year after year from Gourmet magazine, Philadelphia magazine, Zagat rates it in the top six for sandwiches in the nation, Craig LaBan rates it the best and GQ says it’s golden and we all know he beat Bobby Flay in a throwdown.
Five stars for the cheesesteak and roll, minus one for murky oysters and filthy restrooms.

At last — I am a Tony Luke’s virgin no longer. And what a way to go. It was a gorgeous day in November for philly and DH & I went to Tony Luke’s but the line was so long that we decided to go acrosss the street to the sports bar. Afetr a round of fried goodnees — DH had the cheese fries and I had some really outstanding O-​rings — we were on to our main attraction.
DH had a cheese steak with Provolone and it was terrific.
I enjoyed a garlicky plate of Veal Scallopini that was kickin’ in old school. This was THE $#!T — for real. Mushrooms, green peppers, onions and tender veal (wish there had been a bit more of that) in a garlicky, olive-​oily sauce that reminded me of how my Nonna woulda done it.
Um. If I’d had an Italian Nonna.
Can’t wait to go back and try the Chicken Sandwich with Spinach.
I am sold on Tony Luke’s.

FUBLE Diaries: Episode 3
Aside from the Rocky Steps, the only other thing that most tourists want in Philly, is a Cheesesteak. This is not really my realm of expertise, as most of my cheesesteak consumption happens in the ‘burbs but I have been on Unilocal long enough to know better than to subject them to Pats or Genos.
Their only prerequisite, was that they wanted to go to a place they’d heard of and they wanted a wiz wit. I suggested Tony Lukes. Thanks to the travel and food networks, they had heard of TL and approved. Names like Guy Fiore, Bobby Flay, and Adam Richman were thrown around as having been there, plus they liked the fact that the name sounded like a South Philly mobster.
We arrived on a rainy, Saturday afternoon, surprised to find a huge line but even more surprised to have free and ample parking. I guess the crowd wasn’t too bad considering that there was a World Series going on in town, about 5 minutes away.
They were willing to wait in line for their cheesesteak experience, but Jason’s disability made it difficult standing for too long. We were also worried that there wouldn’t be anywhere to sit once we got the sandwiches. It was at this point, that I noticed, directly across the street, the sit down restaurant version of Tony Lukes. I reasoned that we could still get our cheesesteak on, sit in dry comfort and maybe have a beer or two in the process.
We made this happen, and the best thing was that it was busy but there was no wait to be seated. There was a Flyers game blaring, World Series Hoopla, and cold beers awaiting us, with the main attraction of a cheesesteak soon to follow.
The menu was pretty sparse, as you can imagine, but I was hard pressed to actually find their CS on it. I had fears that they didn’t sell them here, forcing people to go across the street. Eventually, I saw it, but you’d think that it would be the first thing you see on the menu.
They dropped a bunch of hot and sweet pepper dishes on the table, that even I was not sure about. The Alaskans used the opportunity, to flirt with the middle aged ladies at the table next to ours, asking what the peppers were. While the ladies ate up the attention («You’re from Alaska! Let me see your drivers license!») they admitted that they were out of towners too, but that they were delicious and despite their being Yankees fans, they didn’t lie.
Soon, the reason we came arrived. I decided to get a wiz wit as well, even though I’m usually an American cheese proponent. I liked it. The roll was fresh and crisp, and the wiz made the experience different for me.
The Alaskans, however, were underwhelmed. Possibly it was too much hype, possibly they were a little hung over, but they all had complaints. One said not enough cheese (easily fixed), one said he didn’t like the taste of the onions (not much we can do about that) and the other just wasn’t that hungry. Its often that way with big buildups, they rarely live up to the hype. All agreed that the experience was what they wanted.
As we headed to the car, it was obvious that the crowd from the just finished Flyers game was beginning to trickle in. It was also evident, for the first time that this was also Oct 31^st Halloween, as some costume clad Flyers fans roamed the area. Dean wanted his picture taken with one of the particularly cool costumed guys (a bloodied Sydney Crosby in penguins jersey). When told that they were Alaskans trying a cheesesteak for the first time, he chastised me, «Awww you shoulda got a real one from across the street! The ones in the restaurant aren’t as good!»
I was a little bummed that I didn’t know that. But all agreed that the short respite from the damp, cold day was nice and needed, and we were ready to tackle whatever came next.