Hoagie Haven

1. Ordered my food. Lots of people in line. Can I have some of your money rich princeton kids?
2. Ate my extra dirty sanchez. That was one of the most delicious things I have ever put in my mouth.
3. Went to the bathroom the next morning. I have never experienced anything like that in my life.

People always come from far distances to either come here, or for the ice cream scene in Princeton. I guess they could also be interested in the university, and maybe Princeton Record Exchange back in the day. Anyway, Hoagie Heaven is great. Another thing you just can’t go wrong with. I’m vegetarian, so I don’t have too many options — but ones like the egg salad, among others, always are great. Coming here is just an experience you need to have. It’s like a food truck but in an actual establishment. Get your hoagie then walk further downtown and sit on a bench to talk to your friend or to people watch. Since, of course, there’s no seating inside. Hence the «food truck» feel.

Best hoagie I’ve ever had. Try the Italian with jalapeños. The staff is nice and the owners are fun and good people! Huge selection of beverages and they have an atm.

Been going here for over 15 years. Best Hoagies on the planet. Nothing else to say. I love the service and the food is amazing. Huge sandwiches for a reasonable price. Wish I lived closer! Have to rock my Hoagie Haven shirt all the time.

Hands down best hoagies… Great for the college campus! Definitely try!

The go-​to greasy delicious food in princeton. Have been here 10+ times and always been happy. The sanchez sauce is dope make sure to get that on your hoagie.

When in Princeton… do as the drunk Princeton kids do.
This place is a couple blocks away from my cousin’s house and I was visiting for a weekend and reasonably hung over. Hoagie Haven is definitely a place for anyone who has had a recent battle with alcohol.
Quick service and really not that spiffy inside, I can only imagine how crazy this place gets on a Friday or Saturday night with Ivy Leaguers who can’t soak up their alcohol fast enough. I don’t blame them. This greasy, delicious place brought me comfort when my head was pounding and I needed a reason to go on… drinking again.
I ordered a «Middle Finger» –duh– and added some of my own flare.
Middle Finger: grilled cheese sandwich with a chicken cutlet, honey mustard and bacon.
Chloe’s Middle Finger: no honey mustard, add jalapenos and ranch. Now we’re talking!
This was everything I could have wanted, and more on that sad afternoon. It perked me right up and made it possible for me to go on drinking at another party. Hoagie Haven: saving social lives each and every day.

CASH ONLY. NO CREDIT CARDS. Solid hoagies in classic combos and with some awesome adventurous alterations.
The same 6 guys work the line night after night taking your orders and fixing those delicious hoagies. Get your Unilocal check-​in on and let’s compete for the crown! They’ve got a live feed of the checkins on the screen above the register!
This roll was my first experience of proper Jersey bread. Wow. Just wow. Whether it’s a meatball or a cheese-​steak or just a cold italian, this bread is HeAVEN!
I’m usually at a loss about which one to order when I arrive. So many choices!
Jalapenos, Thick-​cut gerkins, roasted peppers (sour), sweet onions and delicious jersey tomatoes. Finish it with your choice of special sauce. YUM!
And don’t forget to choose a tasty beverage from the cooler. My fave is original (sugar) Coca-​cola.
No Credit Cards policy is not surprising in these days where when using your mileage-​program cash-​back rewards card costs the business sometimes in excess of 7 or 8 cents on the dollar. Wow! (Yes, that money comes out of their pocket… you didn’t think the credit card was just giving you that stuff did you?!)
There is an fee ATM there in case you don’t have cash.

I have lived in the Princeton area for over 10 years and by far a place that has stood the test of time and is the absolute staple of this town is in fact Hoagie Haven. Do not come here for healthy alternatives or an artisan farm ranged, grass fed, nonsense of a sandwich. I am not bias due to living in close proximity, if you think Rutgers grease trucks were the staple of college students in jersey this is leaps and bounds ahead.
Make sure you bring cash and the line starts in the far right corner as you walk in :)
Suggestions include: Sanchez — dirty, Phat Lady (lettuce and tomato or BBQ sauce), Buffilo Fries (don’t knock it till you’ve had it!)

I’m a Hoagie Haven fan for life. After growing up in Princeton, NJ it became a staple when I was home for holidays and visiting family. But my last visit was, eh. I got the turkey hoagie which I always get and put provolone cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and black olives on and it was just very mediocre this time. Still, this place rocks. Go for the Dirty Sanchez or Phat Lady (you might have a heart attack but would be worth it). I’ve never finished one on my own, but always share with my brother or sister.
Great place to grab a hoagie, but what makes it so special is the staff. Some of the nicest guys and they remember regulars!

The Holy Grail. Oh so good. I felt like death afterwards, but A) it was 2pm and B) I was sober. I had the Dirty Sanchez, and it was 35 minutes of pure salty and fatty bliss.
Went here once in college on a roadtrip (4 – 5 years ago) and this time was just as good. Worth the drive up from Philly for this alone, though I recommend doing a double feature of Hoagie Haven and Bent Spoon and then rolling back home to whatever soft surface you can find to sleep it off.

Good value for the money cuz size is quite large for a full sandwich. Friendly and efficient staff. But as an out of towner the sandwiches not very interesting and I would rather try something else in this neighborhood.

This place is legit! I am so glad we came here for dinner. This is Princeton’s version of the fat sandwiches from the Rutgers Grease trucks. I have to say the sandwiches here are slightly better!
My favorite was the Sanchez. The chicken cutlet was juicy, tender and had a good amount of crunch. The special sauce made the sandwich even better! No joke, just about everyone that came in here ordered this and I can see why! I will definitely be ordering this again the next time I’m here.
I was a little disappointed the Mac Daddy. It comes with actual burger patties. It’s not that the sandwich was bad, it wasn’t. It was delicious and I just liked the Sanchez a whole lot more. I also wished this sandwich was a little juicy and tastier. I guess I was put off by the actual burger patty since that’s what made the sandwich drier than I would have liked.
Definitely check this place out. It’s a very no frills mom and pops type of place so keep that in mind. They also have an awesome soda selection.

You may be surprised, but the buffalo chicken sandwich without the buffalo sauce (only hot sauce and a dash of mayo) is my FAVORITE sandwich here! Living by Princeton my entire life, I always heard great things about Hoagie Haven, but I never checked it out until 5 – 6 years ago. Instead of ordering one of those famous FAT sandwiches, my friend and I ordered the buffalo chicken hoagie sandwich to share. From then on, that was my go-​to sandwich!
Recently, I came here and tried out the fried shrimp and pizza cheese steak subs, and they were okay! I’m not sure if it was just that time, but the fried shrimp seemed a little overcooked (deep fried too long). Also, the shrimps were very puny. The pizza steak tasted good, but it wasn’t especially satisfying. Plus, my entire sub kind of collapsed and fell apart making the eating rather messy.
Next time, I’m probably going to stick with my usual favorite. Or try one of those fat sandwiches!
Btw, the prices of the subs are extremely affordable! I usually get a half unless I’m sharing it with a friend then I would get the whole.
CASH ONLY! (Though they do have an ATM in their shop.)

Today was my first experience at Hoagie Haven, and possibly my last.
In my opinion, the sandwich I bought (Po Boy) was good. For the price, you get a good amount of food (it beats Subway by far). The taste was nothing to get excited about but it was still good, especially for a late night craving.
However, my experience with the staff was extremely unpleasant; the employee making my sandwich was just flat out rude. I asked to speak with the manager, because I felt like the employee was being disrespectful. While I was asking for the manager, another employee said «he’s trying to get his food for free». It seems like customer service is not a high priority to Hoagie Haven since they express no discretion.

My family and I made a pit stop to Jersey to get a tour of Princeton (a relative’s alma mater) and had to try this place. And yes, it lives up to the hype!
The store is very small with no seating. You order, they make it, you take it and eat it.
We ordered the cheesesteak, meatball, tuna, and pastrami. The sandwiches were GINORMOUS!
I tried a bite of each and yummmmm-​ooooo. My favorites was the cheesesteak. And I’ve tried a few cheesesteaks in my few years living in Philly. But who knew I would find THE BEST CHEESESTEAK in JERSEY!
We ended up sitting on a random bench on the sidewalk while we consumed our delicious sandwiches.
I will be back Hoagie Haven!

as a lifelong resident of Brooklyn and Queens, I’m loathe to even use the word «hoagie» but for once I’ll concede to the local vernacular.
Hoagie Haven’s menu is full of options — cold, hot, fried, grilled — you name it. Italian, Greek, and Mexican flavors are well represented here. throw it all on a big-​ass hero roll and eat it you fat FUC!
I tried the Phat Lady — cheesesteak, fries, mozzarella sticks, hot sauce, and ketchup — at a half size because even those are pretty hefty. REKT in about 3 minutes, but it was delicious and cheap. healthy? hell no! filling and tasty? hell yes!
yes, it’s similar to the infamous Grease Trucks, but an actual shop. maybe 4 or 5 seats, so be ready to stand while you eat or be disgusting and eat in your car in a dark parking lot, hiding your shame.
my pants will hate me for it, but I would totally go again.

SANCHEZZZ. That’s all I gotta say. Oh, with extra Sanchez sauce of course. They’re huge so split with someone!
Besides that sandwich, I’ve had the chicken parm, buffalo chicken, and the one with chicken tacos in it. Yes I said chicken tacos.
The sauce for the chicken parm was not flavorful at all so I definitely would not get that again. The buffalo chicken tastes weird. The chicken itself was great but either they didn’t put enough buffalo sauce or their buffalo sauce didn’t have that pizzazz.
The chicken taco sandwich was great though! Who would’ve thought you could stuff little chicken tacos into a sandwich?!
Great prices, quick service.

As a native of Princeton Junction, I’ve been coming here for decades. The hole in the wall hoagie shop is delicious, creative, and not pricey!
They have delicious ingredients, and I’ve never had a bad experience. There are many choices, including fat sandwiches, which are 10x better than the Grease Trucks up in New Brunswick at Rutgers. I went to Rutgers, and every time I came home, my friends back on campus would beg me to bring back Hoagie Haven’s fat sandwiches because Grease Trucks’ are unworthy!
MUST TRY THE BUFFALO FRIES.
Basically, the hot and cold sandwiches are great, and there are always good drinks and chips choices.
As a hole in the wall, don’t expect seating, it’s a simple take away place (with a ledge inside if you want to stand and eat).

If you’re on a diet or at all health conscious don’t bother reading any of these reviews. Just don’t.
However, if you’re into eating like a fat kid, do proceed.
Know that there are certain rules to be followed here:
1. Bring cash
2. Do not bother ordering a cold sandwich
3. Since you’ve already blown your diet for the day, get a fat sandwich. Sanchez is your amigo.
How fresh are the ingredients? Lord knows. Does it even matter anyway since everything is fried to a delicious crisp anyway?
The inside of this place offers little in the way of seating (a couple seats at a counter facing the window) and is probably wouldn’t pass the white glove test. Whatever — the direct antithesis of «fine dining» means cheaper prices and therefore more money in your pocket to accelerate your trip to the grave.
In related news, I ran about five miles this morning to offset my half Sanchez lunch. I’m now dialing up my doctor for a Lipitor prescription and a preemptive pacemaker order.

Schon né Erfahrung! Was ich nicht wusste: die freundlichen Brötchenbauer tun nur aufs Brot, was man auch verlangt.
Mein erstes cheese steak war ausser dem Steak nackt, noch nicht mal Käse oder Soße.

Manchmal werde ich schwach und komme an Hoagie nicht vorbei. Wenn diese Sandwiches nur nicht so lecker wären. Am besten ist das Cheese-​Steak-​Sandwich mit allem drum und dran: Also Steak, Käse, Salat, Tomate, mittelscharfe Chilischoten, Majonnaise, Ketchup, Pfeffer, Salz. Alles verpackt in Brot.
Das erste Mal bei Hoagie habe ich den kapitalen Fehler begangen ein ganzes (und kein halbes) Sandwich zu bestellen. Da bekam ich dann ein komplettes belegtes Baguettebrot (natürlich die weiche amerikanische Variante). Ein halbes tut es allemal. Dazu noch ein Getränk, und für insgesamt fünf Dollar hat man ein vollständiges Mittagessen.
Warum also nur drei Sterne? Nicht von ungefähr habe ich Steak und Käse in Anführungszeichen gesetzt. Das Stück Fleisch im Cheese-​Steak-​Sandwich ist nur wenige Millimeter dick und von einem Steak etwa so weit entfernt, wie ein Dreirad vom Mercedes SLK. Und es geht das Gerücht, dass der Laden einmal im Jahr saftige Strafen für den hygienischen Zustand seiner Küche bezahlen muss Vielleicht ist dies das Geheimnis des einzigartigen Geschmacks?!