Amato’s Cheesesteaks

Great cheesesteaks! I usually go for a hoagie and cheese fries. Always way too much food. Wished they offered a smaller fry. Definitely only need a shorty, share the fries with a friend! The guys behind he counter are great. They really act like they love their job!

We all know Unilocal is BS. But… Been going to Amato’s on Saratoga for forever until they got a store near me off Almaden Expressway. They got my order wrong today while we waited for them to cash out or they were having some difficulty with their cashiers, when I got home I found my sandwich was wrong he gave me beef instead of chicken. My daughter is allergic to beef. They actually made me bring in the beef sandwich to exchange for chicken to confirm I wasn’t lying. We even by ordered by sandwich #. Love the sandwiches, but customer service is poor since Vanessa went on maternity leave. Not going to either store. Bullshit! This is awful customer service.

Came here because i wanted a good cheesesteak and the sandwich itself was amazing and delicious. Meat was flavorful and so good. The service was just okay and took a while to get the food.

Best philly cheese steaks in all California had a lot of philly and none compare the bread alone is so fresh and soft that makes the meat soooo much better way worth it

This place is really good. The sandwiches are humongous and should definitely be shared! It’s just as yummy as the original location over on Saratoga. I like going in here, because it’s a super simple place with delicious food. The service is nice and friendly.
We ordered a «half» size pepper cheese steak to share, and it was way big enough to share!

I’d give it 5 stars for the great food if we weren’t given crap by the employees for «coming in before close» at 8:40 pm. We told them that Unilocal says they close at 10 pm on weeknights but they disagreed.
Awesome. Way to ruin our favorite sandwich shop by being rude, whiny, and misinformed.
I added screenshot pics of the hours of operation posted on Unilocal since whoever my loving husband encountered insisted we are jerks for ordering at 8:15 via telephone. If ordering pick up either 45 minutes OR an hour and 45 minutes before close is enough to cause a scolding from the employees then I’ll pass on spending any more of my hard earned money there.

I’ve loved Amatos Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich at their Saratoga Ave. place. Ate a couple of times at their newer Almaden Road branch and they tasted good until tonight. Their meat was so dry and bland tasting. And adding more salt to the wound is that disrespectful attitude their Latino looking cook or whatever showed us. Don’t know if he’s tired or not but its no excuse. He asked two prior customers if they needed condiments for their take out order but never asked me that I had to ask, twice!!! He was rude enough to talk to another coworker about nonsense that I had to repeat my hot sauce. His reply was a square «Yes here is the hot sauce SIR». I didn’t bother to stoop down to his pedestrian level so I simply said Thank You and left. If he is the cook, then you guys have a bad cook with bad manners too. What a shame.

Loving this is wrong, but we just don’t want to be right. The website says these are «THE BEST CHEESE STEAKS IN THE WORLD,» and, hyperbole be damned, they’re right! When we go off the healthy, paleo track, this is the way we go. High quality beef, grilled onions and, OMG, delicious bread along with TDF onion rings and fries. Oh, baaybaay!

Customer service was not friendly at all. The older lady cashiering should take some happy pills and not be so rude to her customers. The guy cooking should also be nice to customers instead of being like the soup Nazi. I asked lady if they offered discount and she snapped and told the guy who then both rampaged on in disgust that anyone asked for discount. I only asked because the place on Saratoga once gave me a discount. Lessoned learned will never return to this place because of service and the taste of the food. Sandwich bread is good but the meat was bland, ugh. I’ll stick to the sandwiches at High5 pizza, way, way better! This place has its regulars but see for yourself. This place shod be called Nazi soup kitchen, no soup for you!

Expected something better due to Unilocal reviews. Super disappointed after my first visit.
Sandwiches were OK (california chicken, cheese streak w/​mushrooms), cheese fries were OK.
BBQ wings were SUPER cold on the inside… Cook gave attitude when we told him that the wings were cold. Got a second batch, but wings were still cold on the inside. Decided to take the wings home to microwave… In other words, we’re never coming back here.
My stomach also hurt after eating the food. Then I noticed that workers were not wearing gloves. Bleh, I do NOT recommend coming here. :(

Its always with a bit of apprehension, that i try a new place, in my quest for the ultimate cheese steak. Today I decided to try out amato’s. The restaurant itself is pretty unassuming, with a lack of ostentatious bling that many places try to incorporate. The only menu available was up at the register, but after taking a cursory glance at it, I was able to determine that it followed the usual selection that such restaurants tend to offer. Knowing my usual tastes and appetite, I decided to go with the mushroom cheese steak. Large, of course.
Then it got interesting.
Upon finding out that I wanted a large, the cashier (unfortunately, I didn’t catch her name), questioned me first if I really wanted a large, and then… If I wanted to do the #10 challenge instead. I checked it out, and decided… Why not?
What I got, I was definitely not prepared for. Basically, 4 sandwiches worth (2 if you have my kind of appetite) of meaty, cheesy, oh so goodness. The sandwiches were perfectly made. Enough cheese to make a pot of homemade macaroni. The meat was tender, and moist. The mushrooms tasting fresh.
I of course failed the challenge, but that just means I have left overs. Amato’s however, did not. I salute you!

This place!!! I’ve been coming here for 2 years this location that is! I’ve been going to the one in Saratoga which is just as great for the first 3years! But this location is 100x better for me because it’s closer to me!
Ok ok back to the review! This place I crave every week! Something about the cheesy goodness! I always get a shorty Philly cheese steak extra cheese and onions! No bell peppers please (my own tastes reasons) and oh my gawwd you will not order nor go to any Philly cheesesteak place again! I also get an order of cheese fries cause why not?
Trust me I tried to go to a local place which rhymes with A-​Rays lol I couldn’t come up with a rhyme.
So please give this place a try if you like meat and cheese! Oh and there onion rings and wings are amazing

Two words. Death Basket
If cheese fries and a philly cheese steak had a love child this would be it.

Straight to the point.
Clean store
Lots of people
Fast service
Cashier could be nicer
The food isn’t seasoned
It tasted like steak thrown onto a griddle tossed around with onions and peppers thrownbetween the buns and off it goes.
So salt no black pepper for any kind of flavor.
Bland, dry sandwich

This is a specialty sandwich shop, where personally I would only go when I’m specifically craving a cheese steak sandwich. It’s not a place I would think of after feeling hungry for a while. With that being said, I must admit that my order was pretty tasty. I don’t really like cheese steaks, so I ordered the pizza steak sandwich. The combination was a little strange at first, but the marinara sauce was a very charming addition to the sandwich.
The portions were huge! We split a 12″ and it seemed like much more.
The fries were unfortunately below average. I don’t see myself ever ordering them again. Very dry and flavorless.
I also don’t really see myself dining in again either, but I will definitely order sandwiches to go in the future!
This dining experience was different than what my boyfriend and I are used to, but it was refreshing. Definitely a place everyone should try at least once.

LOVE their cheesesteaks! The meat is soft, and is paired perfectly with their bread that doesn’t seem to get soggy even with the massive amount of cheese. I always order their cheesesteak sandwich with cheese wiz and a side of french fries. The first time my boyfriend and I came here we each ordered the shorty (7 inch sandwich), and both couldn’t finish it. So now we share one order of the shorty and it’s a perfect portion for us with the fries. I recommend this spot for anyone looking for a good steak sandwich, and try the cheese wiz on it!

I had the steak cheesesteak and thought it was bland, however, my boyfriend had a sausage with sauce and cheese that I asked to trade halves with because it was fire. Be careful with the fries! They come out pipping hot!
Came back for the chicken parm shorty and my boyfriend ordered a chicken cheesesteak. The shorty size is very far from an actual shorty! It is a really good size for a «shorty» and we haven’t ordered any other size because it is filling enough. I would compare it to a fluffly, wider Subway «6» inch. The bread is so fluffy and meaty with the a slight crunch. It’s fantastic! The chicken parm shorty is now my go to sandwich here! It has the right amount of servings of sauce, cheese, and chicken. I didn’t experience any spilling out or feelings of «theres too much of this.» My BF tried the chicken cheese steak and he agreed the standard cheesesteak was better than the chicken cheesesteak.
Not that much seating inside. We had to «hunt» and wait for someone to leave while we waited. They are two two seaters I believe and 3 – 4 4 seaters. It is towards the back corner of the shopping center and kind of hard to get to. I remember thinking we had gotten lost and then coming up on it while trying to get out of the parking lot.

I saved $.40 something cents by ordering the 12″ Cheese Steak Sandwich for both my daughter and I. For some odd reason, I was craving Vietnamese but she wanted a Philly cheese steak but was glad I gave into her choice because I not only enjoyed the cheese steak, I enjoyed Gavin’s chicken tenders, too.
A little steep in my eyes but what do I know– food cost is still on the rise. After my first bite, I felt that the prices were justified. I added Cheez Whiz to our Philly because how could I not? The order did not take long but when you are hungry, a second would seem like 15 minutes. Even though they weren’t packed, the guy that called my order when it was ready asked if I needed ranch; some people go the extra mile for service and customer satisfaction. I LOVE ranch!
Our cheese steak was cheesy, the meat was juicy, and tender. The roll that was used was not warmed though… the chicken tenders were huge and deliciously fried. My kids and I thoroughly enjoyed our dinner but won’t be back for a long time until it is time for a huge increase in calorie and fat intake.

4 STAR.
Whoa! What a find! Amato’s Cheesesteaks is a hidden gem in South San Jose that we never knew about. If you’re craving a Philly cheesesteak, and are looking for a place that has a bunch of different types of cheesesteaks, then check out Amato’s.
We were craving cheesesteaks for some odd reason a couple weeks ago, and after searching on Unilocal we found a location that was rated extremely well and was less than 5 minutes from where we live. Amato’s is located on Curtner in between the 87 and Almaden Rd.
We got to Amato’s and saw the menu, which was monstrous. There were over 20 different variations of cheesesteaks, along with other hot and cold sandwich options (chicken, hoagies, meatball, parmesan). There were regular cheesesteaks, mushroom cheesesteaks, pizza steak, pepper steak, etc. It was insane! Here’s a breakdown of what we got:
1) We ended up going with the mushroom cheese steak. You have to choose a size — your choices are Shorty, Half, or Whole. We ended up getting a Half which is a 12 inch sandwich for $ 18.65. This might seem a little pricey (and we agree), but then you have to look at the sandwich after they put everything in it. They freshly cook the cheese steak in front of you. Ours had the mushrooms and then the cheese on top of it. It was an insane amount of sliced steak that they fit into that 12 inch french roll. Check out the picture of the sandwich that I attached and you’ll understand. As for taste, it was spot on. The mushrooms added incredible flavor to the cheese steak. Our only qualm was that the cheese «disappeared» in the sandwich. There was so much sliced steak, mushrooms, and bread, and we could barely taste the cheese. We wish there was more cheese in there. Other than that, it was so good.
2) We also got a side of criss-​cut french fries with the sandwich for $ 3.45 and this is a generous heaping portion of fries to enjoy with your cheese steak. You can get ranch dressing to dip them in too!
We ended up paying about $ 24 for the half mushroom cheese steak and fries and were pretty stuffed. My wife and I barely finished our two halves of the sandwich. In fact, I don’t think we ate our whole respective shares. So if you think a «half» sandwich isn’t enough for 2, I think you would be mistaken.
My one other minor complaint is specific to the evening we went — their credit card machine was down, so we had to pay in cash. Hopefully they fixed their issue since then. Also, it took a little long (10+ minutes) to get our to-​go order ready, and we were the only ones in the restaurant at the time. I can imagine that it would take even longer if they have more than 1 customer in there…
Either way, we will DEFINITELY be back to try the other cheese steaks and sandwiches. I have no idea how we are going to try all of them!

«When I die, I hope my hands are clutching this high-​powered boat to hell.» –Patrick H (referring to my pic of the Death Basket)
Amato’s has been dishing up proper Cheesesteaks (CS) in SJ since 1997 at their OG Saratoga location. This newer location has only been open for a few years, but is a much needed bastion of Meaty-​Cheesy goodness in the South SJ/​Willow Glen area. It’s hard to find places that serve up a «proper» CS like you’d find in Philly, but this is about as close as we’re going to get here in Cali. When I say «proper» CS, I mean a CS that has The Whiz. Love it, or hate it, even Pat’s and Geno’s customers can all agree that for a Philly to be a Philly – it’s gotta have The Whiz. You’ll see lots of places sissifying up their CS with frou-​frou cheeses, because this is Cali and that’s (unfortunately) what we do. Nope. Sorry. Must have The Whiz. I usually only have one set order that I’ve been going with for years; however, I’ve recently discovered a more amazing creation, but more on that in a minute.
Corey (Kory?) Special– This is an off-​the-​menu item that was named after a former employee that used to eat his CS this way; it’s basically just Amato’s standard CS with American Cheese, but it also has a generous helping of – you guessed it! – The Whiz. I usually order it «Wit’*.» The bread at Amato’s has improved considerably over the years, and their current version is pretty darn good: soft and pillowy, but firm enough to hold up to all the grease and cheese without falling apart. The meat they use is quite excellent as well; beefy, tender and just the right amount of grease without killing your gut. The Whiz is, well, The Whiz… ‘Nuff said…
Cheese Fries– Before I begin expounding on the virtues of Whiz on fries, I must say that I adore crinkle-​cut fries. I wish more places served them up. I’m not sure if it’s the shape, the taste or if it’s just the memories of being a kid again that makes me adore them so, but Amato’s might be the only ones that do. *Le Sigh* Now take some thick, perfectly cooked crinkle-​cuts and slop on some Whiz and you’ve got a dance party happening in your mouth. Your cardiologist will thank you as he’s making his down payment on his 2^nd boat, but never mind that…
Death Basket– Now what do you get when you take the two items above and throw out the bread?! The Death Basket!!! A heaping bowl of Cheese Fries topped with Steak and American Cheese. Oh, yes! Now you know what Patrick H was talking about; «High-​Powered boat to Hell,» indeed… I think this dish is pretty self-​explanatory. You’re welcome.
Service & Ambiance– Located in a nondescript shopping mall at the Willow Glen/​Ghetto Glen border, that doesn’t have much else expect for a Mermaid and the decrepit Almaden Cinema. The interior is smaller than the Saratoga location, but is cleaner and more inviting. The folks behind the counter are always friendly and recognize me every time becasue my brother comes in here quite often; in fact they usually just call me «Joe’s Brother» fml…
Value– The prices are a bit high here at Amato’s, but their portions are massive! Their 7″ is probably more like a 12″, and one order of Cheese Fries can easily satisfy two people. I highly recommend splitting a CS and a Cheese Fries with a friend and that would be just about right – even I can’t finish both! Now the Death Basket I’m not sharing with anyone… *Oink Oink*
You should be pretty set now when you visit Amato’s. Just order any combination of the above, and you’ll die a happy (wo)man. The only real question you’ll have to answer is: «Wit’, or wit’ out?!»
*Wit’ is Philly slang for «With Onions»