Top 20 Cheesesteaks in the Philly Region

This list is the culmination of over two years of eating at least one cheesesteak just about every week. While it wouldn’t have been possible for me to make a serious attempt at trying every steak in the Philly region, I did my best to get to all of the places that are known to be among the best by those who are serious about such things.

I considered four factors when determining which cheesesteaks belong on this list:

1. The Roll:  We all have our own preferences. Some like softer rolls. I prefer them sturdy and don’t mind a crispy crust, although it’s not necessary. I also don’t want the roll to be too doughy.
2. The Meat:  I prefer the meat to be chopped, moist and generously seasoned. A lot of places fall short on the seasoning. 
3. The Cheese:  The cheese should be well proportioned to and blended in with the meat. It should also be evenly distributed throughout the steak. I don’t want it to overwhelm the beef. Rather, it should lightly coat and compliment it. 
4. Overall Taste:  I gave this factor a bit more weight than the other three. Ultimately, it’s what matters most. 

In general, I prefer a cheesesteak in which the meat, cheese, and roll are all proportionate to each other over steaks with massive amounts of meat, cheese, or both. That preference led to several very popular steak shops not making the list.

Perhaps surprisingly, at least to me, the majority of steaks that made the list are from suburban shops and restaurants. Many of those are relatively new, which shows the extent to which the sandwich’s popularity is arguably going through a growth spurt in the region it calls home. There are more good cheesesteaks than ever and a constant stream of new steak shops aiming to be the best.

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20. Jay’s Steaks (Royersford, PA) 

Jay’s Steaks uses Liscio’s rolls that are a bit softer than I prefer, but the one I had was fresh and packed a nice chew along with being sturdy enough to get the job done. The steak featured 10-12 ounces of well-seasoned chopped ribeye. While there was a bit more Cooper Sharp than I prefer, it wasn’t too overboard and it was blended in with the meat nicely. The meat-to-roll ratio was close to ideal.  

19. Pop’s Pizzeria (Glen Mill’s, PA)

Pop’s opened in 2023 and has been receiving a healthy share of deserved online raves ever since. They place a large amount of ribeye and Cooper Sharp on fresh Liscio’s seeded rolls. The overall flavor of these steaks is fantastic, while all of the ingredients are blended together beautifully.

18. Gentili’s Pizza & Steaks  (Exton and Springfield, PA) 

Gentili’s uses about three-quarters of a pound of moist chopped ribeye with the Cooper Sharp mixed in beautifully throughout. And that beef and cheese come on very good seeded rolls from Boaggio’s Bread, one of the excellent bakeries in South Jersey. Just a bit more seasoning would move them up higher in the rankings.

17. Alessio’s Seafood Grille  (Warrington, PA) 

Alessio’s Seafood Grille is a full service restaurant with a large menu – not the sort of place I’d expect to find a great cheesesteak. But they do a fantastic job of seasoning what appeared to be at least close to a pound of chopped ribeye. There was also a nice amount of American cheese blended in with the meat and the onions had some caramelization. My biggest complaint was that the seeded roll was toasted, something I generally don’t like for steaks.

16. Guido’s Steaks  (Bensalem, PA) 

Guido’s uses top notch rolls from Boaggio’s Bread that have a bit of very enjoyable crustiness. The chopped ribeye and Cooper Sharp were perfectly proportioned and nicely blended. The only slight let down, which dropped them a few places from where they were on last year’s list, was that the overall flavor didn’t pack quite as much of a punch as I remembered from my previous visit. It probably needed a little more seasoning.

15. Lorenzo’s Steaks on the East Side  (West Chester, PA) 

Lorenzo’s made a minor change to its name earlier this year, but thankfully their steaks remain as good as ever. They use a soft roll that was fresh and had a pleasant chew. Although it didn’t appear to be the case at first glance, the chopped ribeye and Cooper Sharp were blended very well and in perfect proportion to each other. Cheese-lovers may want to order extra here, but I thought the meat-forward flavor was fantastic.

14. Stoli’s Steaks  (Philadelphia) 

The owner of Stoli’s of Northeast Philadelphia, which just missed last year’s list, changed roll suppliers twice in the past year. The first switch – to Sarcone’s Bakery – was a great move. But the newer semolina roll, which comes from a bakery in North Jersey or New York, is even better. The chopped ribeye and New Yorker American cheese were ideally proportioned. My only issue was that the meat needed a touch more seasoning.  

13. Cockadoodle Dan’s (Moorestown, NJ) 

While the seeded rolls at Cockadoodle Dan’s are merely solid, their steaks have a fantastic overall flavor because the grill chefs there do such a great job of seasoning the meat and proportioning all of the ingredients.

12. Lillo’s Tomato Pies  (Hainesport, NJ) 

Lillo‘s is an exception to my more-meat-isn’t-necessarily-better rule. They use a pound of chopped ribeye and it was beautifully seasoned. The Cooper Sharp was nicely blended with it throughout the length of the steak without overwhelming the meat’s flavor. They also apply a garlic spread to the roll, which I expected to be lightly toasted based on last year’s steak. Yet it didn’t seem to be. Regardless, the various components of this cheesesteak combined for a great overall flavor.  

11. Joey’s Pizza  (Thorndale, PA)

Joey’s, which serves my favorite pizza in the region, uses soft Liscio’s rolls, but they are a bit crustier than most of the seeded rolls I’ve had from that bakery. The chopped ribeye was moist and lightly coated by the Cooper Sharp throughout, just the way I like it. Like several other steaks between 11-20, this one may have moved up a little higher if the meat had been seasoned just a touch more generously.  

10.  Nipotina  (Philadelphia) 

The cheesesteak at Nipotina of South Philadelphia features an unusually crusty Liscio’s roll. But what made this steak stand out was the roughly 12 ounces of coarsely chopped ribeye that roll held. It was some of the most tender, juicy and flavorful meat I’ve ever had on a cheesesteak. It comes with a generous amount of Cooper Sharp, but not enough to overwhelm that wonderful beef.

9. Uncle Gus’ Steaks (Philadelphia)

The Reading Terminal Market finally has a cheesesteak worthy of its status as Philly’s leading food destination. They use the same phenomenal seeded rolls that are found at Angelo’s Pizzeria, In fact, Angelo’s owners are among the partners who opened Uncle Gus’. Those great rolls are topped with well-seasoned chopped ribeye and a healthy serving of cheese that is mixed in beautifully throughout.

8. Johnny’s Pizza (Bryn Mawr, PA)

Johnny’s Pizza is a late addition to this list. They became one of the hottest steaks in the Philly region in the weeks and months after I initially released it in November of 2023. Their wider than average roll gets toasted, which is normally a no-no for me, but that didn’t stop its extremely high quality from shining through. The ribeye was coarsely chopped and perfectly seasoned, while the Cooper Sharp was very well proportioned and nicely blended in with the meat throughout. Overall, this was a great-tasting steak, if slightly awkward to eat because of the roll’s dimensions.

7. Del Rossi’s Cheesesteak & Pizza Co.  (Philadelphia) 

Del Rossi’s elevated their steaks to elite status when they started baking their rolls in-house during the summer of 2024. They are among the crustiest steak rolls out there and they hold pasture-raised and hormone-free ribeye that is beautifully seasoned and blended throughout with just the right amount of Cooper Sharp.

6. Mercatino Italiano  (Quakertown, PA) 

Mercatino Italiano was called Giacomo’s when I posted about them earlier this year. They made the change due to a dispute with a similarly named restaurant. Their steaks come on a slightly shorter than average and somewhat soft but very sturdy roll. It comfortably held what had to be around a pound of very well-seasoned chopped ribeye and a proportionate amount of Cooper Sharp that was blended in perfectly throughout. I marveled at how well the ingredients were packed onto the roll. To have that much meat and cheese on a relatively small roll with hardly any drippage during eating was remarkable.  

5. Steaks  (West Chester, PA) 

Steaks opened recently and made an immediate impression on the cheesesteak-loving public, myself included. They get their rolls from a local French bakery and while they aren’t as crusty as I expected, they pack a lot of flavor for a steak roll and have a wonderfully chewy texture. There appeared to be at least 12 ounces of chopped ribeye on it and it was both juicy and beautifully seasoned. As is the case with most of the steaks on this list, the Cooper Sharp was also used in moderation, but it was distributed nicely throughout.

4. Gazzos Steaks  (Pottstown, PA) 

Gazzos recently moved from the truck that they’ve been operating out of for over a year to a brick and mortar shop. That will make for more pleasant year-round cheesesteak eating. And their steaks should be eaten by all who love Philly’s most beloved sandwich. They feature a locally baked high quality roll that was more chewy than crusty. It held roughly 12 ounces of chopped ribeye that was extra juicy and flavorful. The Cooper Sharp was also nicely proportioned and blended in with the meat throughout.  

3. Goomba’s Pizzaria***  (Colmar, PA) 

Goomba’s is the top steak shop in Philly’s suburbs in part because of their tremendous rolls, which they get from a bakery in their area. They have a fantastic crust and are extra-wide, which enables them to hold 14 ounces of moist and beautifully seasoned chopped ribeye and just the right amount of Cooper Sharp cheese without seeming the least bit overstuffed. They also do a great job of caramelizing the onions.

2. John’s Roast Pork  (Philadelphia) 

John’s Roast Pork of South Philadelphia is the only one of the big-name old-school steak shops that still lives up to its reputation. They use crusty and sturdy rolls from Carangi Bakery and fill them with 12 ounces of juicy and exceedingly flavorful chopped beef, which is coated with a healthy but not overbearing portion of American cheese. The fact that they use a milder cheese than Cooper Sharp enables them to put more of it on their steaks without impacting the flavor of the beef. The caramelized onions are the icing on the cake.  

1. Angelo’s Pizzeria  (Philadelphia)

And then there is the king. For the second year in a row, my number one cheesesteak in the Philly region is from Angelo’s Pizzeria of South Philadelphia.  Anyone who has sampled one knows that their greatness starts with the house-baked rolls on which they are served. They are more like something I’d expect to be served to open a meal at an upscale restaurant than any other steak roll I’ve ever had. While it appeared that there may have been too much Cooper Sharp initially, the chopped ribeye was so juicy and flavorful that it managed to avoid being the least bit overwhelmed by the cheese. Rather the two ingredients complimented each other magnificently. The overall package was simply unbeatable.

* While it’s not on this list, the single best tasting cheesesteak I’ve had was from Shay’s Steaks of Philadelphia. I didn’t include it above because it was made with wagyu beef and cost $35. It clearly falls into the category of a gourmet steak, and I didn’t feel comfortable comparing it to more standard cheesesteaks. But if you are up for a splurge, head on over there for an explosion of juicy flavor.

**Tony’s of West Reading, PA, and all other steak shops outside of the Philadelphia metropolitan area were not considered for inclusion on this list.  

***That’s how Goomba’s spells Pizzeria. 

Those of you who would like to browse through my cheesesteak posts can find them all here.