Paganos Steaks & Hoagies

An Absolute Must-Try in Philly! I stopped by Pagano’s Steaks & Hoagies after an event in Philadelphia, and let me tell you—it was phenomenal! I ordered the Triple Cheesesteak, and my brother had the Triple Chicken Cheesesteak, both with fries. The portions were huge, piping hot, and packed with flavor—we couldn’t even finish them (and we tried!). The atmosphere was just as impressive. There were three guys working behind the counter, and each one was friendly, welcoming, and down-to-earth. One of them even took the time to chat with us when he found out we were from out of state. You could tell they genuinely appreciated our visit, and that kind of hospitality makes a big difference. If you’re in Philly—go here. Whether you dine in or grab takeout, you won’t be disappointed. 10/10 would recommend. I’ll definitely be back next time I’m in town!

Omg...its back to the old steaks! No more minced meat...first time in 15 yrs! The triple cheesesteak i had today was delicious & the guy that made it was very personable...went again(6/7/25)placed order,got home...wrong bag given it had a cheesesteak w/ mounds of ketchup ( so disappointed)...I ordered triple chix Xtra mayo...but today (6/9) I went and ordered again and it's delicious! Didn't waste time calling & complaining I'm sure it was a honest mistake but...YALL OWE ME ONE!ooooh they have Cooper Sharp

We were passing through the area coming up from Philly and we're told we had to stop at Paganos for the best cheesesteaks. We got 2 to go and proceeded to drive an hour home. They were still hot and they were delicious! The guy who waited on me was super friendly and the guys cooking did not mess around. We were double parked out front and the sandwiches were ready literally in minutes. I will definitely be stopping there again when I am in the area. Thanks for the friendly and fast service and of course the delicious cheesesteaks!

The place is clean and the staff is nice. I didn't wait long for the cheese steak and the Italian hoagie. The food tasted delicious.

This place is still great just tell the. Exactly what you want on it and they got it from there because it's packed you may have to upgrade your salt n pepper a lil extra but it is worth it and filling.. one of the original cools is still there.. she was the grill master the head of all girl grill cooks that was amazing..they are still hiring for it ..enjoy I always do lol

The place was empty and they were still slow. They mixed up my order with the one other person in the store. I took home the wrong sandwich. When I called to complain about it, they were nasty. I figured it's been awhile since I've had one of their sandwiches, so I'd check them out. It'll be a long while before I'll try again.

I asked for my roll toasted. The first time they toasted my roll on the grill. The next time I was told by Black cook that they don't toast rolls. I waited until he wasn't working and went back. The Black cashier said we don't toast rolls. So I went down the street to Papa Joe's and got my roll toasted.

Whenever I come to North Philadelphia/ Germantown to see family, this is my first stop for food. The best hoagies and cheesesteaks you can get. The breads and ingredients used are top quality and the quantity are worth every penny! Best in the city hands down!

What went well? Everything went well! I've only been here once, but when I went in, the two women working behind the bar were exceptionally nice! Gave us a ton of extra napkins and ketchup. Also the cheesesteak was so flavorful and delicious! I highly recommend this spot.

First time visiting. Was hungry and wanted something for my road trip from the area. I got the mild chicken wings. Crispy and the mild sauce were OK. The wings sizes were different. Some big drums and some are very small. I doubt O would get there w8ngs again. Went back later to try the cheese steak I watched him make when picking up wings. The cheese steak and chicken cheese is worth returning for. The cheese steak with fried onions and mushrooms was really delicious and worth the $14.00. Definitely will be back when in a mood for red meat.

Yeah, it was an okay steak. Not tons of flavor. The beef was a bit on the dry side. Small place. Wish it had a place for me to wash my hands. Probably not rushing back.

Overall decent and so much steak. Just look at my hands, lol. But lowkey, a little too juicy for me. Is that even possible? Lol. It's the sautéed mushrooms' fault though.

I walked out. As I entered the place, I was so excited because I was thinking of the old days when Paganos was THE place to get a cheese steak. It's been years since I had been there. When we walked in it was not very busy just three people waiting for their food. The signs say order at the register, so we walked over to the register. Not one person of the three behind the counter acknowledged us. The woman making the hoagies looked at us as if we were disturbing her flow. She said not one word of greeting. As we stood there waiting to place our order, she then told us to move over so someone could pay for their food. Why tell people to order at the register if you haven't collected money from those who have placed there orders already. Duh! We waited and waited until finally it was someone else's turn to pay for their order. Again we moved out of the way. Still no acknowledgment of our waiting , or an apology for the wait. Then there was an issue with the order that needed attention on the computer screen, so the person asked the hoagie lady for help , and as the hoagie lady was trying to correct it with her gloved hand, she decided to cough into the gloved hand. I was done. We turned and walked out. The rudeness and nastiness alone will cause me not to return. Back in the day. It would be so crowded, but somehow they made you feel as if they cared that you were there and wanted your business. Not anymore. My how things change.

Paganos has the worst steaks to include chicken steaks that I have ever eaten. This is my third time trying over a two year period hoping they would improve. They have not. Cheap meat and chicken. They give you a lot which means nothing because of the taste. I would not recommend. The corner store has a better one than Paganos. I had to doctor it up to eat two mouthfuls. Not looking good at all. They need to get a better quality of meat instead Of the cheap stuff.

If you're in the mood for a big Cheesesteak or Hoagie this is the place to go. Pagonos has been around for years and is located on Ogontz Ave. In the West Oak Lane section of the city. Pagonos does not have a parking lot, just street parking. It can be a challenge at times to find a parking space, but the sandwich will makeup for it. When you enter the steak shop, steak sandwiches are ordered on the right and cold hoagies are ordered on the left. Sometimes there is a line, but they move pretty fast. You can stand there and watch them make your sandwich. They put so much meat on your sandwich its enough to share or another meal. All the ingredients are fresh. My favorites are the Cheesesteak hoagie, chicken Cheesesteak, Italian or tuna hoagie. Pagonos is not a sit down restaurant. So if you're in neighborhood or not I would highly recommend them if your in the mood for a big fat juicy steak sandwich or hoagie!

Great cheese steaks!. The day I went there was a line but well worth the wait. The second time I called ahead and my steak was waiting for...still delicious

Pagano's is one of my favorite cheesesteak spots in Philly. Star ratings here could never really do it justice. I get the feeling that outsiders have always just viewed it as a neighborhood spot that sold darn good cheesesteaks and hoagies. To me is it better than some of the more popular touristy type cheesesteak places? Yes (looking at you Jim's, Pat's, and Geno's). Is it better than some of the very best cheesesteak spots in the City of Brotherly Love? (Ishkabibble's, D'alessandro's) It is hanging right with them. The steak is so flavorful and juicy. Seasoned just right and a lot of meat. Like among the most offered in the city that is also good. My order is "wit with wiz and provolone, add Mayo and ketchup." The cooking is perfect and watching the griddle cooks work is like watching Basquiat paint. I love the Philly straight to the point type service too. Very direct but always with respect. But I buried the lead, the cold hoagies are also on point! My favorite is the tuna hoagie with all the accoutrements. Just so damn good, especially the mayonnaise heavy moist tuna made like how my grandmother use to make (rest her Philadelphia native soul). I only wish that they offered fried fish or griddled salmon "cheesesteaks." The prices are set for us working class folks to truly afford. All the primping and extras are 86'ed to bring an authentic North Philly classic hood (the best of what "hood" means -- family ties, friends, respect, looking out for your neighbors, great food, good times, and uplifting culture) experience. Two lines once inside, one for hot food one for cold hoagies. You can see all your sandwiches being made with is like performance art. Don't pass up the dessert display either. I can certainly afford the prices but not the extra calories of dessert, so I passed. Clean interior (clean griddle too) and hospitable staff...as long as you are not holding up the line. If you need a moment or help, ask precise questions or step back in the line. Regulars know their orders and can get "impatient" if you gum up the works. North Philly stand up. Pagano's slid through and earned five stars. In my D.C. accent asking my Philly college attending son "let go down that Pagano's jawn" is as touristy as ever. But it is our thing. Five stars, easy!!!!

The store is under new management and boy can u tell!! the cheesesteak was awesome!! Tons of meat- cooked fresh. French fries were delicious. I also tried the Onion rings which were crisp and hot. Definitely now my go to place. Cathy G

I drove to this place from New York to have some of the rudest customer service I've ever experienced. The skinny guy was a little rude but he made his out to be jokes so we just kindsa laughed it off, but the young girl was especially rude and nasty. I asked her how many steaks she prepared for me and she said, with the nastiest tone, "How many did I say it was" This place needs to work on their customer service!!!

Solid spot. Went for the cheesesteak which was good but the wings were what stood out. I got hot wings but the meat was quality and they were a nice blend of crispy and tender so I imagine any sauce would be good. Definitely recommend

Great meaty Steaks! Friendly Staff and ambiance! Quick Service! What more can you ask for ??

Great sandwiches but too much meat. Really makes me feel inadequate when I can't finish a sandwich. The meat is literally spilling out of the bun. Most of the time I have to go to the supermarket and buy rolls then take some the meat out of the sandwich and make my a whole nother sandwich. Now I'm making my own cheesesteak. I come there to eat not become an entrepreneur starting new sandwich making ventures. Do us all a favor and chill with the extra meat.

Excellent steak. Definitely noticing a huge quality and service difference. Steaks are great and loaded with meat. Fries and Onion rings are very good as well. Efficient service. Enjoy

This one our first try of cheesesteak in Philly. We enjoyed it very much and the preparers at Pagano's are very friendly such that I wish them the best success. We ordered 3 cheesesteaks and enjoyed them. We also got a Hungry Man hoagie, which perhaps the best hoagie I have had. The choice and balance of spices is what set it apart. It reminded me of an Italian place of my youth that I liked very much but no one matched until Pagano's. I would say Pagano's actually surpassed that restaurant of my youth. (For the info of the people that work there, we are that Asian family that came in earlier today from out of town. The father has no accent )

The only place that gets my hoagies RIGHT. If I ask for extra onions they do it. If I ask for extra hots they do it. Happy customer

New ownership, new management, all new employees ( may be a family) the food is significantly lacking in taste and portion size. Topping it all, however,the prices are sky high ( $ 17 for a hoagie!!!) Wow!!!

So I went home to visit recently and what do you know! I got right off the plane and arrived at paganos lol growing up this was right around the corner and we would always go and get a steak with sweet peppers and the works. (My fellow Georgians don't know what sweet peppers are) lol Anywho, I got there early and it was no one in there. Perfect timing because it can get packed! They cook everything in front of you fresh. It's just an amazing experience especially if you know the cooks and staff. I haven't been in a while but the service and hospitality was still there. I got my steak and one for my granddad along with a Tahitian treat soda. Yum!!! wish I coulda got more to go but thanks to coronavirus my visit was shut short. Definitely going again when I'm in town. One of the best steaks philly has to offer! #uptowngyal

I grew up on Pagano's sandwiches.Had my first cheesesteak when I was in the 2nd grade had my latest one on my 62nd birthday in May of 2023! Best and biggest sandwiches in Philly. They've cracked the code...mc

I ordered a cheesesteak from here and I'm still trying to figure what kind of meat what used in it. This was NOT a Philly cheesesteak. The meat was chopped coarsely and we tried to figure out what it was. I really think it was some kind mixed cuts of something that did not have anything to do with quality. I DO NOT recommend this place. $14 lost and a disappointment later I will never go back.

My local steak shop in Philly. Gotta get the triple cheese. It was so good I forgot to take a picture.

I found out about this place on YouTube. I wanted to try a place that was more of a local where less tourists go to. Staff was friendly. I got a Cheesesteak with Whiz cheese and onions topped with mayonnaise. Hugh portions very good.

Decent but I'm still on the hunt for Philly's best cheese steak. My fiance and I decided the evening after the Eagles parade that we should grab a cheese steak. I honestly haven't tried many of the places that natives rave about and this was one that I've heard mentioned. The line was sooooo long. There were about 15 people in front of us when we arrived and it took about an hour for us to be able to place an order. This is not a dine in establishment and certainly not in the best of neighborhoods. We actually had an alcoholic ask us for money while waiting in line. Overall though, it was decorated with lots of photos from celebrity's that have come in and it has character. Now onto the actually cheese steak. It was good, but I would have preferred more cheese and that the cheese and onions were actually cooked with the meat. Everything was put on separately, first the meat, then the toppings, then the cheese and ketchup. Okay but I'm not hurrying back.

Like others have said, the fact that the cheesesteaks are overstuffed stops being a good thing if the steak that makes them so huge is also so dry that you don't want to finish even half of it. Sure you can add moisture with sauce, but that somehow doesn't really fix the dryness of the steak. The best cheesesteak places use ribeye, with some fat to it. Are you using very lean, cheaper cuts so an overstuffed steak can be sold? I think that is working against you.

Tastiest cheesesteaks in the neighborhood, hands down! It's a bit on the expensive side but I'd say it's well worth the price.

The best steaks uptown!!! Not up Debate. They give you so much meat you can definitely share this with fries.

No the cooks are very impolite. Don't understand why even the expressions are a turn off. And the last time I was there it was less meat and a higher price and me too would like to know if they use different types of meat

Worst steak I've ever had. Stopped today to pickup a cheesesteak that I ordered over the phone. The first bite was all Gristle. Tough and chewy. Smh... I spit that out. Next I noticed it was so dry. I had to run for a drink before I choked. I asked for mayonnaise. No mayo. I asked for cheese whiz. No whiz. They put American and provolone cheese on the sandwich. Not what I asked for at all and this is not the first time that this has happened. Getting home to find out that the sandwich was not prepared in the manner that you requested. Bad business. The meat had no flavor. No flavor at all. It tasted like water. Bland. They must use the cheapest beef on the market. I don't like cheap meat with gristle. As a native Philadelphian, Paganos is not like it use to be. I wasted $9.00 and will not be going back for some time. Go right across the street to the pizza joint. Their steaks have more flavor. See photos.

Good steaks! Hot & fresh. I loved the fresh beef grilled with onions, sweet peppers, with cheese and mayo on the roll, and ketchup drizzled on top. It's so awesome to get what you had exactly in mind :). It was made right for me! I like to add hot peppers for an additional layer of flavor. The wait on a busy Saturday can be about 20 minutes overall. The ladies there today were friendly and professional.

Not a place I would visit again. I will say, it appeared to be clean. The food and service from 2/3 people working were not friendly at all. The third person was pleasant. We wanted a good cheesesteak as we hit the road and this did not provide us that. I would not recommend ordering a cheesesteak from this establishment. We both wasted more than we ate. The bread was soggy (not toasted), lots of no flavor steak with one piece of cheese split on the roll with the loads of steak placed on top (not mixed and cooked in).

I had the cheesesteak. It had a lot of meat. Probably the most meat for the money. cash only. I wish they had parking.

Haven't been here in years, ordered 3 hoagies, simple! First as I was giving the lady my order she kept telling me what comes on it, I told it would be easier to tell what I would like on it. (Without being nasty you always be nice when u ordering food). All of the sandwiches were half assed, no mustard that I asked for no salt, no pepper, no oil or vinegar. $40 for 3 half assed sandwiches I'm pissed because I tipped them. Call them back asked to speak to the person in charge, Niki your service is terrible and staff needs to LEARN HOW TO TAKE A ORDER and lose the attitude, but I will not EVER come back. And don't recommend you don't either sad

Used to be a good place for steak or hoagie. I went in there the other night to order steak, the meat was so light I thought it was a chicken steak. The cook said I can make it darker and leave it on the grill longer, that's not how it works. Plus, the grill was so dirty. I was disappointed and I left. The dirty grill in the meat that may have been spoiled, what able to cause of the color was totally unacceptable. I wanted to give this a one star, but hit 2 by mistake. They deserve no stars.

I'm familiar with this local as lived in the Philly area. My husband was blown away about the size of the steak sandwiches. He opted for the beef and I had the chicken. Needless to say, he'll be back.

Back in the day this was the spot!! The thrill is gone! The steaks don't taste the same at all. I don't know what kind of meat they are using but it has completely changed the taste of what use to be an authentic "Paganos steak". It's like chopped hamburger. It's just terrible. I use to send all of my out of town guests there for their 1st Philly cheesesteaks- -not any more!!! On another note, the hoagies are still good so if you do decide to go, stick to the hoagies.

The staff was friendly and the food was made fresh. I love the fact they double check your order prior to making it

Leaving 1 star because i cant leave 0. Me and my family traveled from DC to Philly jus to get the "best cheesesteaks" like they claimed and we were met with rudeness as soon as we walked in. The dude taking our order rushed us and rolled his eyes when we took a minute to order and then practically THREW the food on the bread. The cashier lady rudely snatched our money and threw our change on the counter and when we still thanked them she rolled her eyes and said "mhm". After all of the disrespect we opened our cheesesteaks and it was more than one HAIR IN OUR FOOD! and when we called back they hung up on us. I would not recommend and this is NOT the best philly cheesesteak, very much subpar.

Pagonas is great with meaty subs and buffalo Wings are great. The cheese fries are great too the price is fair for location. Only cash spot but I like jf

So after eleven years I tried it again. It's worse then I remember. It's still a mess with a bad flavor. It's always empty when I drive by which is no surprise. This place is a solid pass. Pretty much anywhere is better.

My favorite spot to get a cheesesteak from in the Mt. Airy/West Oak Lane section of the city. I ordered the cheesesteak special which came with sweet peppers, mushrooms, and fried onions. He hooked my food up in under 6 minutes since it was only one other customer besides myself. He put everything on it like I requested and they are definitely friendly. Whenever I come in, I am greeted with my order being taken within less than 2 minutes and they always get my order right. Never had any issues.

Had one of the best cheesteaks from this place. Seasoned well and very filling; definitely going back when in town!

I am not going to lie, the steaks are amazing. However, the slim male cook is a rude guy. He talks in a disrespectful manner to the customers and have caused me to take my business elsewhere. I'd rather get a less descent steak from elsewhere with better customer service. It's just a shame that this single individual gives the entire business a bad reputation. If you don't mind being disrespected for a good steak, I would recommend going to Paganos. If you have self decency, like myself, I'd recommend taking your business elsewhere.

Been here twice for cheesesteaks. Both times the services was good and the food was great. They are fast and provide so much meat on the steak. I wonder why no one has told me about this place sooner. I'll be back again.

I went to get a steak, the guy behind the counter was extremely slow, rude, aloof about what was going on and told me I was going to wait longer because I am an Eagles fan. Nigga be concerned about that cheesesteak I told you that you can keep! I'm going to Max's anyways!!!

Pagano's isn't what it used to be they have ignorant low employees not washing their hands using the same gloves over and over and when I asked them to wear a mask they said they don't have to. This is a Covid-19 factory waiting to happen .. I even talked to the Italian ignorant owner who refused to address the issues . So now they can make uour food without anyone seeing what they are actually doing .. Don't give that far man anymore money or rush bring Covid home to your love one and I am. RN THAT HAS WITNESSED THIS !!!!! I was born and raised on 77th ave and I am very disappointed with all of this !!!!!

Not the same. Chicken cheesesteak had no flavor. Had to doctor it up at home. Family from out of town bought regular steaks and said they were very disappointed. Said not to bring them back there again. Higher prices and lower quality/taste sandwiches! That's it for Paganos!

I recently got a chicken cheesesteak. The steak was dry and the chicken was hard. There was no seasoning on it and the chicken was crunchy. The sandwich tasted old.

They were so rude. So rude that it left a bad taste in my mouth. Make sure you stand on the right line. Steaks or subs, you'll get yelled at if you're wrong. Didn't enjoy the overstuffed chicken steak. My family enjoyed it. Clearly I didn't. Positive- the tomatoes were fresh!