A Philly Cheesesteak in London?  Call me skeptical, as I’ve argued Philly Cheesesteaks around the world.  No…… green peppers are not a topping…mushrooms and green peppers are even worse and don’t get me started on the bread.  The Philadelphia Cheesesteak is imbedded in my childhood and those memories of how to do it right won’t go away.  I’ve since stopped telling food truck vendors around the world how they are ruining my city’s iconic sandwich.  That said, even at home, I’m a picky cheesesteak person.  So would Passyunk Avenue London pass my Philly Cheesesteak test? Can you really export an authentic taste of Philly?

Growing Up in Philly – Cheesesteak Memories

Growing up, the local butcher supplied my mom with the thinly sliced ribeye that she would then fry up and fill the local Amoroso rolls that my dad would bring home from his visit to the bakery.  Cheese Whiz, a key ingredient in the more famous Philly cheesesteaks never made it into the kitchen pantry.  Don’t think Mom was being health conscious of the fake processed cheese stuff, she favored another fake processed cheese, Velveeta.  Ah, those memories of childhood foods.

As I began traveling after college, back in the days before the smartphone, internet and globalization of foods, my “welcome home meal” was at the local diner, The Dining Car, with my parents who would pick me up at the airport.  My dad would insist it was “my treat” with leftover money I converted (he would do anything to make me pay).  My “back to the US” meal was a cheesesteak royal (American cheese no onions), extra pickles and a Pepsi.

As I grew older, the cheesesteak outings lessened (damn healthy lifestyle!) and somewhere along the way, it became a special treat when I was back in my childhood diner (an hour away) or if I wanted to relive my high school South Street memories at Jim’s Steaks.

When I discovered the posh cheesesteak eggrolls of Davio’s it allowed me to experience my childhood cheesesteak in a posh way – the cheesesteak in an eggroll, deep fried and served with onion strings and spicy ketchup.  But I never outgrew (or abandoned) the original cheesesteak.

Philly Bar in Fitzrovia

Philadelphians have their own cheesesteak memories and favorite places (hint: neither of which are Pat’s or Geno’s). But now I was in London and on my way to the quiet Fitzrovia neighborhood to the new Philly Bar, Passyunk Avenue, to see if an authentic Philly Cheesesteak in London really exists. The London Philly Cheesesteak version?

Fitzrovia is a residential neighborhood that I’ve stayed in many times before at my favorite hotel, The Charlotte Street Hotel.  On Cleveland Street, many blocks from the hotel, I saw the Passyunk Avenue sign and then the famous Philly “Yo” on the street and knew I was in the right place.  They might need to add JEET to the sign.

Passyunk Avenue London Philly Cheesesteaks

Immediately upon walking into the sport themed filled “dive” bar, I walked into the small neighborhood Philly bar of my youth.  Crossing the line from the outside in was strangely comforting – the wood panels, the tables and metal chairs, the music playing rock in the background.  The only indication I wasn’t at home in Philly were the accents from the tables – those were British.  I could imagine my college self eating here watching sports in my youth – it really was designed to capture the rowhouse bar experience.

I was told to take any table so I walked to the booth that gave me a view of the bar, tables and the street.  The mural at my booth was familiar, the television was playing the Phillies and another was playing “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”.  I didn’t get a chance to ask when “The Goldbergs” would be shown (a television comedy based on growing up in suburban Philadelphia in the 80’s which is so spot on with local references that I can’t help but watch, reminisce and be proud).

Passyunk Avenue London Philly/American Menu

Unlike the Philly cheesesteak shops at home, Passyunk Avenue in London has servers (and takes reservations!).  My server was from Jersey (New Jersey that is, not the nearby Channel Islands).  She fell in love with a Brit and moved to London a few years ago (I think that’s the plot of many movies).  I ordered wine, a cheesesteak wiz without (onions) and a side of skinny chips (fries to us Philly folk).  I had to argue a bit about the parmesan and oregano fries which she said were “a south philly thing” because I’ve never heard of those as being “a Philly thing”.  The crab fries with Old Bay, yep, those are a “very Philly thing” and Passyunk Avenue has those on the menu along with hot wings and mozzarella sticks (which falls into the American food column).

Other Philly things – hoagies, roast pork sandwiches and the selections of parm sandwiches (eggplant, meatball and chicken).  In the coming soon column – soft pretzel bites!  I’ve learned how to make the Philly pretzels and they are a bit tricky so I can’t wait to see how those turn out. On the bring your own menu – Tastykakes.  If you want the iconic krimpet or chocolate cupcakes, you’ll need to bring your own from Philly and if you do, bring a few extras to share with the staff.

Now to be fair, I had read the background of how Passyunk Avenue came to be (origins: food truck called Liberty Cheesesteak Company) and how the owner, JP Teti, has created his own version of Cheese Whiz (seriously folks, not everything needs to be exported).  So I had high expectations for the Philly experience.

The London Philly Cheesesteak experience

The cheesesteak presentation was a winner, served in the plastic tray with a sheet of paper underneath for the grease and mess, because there is always a mess.  This is a sandwich meant to be eaten by picking it up with both hands, not cut with a fork and knife as so many Brits do with their burgers.  For me, I didn’t care how I looked, I picked my half up with both hands (so very American of me) and bit into it and started to laugh.

I was laughing because I could instantly taste the quality of the cheese used for the cheese sauce and it’s already a bit high end for the cheese whiz folks but it was mighty tasty and complemented the meat in such a way to fake out my senses.  I could have been home in Philly as this was the real deal. Even the bread was close enough to an Amoroso roll to pass the test (we take our bread quite seriously in Philly).

During my meal, the booth in front of me, adorned with an accessible sticker (adhered on the day that Professor Stephen Hawking passed) a young girl was seated.  We got to talking as solo travelers do but also as Philadelphians around the world do.  She was also from New Jersey (Cherry Hill) and working as an au pair in Paris during her work sabbatical as a primary school teacher.  She was in London for the weekend for a music festival and craving a pizza steak, which is a cheesesteak with pizza sauce (marinara) on top.  As we chatted about how good our meals were, two guys from Philly came into the bar bearing gifts (Philly sport pennants).

Dessert at Passyunk Avenue London

At the tables around us were a variety of people which my server said were either local students or Londoners.   Did I want dessert?  To be fair, I was stuffed as I went beyond the typical cheesesteak meal with the fries but agreed when told the owner has his own cannoli.  Hmmm, cannoli?  I requested they be put in a takeaway container so I could try one and take the other two back to the hotel.  Italian pastry is also a contentious issue in Philadelphia with Termini’s and Isgro’s to name the two more famous cannoli bakeries in South Philly. The cannoli filling was a bit too sweet for me as I rarely eat cannoli but that said, they will also get a pass from me as being really close to home.

Passyunk Avenue Basement Bar – Nick Foles Bar

With my stomach confused by my foods – are we home in Philly?  Or are we still in Europe? I decided to descend to the basement “Nick Foles” bar, named for the Superbowl MVP who helped our Philadelphia Eagles win the Superbowl in 2018.  It wasn’t open during my visit but ok to go look at the cozy spots and additional sports memorabilia.

While taking photos, the manager escorted those Philly guys (on their business trip) from the bar (one guy lives 5 minutes away from me at home) downstairs to show them the key piece of Philly memorabilia – the bar back from Dirty Frank’s (classic dive bar) in Center City.  He talked about how they obtained the décor, moved from successful food truck to storefront and about the various groups in London that meet in the bar for sports games and school alumni events.

 

Passyunk Avenue London Philly Cheesesteak Verdict

If you are craving the Philly accents, food and sports, Passyunk Avenue in London is a definite must do.  If you are keen to learn about this iconic Philly sandwich (without having to take the flight and deal with the jet lag) then put the fork and knife down and learn to be messy at Passyunk Avenue London.  After twenty years of traveling to/from London, it’s nice to finally have a place to go and have a taste of home (and play the which Philly neighborhood are you from game). The cheesesteak is definitely a winner for me and I can’t wait to return! Thankfully there are no calories on vacation right?

 

A few notes:

1. The server telling the table of four that a “steak sandwich” is not a filet steak inside bread (yuck!).  That’s usually what people tend to think at first.  The steak is thinly sliced like the meats on the charcuterie tray or the Iberian ham on the tapas menu.
2. Cheesesteaks are a fantastic late night snack after the bar – in the US the bars are open to 2 a.m. and many diners are 24/7 so cheesesteaks after drinking were a normal outing (for my much younger body and self).  In London, the bars tend to close at 11 pm or midnight (Passyunk Avenue closes at 12:30 am) so it’s a perfect after the pub destination or takeaway option as well as all day dining.
3. If you are visiting from Philadelphia, bring Tastykakes and sports memorabilia (I’m already planning my next visit with Villanova NCAA Championship banners!).