The Cheesesteak Shop

I’m not going to give it Five stars because growing up at the Jersey Shore we think our bread is better but where else can you order a pizza steak in Marin without getting a blank gaze looking back at you. It’s pretty close to the real deal. As far as some of the other reviews re: Smoking out front next to the door and dirty talking by the employees. Makes the experience even more genuine. Some of the reviewers would probably run before even entering a true Philly steak shop. Love it!!!

I’ve been eating here since they opened. They had some growing pains at first but they are all dialed in now. Greatfull to have a real Philadelphia Cheese Steak Shop in are town.

Not authentic. Small portion of low quality, dried out frozen meat, no caramelized onions but little bits of chopped onion you can barely taste, add some kind of salt to give it taste, disorganized, high personnel turnover, get orders wrong. A mess. Would never make it in Philly. Try Jersey Joe’s in Half Moon Bay to see what a real cheese steak is like. Or better yet, go to Philly.

I would eat one of Kevin’s sandwiches anytime!

I have been a fan of this restaurant since their opening. The sandwiches are prepared
exactly how you like; sweet peppers, hot peppers onions, etc. Tables are clean.
A delicious sandwich.

Ate lunch here today and had an awesome experience. The king Philly cheesesteak was phenomenal! Super psyched to have an authentic cheesesteak in Marin.
Location is great, tons of easy parking and a nice outdoor seating area.
Will definitely go back!

Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! I have read through some of the other reviews and it seems that the usual uptight judgemental «marinites» are at it again. Don’t listen to those reviews, the food is amazing and the employees are fun and full of great positive energy! I tried the chicken hoagie and my fiancé got the King of Philly Steak, both were incredible! We are definitely fans of the place and we will be frequent Cheesesteak Shop customers for years to come!

This place is unsanitary and foul!
The first time I ever came to get a cheesesteak was one of the worst dining experiences of my young and fragile life.
I ordered a basic cheesesteak with curly fries and a beverage to-​go. The employee (Who had digusting, unkept, greasy dreadlocks that excreted a cheesy stench.) started cooking my food and then immediately went to the restroom while my food was still on the grill.
Eventually, the food started to burn and smoke up, and soon after the employee burst out of the bathroom door. He raced to the grill to attend to the burning food and finished preparing my burnt meal. Meanwhile, while witnessing all this happen, this horrendous Musky, acidic sewage/​acid like smell leaked out from the bathroom. I nearly fainted.
The food was super greasy and soggy.
Overall this was a terrible and traumatizing experience.

waste of time, would have rather eaten at mcdonalds. the tables were dirty and not only was the cashier grumpy, but he touched his nose and didn’t wash his hands before restocking drink lids and handling our food. GROSS

If I want my cheese steak fix, I better go back to the Cheesesteak Shop on Divisadero in SF because this place in Larkspur is a disappointment! When the spot opened, I was thrilled and the first week, I was pretty satisfied. Since then, it has gone downhill ! The owner must be in over his head. He always seems harried & annoyed, the sandwiches aren’t made right (rolls barely cut open) and it’s dirty — booster seats, etc blocking the hall to the restroom. The owner can blame it on the «lunch rush», but it’s a lunch place !! Come-​on! Maybe he should go back to the experts on Divisadero in SF to learn the biz! Please!

I been there many times, only because of the product, even that can be iffy at times. The main problem is the owner Kevin. He’s never open on time. Which can only be claimed by Kevin, I would go in to place an order, and the young man behind the counter was very apologetic but said he couldn’t because the owner hadn’t arrived yet, and didn’t have access to the money. Two months ago I saw Kevin in downtown San Rafael with his mother from out hot town. He said he was enjoying his day off. An hour later I went in to order, the employee the only one there, there place was packed. The kid told me 45 minute wait, that he was alone, and the owner was an hour and a half late. I told him that I’d seen Kevin about an hour or so earlier, he told me it was his day off.
Screwing your own employees is NOT the way to keep your business afloat in these times.
I think reading and heeding «The One Minute Manager» is a start. I could come, and fix your problems Kevin, but you couldn’t before me. (Example yelling at your employees in front of customers). Also Kev the dreadlocks have to be up and out of the way. (Health Code Violation) big time.
My opinion is either make some drastic changes in the way you run your business, or you may not have it for long. Maybe you should bring someone to run it for you. You have a good proven product, but it won’t sell itself YOU have to keep on it. If your going to be a business owner Kevin, «ACT LIKE ONE».
Just remember the 1 to 10 Rule. Every customer that comes in, and has a good experience in your establishment, they may tell someone about how good everything was. But that same person comes in, and has a bad experience for whatever reason, you can be sure they’ll got out, and tell at least 10 people.
Good luck, I hope you make the right changes, and your business skyrockets. Remember whatever you do reflects on all those in your franchise, and vice versa. Also, yelling at your employees in front of customer is never appropriate at any time.
I hope this sinks in the before it’s too late.
A concerned customer, good luck!

No.
NO.
NO.
The new employee (4 – 5 months or so new) smokes right out side the door all the time. While I was waiting for my order outside I saw him graffitti the bench and the orange newspaper stand .
He also was talking to a guy who was not a customer and they were talking about sex in very disgusting and loud terms.
I will never go to this disgusting place again.

if i could give no stars i would. the guy at the counter kevin is a rude and disgusting jerk! upon walking in he was picking up lids from the floor, without washing his hands he then proceeds to handle my fries. he had his hands all over the fries that were spilling on dirty counters… when i told him i no longer wanted the fries because his hand were all over them he got upset. he then threw my sandwich and my cup at me. this was very upsetting especially that someone would do this to any customer let alone a woman. i will never eat here again and warn everyone of the unsanitary conditions and rude customer service. this is the worst place to go… it might be more sanitary to eat off the floor than this place. my coworkers warned me and i didn’t listen… i hope this helps anyone even contemplating this dump

unprofessional, unsanitary and rude. I will never return to this cheese steak shop

We have been there 5 times. The food is as good as it is in the SF or Berkley locations. You get an awesome cheesesteak for a good price. I like with each purchase you can get a card stamped for a free cheesesteak. My only complaint is the owner needs to work on being more professional and not such a «buddy», and please keep your hands away from your hair. Besides that the food is great a we will be back.

I like the food. Not a fan of the owner, like most people on here. I am from the east coast and it’s pretty dang close to authentic.
The owner just seems like he doesn’t know how to be a manager. The employees seem nice.

Disappointing experience.
I grew up eating Cheesesteaks. In the summers, since I was 13, I worked in restaurants and for two of my later summers I was a short order cook. I’ve made thousands of cheesesteaks. This place has some problems.
The ingredients are right except they have no idea how to put the sandwich together. I received my steak hoagie with the meat on top of the vegetables. The meat is supposed to be put on first to warm the bread; the juice from the meat is supposed to soak into the bread, flavoring it. Trying to eat the sandwich the way they made it was nearly impossible. One needs a knife and fork which defeats the primary idea of a sandwich, which is, one picks it up with his hands and eats it.
They have no idea of the right spices to use. One of the things that separates good cheese steak and hoagie places is whether the know how to properly spice the sandwich. Cheese steaks and hoagies are usually pretty good but knowing how to spice them properly makes them sensational.
For their «King» sandwiches, they should use a larger roll. Again, this is supposed to be a sandwich, not a platter.
The bread was stale and the lettuce was wilted, which is a capital crime in the restaurant business. This means they have not learned that in the restaurant business, inventory control is very important, otherwise you’ll end up throwing away lots of food OR driving your customer away if you try to hold onto it too long.
They use Amoroso rolls which is good (albeit stale the two times I ate there). The steak is good. The sandwiches are like a Pablo Picasso painting. All the ingredients are there but somehow they just don’t look right. And, they don’t taste right. And, they are indeed, not correctly made. While this worked very well as an artistic expression for Picasso, it does not work for cheese steaks and hoagies.
I attempted, politely, to discuss some of this with the owner. He was polite but he is very rigid about adhering to the Cheese Steak Shop model. I understand that; it is a reasonable position, especially if one has not grown up with the experience and feels compelled to adhere to the guidelines because he is not sure he can trust suggested deviations.
I think the shop has promise but I will make one suggestion to the owner (which I made when we spoke and whose importance he did not seem to take seriously): Take the time to go to Philadelphia. Travel for a week throughout Philly and South Jersey. Get his hands on «The Best Of» Magazines for Philly and South Jersey. Go to the places listed in the magazines and on the «Best Of» website. Do some guerrilla work on the internet. Go to the places that have been «Best Of» for years. Taste the food. Talk with the owners and sandwich makers. Learn their approach. They are usually pretty open to discussing these things as, they are very proud of their work.
In this way he’ll be able to gain an understanding of the scope of the ingredients, spices and construction of these sandwiches in World Class cheese steak and hoagie shops.
Unfortunately, at this point, I give the shop 2 stars. The sandwiches just aren’t that good, compared to what they could be. If the owner gets more involved in understanding his product and making it properly, my rating could go much higher. And, when that happens, he will have more customers than he can handle which will require him to open more shops. Since he has the entire Marin County territory, he should find this advice valuable as, these sandwiches can be an incredible money maker if one gets it right.