John’s Steaks

My husband & I shared a chicken cutlet hero with broccoli rabe, provolone & onions. OMG SO GOOD. Literally perfect. Actual chicken cutlets… real broccoli rabe. My husband said he could’ve eaten another. We plan to go in once a week until they close for the season in October.
P.S– Native NY’ers who know a real chicken cutlet hero

For an establishment that counts on summertime patronage, the folks that run this place have a bit of a attitude, and it’s a very poor one.
Like others have mentioned, you can’t order fries at the same window you order your cheesesteaks. When we ordered, the place wasn’t busy at all, We were still informed that we had to order fries at the next window. We then had to wait at the next window — I think that wait was out of spite on their part — to order the fries. We placed the order, and the young lady waiting on us abruptly closed the order window saying «we’ll call you when it’s ready.» We weren’t rude (although the thought did occur to us), just hungry — we felt like we were an annoyance more than valued customers. She fulfilled our order (it was the only one she had to deal with), opened the window and shoved the fries at us. FYI — you pay for fries the second window, and we got a free side of their poor attitude while paying.
The food — the cheesesteak was OK, to me it wasn’t a true Philly cheesesteak, but a mediocre wannabe (I had mine with the cheese whiz, you get a choice of cheese). The fries — the serving size is excellent for the price paid — but they were horridly undercooked, soggy and greasy. They put frozen fries into the deep fryer — which drops the oil temperature, then remove them too quickly only to drop in more frozen fries — the oil is never given a chance to properly reheat. I had a fry almost immediately after being served — it was warm, not hot.
A good note — a family member ordered the Italian roast pork hero (with broccoli rabe and provolone cheese), and said that it was quite tasty. The portion size was also excellent for the price paid.
If the folks that run John’s Steaks read this, please improve your attitude toward your customers. I know running an eatery can be very stressful — especially at the end of a long, hot summer day — but nothing gives you the right to take out your frustration on your customers.

Excellent cheese steaks — best in the area. The only gripes we have are that the staff is not consistently friendly and the annoying need to order steaks at one window and fries at another (often with the same employee)…not cool, just stupid. All in all, we don’t let that stop us from enjoying their yummy food!

I lived in Philly for 25 years and aside from the hype of Pats vs. Genos, most people rated Tony Luke’s cheesesteaks as the best. How does John’s stack up? Quite well. I had a cheesesteak «wit» (onions) and of course «wiz» (cheese wiz) added mushrooms and it was terrific. The portion was good size without being a belly buster, the meat was flavorful and not greasy and the bread was just right. This is absolutely the best cheesesteak I’ve had since moving to D.C., and I found it in Margate NJ!

Excellent! Better than any cheesesteak I’ve had back home in Baltimore Highly recommend! No indoor seating or bathroom though…

We just gave John’s Steaks a try. We had the cheesesteaks. They were delicious! The cheesesteaks are virtually identical to Jim’s Steaks in Philly — our favorite when in Philly.

Just Ok, not very impressed. Found it a little ridiculous that you can’t order fries at the same window you order your sandwich. After taking our sandwich order we walked over to the other window and the person who took our order had to walk to the other side of the restaurant and take the order for the fries. Couldn’t they have just taken the order when they took the order for the sandwiches?

Not a bad steak sandwiches fries are also good

This is probably the only place on the island that you can get hot food late night. I am not sure why there are so many negative reviews because everyone I come here there are so many people. I have only ever gotten the cheese fries but I can say that they were the perfect food to have after a late night in AC. I ordered the cheese fries to go and the server gave me three little containers filled with cheesy goodness instead of placing the cheese in the fries causing them to be soggy. This girl did it right!

A good choice if your not in the mood to sit at a restaurant. Had the cheese steak and thought it was good. I find it hilarious how everyone always raises the argument that no other steak sandwich can be as good as their favorite Philly shrines. They’re so caught up in the hype that they don’t even realize what they’re eating. Those Philly steaks used to be good … over 30 years ago! Now it’s fat, grease and gristle. My local pizza shop makes fantastic steaks!

Regardless of what others say… I think the steaks are good, and I’m a philly girl. Had one with (real) whiz and onions. Good bread. Just lacks in customer service. Not real friendly. But I would return if in the are again.

I love this place! I’ve don’t have anything real bad to say about them. Yeah, the large cheese fries price is a little high, but I’m not gonna cry about a dollar. It tastes great and that’s what is important. Started out with my usual «wiz wit», but now I mix it up with the pizza steak, which has a good sauce and mixed up just the way I like it.
Is there a difference in their service in vs. off season? Maybe? I started going in October and have been going there ever since. It’s a definite visit here every time we’re in the Margate area. We’ll see how things go when it’s in-​season.
It’s rare, if not impossible, that anyone from Philly will ever agree that any cheese steak outside of Philly is worthy. For the most part, I have to agree. The further away from the Philly area that I’ve traveled (outside of tri-​state), I’ve found that the people making the cheese steaks don’t have a clue what makes a good one. I look at John’s Steaks as just having a good tasting cheese steak with a fair amount of meat for $ 8.00 with tasty cheese fries. I wish Pat’s would add more meat for their cheese steaks considering how much they charge, which is more.

You order your food just like a few spots in Philly. It’s obvious by the white ordering boards on the wall that they want to be just like Pat’s in Philly. Trust me!!! This is not a Philly steak! Horrible!

I used to think there were no bad cheesesteaks just different ones, until now. As far as meat on bread goes they got it & it is better than ones I’ve eaten in… OHIO. But I expect a little more from the Jersey shore. Service was poor and the food was overpriced. The french fries were delicious by comparison. This place is definitely not stronger than the storm and I will not be going back.

I want to like this place more, but I just can’t. I’ve only had the cheesesteak and fries. In terms of the cheesesteak, it’s pretty good, nothing to complain about. It’s good with both the Wiz or the American cheese. The fries are just okay, nothing to really rave about at all. Their large fries are really a medium size, so you don’t really get that much. Also, the prices are pretty high for a place like that. A large cheese fries (which isn’t really that big) is $ 4.50, and a cheesesteak is somewhere in the $ 8 range. It’s not very expensive, but their are other places to go where you’ll get better quality at better prices.
I’m not too crazy about ordering there either. I ordered my cheesesteaks at one window, but you literally have to walk over 6 feet to another window to order your fries. It’s not like it was busy either, the same woman once I was done walked over to the other window to take my order of fries. It just seems a little absurd to have a complete separate window for fries. Cash only business here too.
I don’t hate this place. The food quality is fine, but it could be better. The price factor and just the idea that you have to order from two separate windows is a little crazy. I might go back, but I’d try to see other places first.

Edible, but nothing special.
I had high hopes when this place opened up, especially since so many of the visitors around here are from Philly. Not much in the way of seasoning, meat is meh. The service is slow– the kids at the windows would really much rather be at the beach or doing something else– a fact made painfully obvious.

Just got done doing a little unofficial cheesesteak comparison with my husband. We shared cheesesteaks at both John’s steaks and L’s Cheesesteaks by Lucy the Elephant.
We both agreed. Neither are worth it.
The wait was short at L’s and the wait was over 10 minutes at Johns which I thought was pretty strange considering there wasn’t even a line when I ordered.
My husband preferred the roll at L’s but I thought it was something I could get at the grocery store.
The meat at L’s seemed like better quality than John’s but seemed drier, even though it was dripping with grease.
We both agreed that both were severely lacking in cheese! Bad mistake for a cheesesteak!
L’s offered no options for cheese where John’s offered 3 options.
After tax, John’s was a dollar cheaper than L’s but at 7.50 and 8.50, neither place was a bargain.
One more thing – the cashier at John’s took my money. then a few minutes later was handling the rolls. Not exactly the greatest hygiene practices…
Overall, we were not pleased with either and we won’t be going back.

Have had cheesesteaks that are better from the local pizza places (Jonuzzis, South End). Nothing special here. They really need to get a better roll too. That makes or breaks a good steak sandwich. My son (a cheesesteak afficionado) wants to start a campaign to get Amoroso rolls here. Might improve things.

This place is taking a beating, and some of the complaints are valid. Unfortunately, I think that many reviewers are making the mistake of using the cheesesteak powerhouse operations in Philly as their standard of comparison. I’ve also eaten at Geno’s and Pat’s and I have to say that they didn’t live up to the tremendous hype. How could they? They make their steaks a certain way, but are not necessarily great cuisine. I mean, come on… CheezWiz? It’s a tradition, but not gourmet food by any means. It’s what people grew up with and love.
Having said that, John’s Steaks makes a good effort. They use quality ingredients, There’s nothing wrong with the bread, the place is clean, etc. But keep in mind, it’s seasonal, targeting tourists, and located on an island at the Jersey Shore. Guy Fieri is not going to role on up in his muscle car and do a show there. It is what is is– honest food at a decent price point.
I have gotten take-​out on four different occasions, and I have one consistent complaint…
THE COOKS NEED TO USE SALT!!!
Every time I get a sandwich here is is bereft of any seasoning, which is most likely the basis for many of the negative reviews regarding the flavors. If the cook isn’t going to season the meat on the flat-​top, it’s going to taste like cardboard, it’s that simple.
There are some execution issues, which can be fixed by any chef. Everything wrong with this operation is small and an easy fix. Also keep in mind that this place isn’t part of some restaurant group like Starr or Garces, it’s just a ‘Mom & Pop’ operation. They’re not trying to re-​invent the wheel here, just make an honest living. They aren’t going to be bringing in a restaurant consultant, and they don’t need to.
In the meantime, I will continue to go here when the mood strikes me, bring home a sandwich and sprinkle some salt on it.

the positive reviews for this place have to be shills.
totally marginal. the very definition of the word! i drove 30 minutes each way to try it out. steak texture was finely chopped and dry. cheese content was minimal. best texture was on the one steak we got with wiz. i NEVER get wiz (normally sharp provolone) but i wanted to see if it changed the complexion of the sandwich and it did. it brought some moisture with it. no sharp provolone available and the amount of regular provolone they used was hardly detectable. service is terrible — the woman at the window must have been new but new or not, you have to use your head. you can’t be an idiot when dealing with idiots.
you have a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooong way to go if you want to mimic Phila icons like Tony Luke’s or John’s Roast Pork… or even the true tourist traps like Pat’s and Geno’s. shoot, a much better sandwich is available at several other places very close by.
you need better bread, better prepared steak, more cheese and better service if you want to have a chance.
i won’t be back; there is no reason.