Charley’s Steakery

I was starving and my sweet mom want it to try. Well … Let me tell you something, or you wait until you get home to eat or choose somewhere else. We decide to take chicken philly with cheese and bacon fries and a peach lemonade for me. Ughhh everything was terrible … The fries was swimming in cheese, the peach lemonade hade a weird taste like mold. The subs… Hard to describe. And I paid almost 28 $. Definetly I’m not coming back

So I went to this place during my break at work it was about 10:50 and the mall was open. So when I went to get lunch they told me they weren’t open yet and the grill was not hot so I waited about 10 minutes and still no luck. The employee there offered to make me fries but I wanted a sub, like really I came all the way here wasted my one hour lunch break and all you have to offer is fries? No thank you! I asked for the manager I guess his name is Dunkin but he was no were to be found for over 20 minutes! That’s crazy I will never go back to this place ever! I guess nobody wanted to work because the manager wasn’t there because there were plenty of people in the back hanging out doing nothing but talking. Worst service ever!

My first time trying a Philly Cheese-​steak. Being that there is a serious lack of selection at Oakland Mall in terms of food, I decided to give this a go. It was alright. I didn’t get sick off it and it tasted fine.
It was a bit difficult to understand the server though. If you ever go, you’ll be able to spot him right away. Slack-jaw’d youth with a subdued glaze over his eyes and trouble with enunciation.

I get it that we aren’t in or anywhere near Philadelphia so therefore we need to set the bar a bit lower when ordering a self-​described «Philly Cheesesteak» around here. But Charley’s misses the mark on pretty much all counts. Perhaps expectations should also be set lower due to being in a mall food court?
But forget the excuses. I have had quality cheesesteaks outside of Philly and I have had quality food in mall food courts as well. And though Charley’s is edible, I would not by any means call it quality. They miss the cheesesteak mark on almost all counts.
The meat is just ok, the buns are sometimes borderline stale and do not resemble a classic Philly cheesesteak bun, the staff frequently overcook the meat/​cheese, and the biggest cardinal sin of all… this place will actually cover your cheesesteak in raw vegetables like lettuce and tomato unless you specifically tell them NOT to. Therefore they can NOT call themselves a Philly cheesesteak joint. Not even in Michigan. Sorry. A cheesesteak is made with bun, meat, cheese, and grilled onions. Upon request it may also include grilled peppers and/​or mushrooms. That is it. Raw vegetable toppings are never a part of the equation and should certainly never be the default option.
All that being said, the reason this place gets two stars rather than one, is as follows: If you forget that they are advertising their sandwiches using the misleading and erroneous «Philly» term, and just look at them as a grilled meat sandwich… they can actually be somewhat tasty a long as you are wicked hungry. The fries aren’t bad either. Charley’s is a bit overpriced for the quality of what you get… honestly your money is probably better spent at the Panda Express right next door, or even the Subway next to that. But if you are ever starving at Oakland mall and are desperately craving a grilled meat sandwich, this place will probably do.