PJ’s Steaks

My first experience here was a very drunken night after a gig.
The staff handled three rowdy drunken man children with aplomb and had us feasting quietly away on tasty sandwiches very quickly. It was a win for everyone as we left full and ready to sleep and all others in West End were spared our shenanigans.
Not knowing the name or remembering the exact location made for a fun return journey to see if this place lived up to our hazy memories. It certainly did and is now a regular stop on my trips to Brisbane (some trips are just for PJ’s).
I have only tried a few of the range of hoagies due to enjoying them too much to have anything else and must endeavour to try the cheesesteaks and hot dogs. I’ve been very satisfied with the wings as well. A must try for all lovers of good sandwiches (not sure if they live up to the US namesakes as I haven’t had the pleasure of eating those!).

Great chilled service. Clean joint. Tasty as food. Will go time and time again when in amongst the Valley Brisbane

I’ve been reminiscing about my time in America and I was pleasantly surprised that this place instantly captured a good old fashioned American atmosphere. I walked in and there was a football game on tv. I also enjoyed looking at the wall of American celebrities and icons. But some of the personalities aren’t actually American i.e. Princess Diana. Also having ketchup and mustard on the table is a refreshing sight after missing it for so long.
The local offerings of American eats in Brisbane has been disappointing thus far. I am a southern boy at heart so I’ve really missed American food in all of its greasy glory.
I got the classic Philly cheesesteak and I’m happy to say that it was pretty spot on. Good place. Love it.

After a few too many beers at the boundary, the boyfriend and I decided to venture off in search of food. After eyeing off the stale sausage rolls in the seven eleven, and the heart attack inducing kebabs down the road, we stumbled across PJ’s, which happened to be one of the few eateries still open on the main strip.
We ordered the standard Philly Cheese steak subs, and a side to chips to share. Service was friendly and pretty efficient (especially given it was the middle of the night). The cheese steaks were pretty average, and smallish for the price we paid, but again, it WAS the middle of the night in West End so I wasn’t exactly expecting a fine dining experience. The standout for us were the chips. They were pretty amaze. Next time I think we’ll just order a serve of chips each and skip the cheese steaks all together.

Deliciously delish! Affordable great food with a lil flavor twist all over the menu. If you go if say try the creamy orange soda– yum, hits the spot on a warm day.

Had to check this place out after my friend posted photos on social media. And I’m happy I did! The cheesesteaks aren’t actually steaks. They’re more like an American styled sub.
There is a vast choice of cheese for you to choose from to put on your steak and being a cheese lover, I’m definitely going back to try all the different combinations.
The chilli cheese fries are also fairly amazing.

You don’t have to «get» cheesesteaks to eat here, or so I realized after popping my cheesesteak cherry at PJs last week. I still don’t get the fascination with these incarnations of the classic Philly Cheesesteak but if you’re seeking a departure from your usual bog-​standard lunch options, this does provide just that.
I went with the classic — steak, onions and cheese of my choosing (provolone) in a white hot dog roll. It’s a winning combination and a filling lunch option, and surprisingly less greasy and «heavy» than I’d have thought. If you’re there early enough you can pair it up with a side of chips and a drink for $ 12.90.
My sub was cooked fresh and the guys doing the hard yards in the small galley kitchen are cheerful. The space itself had an American bar kind of vibe and walls are adorned with photos of a variety of US celebrities. Seating is limited and I’d imagine during busy periods take away would be a better option.
As the three stars eludes, it’s a-​ok. I can’t see myself becoming a cheesesteak aficionado but I don’t see myself saying no to trying another in the future.

Just came back from PJ’s today which is close by work and I have been hearing all the great things about it from Unilocal and other people, so I thought today is the day. I had high expectations, which usually results in either 1 or 2 ways: expectations met and exceeded or expectations spectacularly not met. Today it was the latter of the 2, and I shall explain why. I will throw in this caveat that after reading some people may say or think «you should have asked the price of the extras before you ordered them, maybe you should have asked for sauce to be put on beforehand», yes I should have, though no where on the menu was a price given so I would have expected a courteous heads up from the person taking the orders what the price of the extra I wanted was.
Now I have been ordering food from takeout places for some time (maybe 15 years) and over this time I have seen the price rise for an extra rise from essentially free, to an average price of around $ 0.50-$ 2 depending on the type of extra. If lets say I want extra avocado, then its normally in the $ 1 range, extra meat will be $ 2-​$ 4 and things like cheese, tomato, pickles, mushrooms etc will be priced at the reasonable $ 0.50 per item.
So here I am, ordering my Triple Cheesesteak, I ask for extra mushrooms to be thrown in along with a side serving of onion rings. At the current rate according to Woolworths, the price per kilogram of mushrooms are $ 10.98/Kg, I estimate they put about 20−30g of mushrooms on my Triple Cheesesteak which is the equivalent to the price of $ 0.33(0.03*10.98). Add in the time taken (0.5 minutes = 0.0083 hours) to place mushrooms on grill with the steak and the time it took to chop said mushrooms at the going hour rate of $ 18-​$ 19 an hour, this is equal to a whopping average cost of $ 0.157 (0.0083×19). I wont go into the per gram cost of transportation and storage of mushrooms.
So as I said before an average cost of around $ 0.50. They obviously want to make some profit on this so let say add 100% on top and make the extra mushrooms cost $ 1. I can live with that. After paying and and receiving the receipt, you can image the feeling of betrayal and slight annoyance that they had the gall to charge $ 2.20 for a minuscule amount of fungus. I thought to myself «maybe these will be the greatest mushrooms I have ever had, maybe these will be why everyone has been raving about this joint». With that thought in mind, I started eyeing off the choices in sauces to squirt onto this: Smokey BBQ, American mustard, tomato sauce and some others. I had my eye on the Smokey BBQ. I forgot to mention that I ordered take-​away. So when my order was ready and I was licking my lips at the thought of squirting this sauce all over my cheesesteak, I was once again betrayed and let down by the fact that they wrapped my cheesesteak up in what looked like a good few metres of paper. How the hell am I going to put this smokey BBQ sauce all over it now without creating some kind of scene reminiscent of Christmas day at Great Grandma Olives house. There was no way, I was beat, defeated by mushrooms, crushed by the expectations of the smokey BBQ sauce, eviscerated by wrapping paper. With my head hung low, I trudge on back to work in 35 degree heat thinking of all the other places I could have gone.
The food was pretty average too by the way, not sure if I will come back here.

Three stars. I’ve been to America. I’ve had all kinds of cheesesteaks and this place is only half way there. I got a regular Philly cheesesteak and the serving was tiny! I could’ve eaten two at that size. And for $ 12 or so? So not with it. And the cheese? Was barely non existent! I had to dig to find it, let alone taste it.
Probably won’t go back.

I’d never been here before, and my dining parter for that evening suggested it, so in we went.
You could be mistaken for thinking this is actually a steak restaurant by the name, but no, it’s more your philly cheesesteak deal, because apparently American food is so 2014.
There are a few choices available, and I went with the steak and mushroom. You also get a choice of cheeses!
Well, it was pretty damn delicious. I got a side of chips because I was pretty hungry, and I tell you what, they’re great chips. Get the chips.
It’s only a little place, with american sports playing on the TV down the back, but if you can’t grab a seat, the food is easy enough to take away.
I’d go back.

Really good cheesesteaks.
Not bragging at all– but being American and having had a REAL Philly cheesesteak– this is a really good replica in Australia.
Great simple menu, good prices, AMAZING BBQ sauce, and really good fries.
Worth checking out. Definitely get the melted cheese!

So delicious! My friend and I headed here for lunch and shared a philly cheesesteak with sweet potato fries. Our food came out piping hot (just the way I like it) and we were more than satisfied after the meal. Thank you PJ’s for putting ketchup, mustard, and BBQ sauce on the tables. I need my ketchup with the sweet potato fries. They were so tasty and crispy.
I loved how they had ESPN on with basketball playing in the background. I felt as if I had stepped back into America for a moment. My friend enjoyed her first philly cheesesteak which made me happy. You can get their lunch special which is an original with a small fries and drink for $ 12.90. Would definitely go back.

As a through and through cheesesteak connoisseur and an individual who has traveled to the very birthplace of the cheesesteak, I believe I hold some credibility when I say that the cheesesteaks here really do taste like the real deal. They bear an uncanny resemblance to the ones back home and appear to be made correctly. I do, however, need to deduct one star for two items worth mentioning. 1) they were out of american cheese, and really, no respectable cheesesteak joint should ever be caught dead in this sort of situation and 2) size-​wise the sammies here are probably about 30 percent smaller than usual. I also loved the fries which were slightly seasoned and batter fried.

Upon wandering around West End, I stumbled upon PJ’s steaks, a placed I had bookmarked for a while now. Though I didn’t get a chance to try their cheesesteaks, which look quite scrumptious (a glass window separates you and the grill), they do look mighty tempting!
I had the sweet potato fries, which were fried perfectly, and was just the way I liked it — batter to tater ratio. They’re more like shoestring fries, rather than wedges that some other places around Brissy do, and I’m a big fan! They also have complimentary BBQ sauce (yum!), mustard, and tomato sauce on the side, which is always a plus, as I find most places here don’t do that.
The atmosphere is a bit like that of an American diner, and the pop culture references and photos on their wall will definitely keep the conversation going! I have yet to identify everything…

Best cheese steaks in town. Try to beat the lunchtime rush by heading over between 11:30 and 12:00.
I recommend the Chilli Cheese Steak with provolone cheese and onion rings or chips.
They have ESPN going full time so why not enjoy your cheese steak with some randome minutes of baseball or NFL (let’s face it you could watch a whole game and no know what the devil is happening)?
They also have a variety of expensive imported American soft drinks, try a Hanks Root Beer!
Good for a special lunchtime celebration.

It starts with the anticipation, you get a feeling that you want one, need one, got to go get one. Then the planning kicks in, where am I going to park, how busy is it going to be, what time should I get there.
You’ve planned, you’re on you your way and the end goal is in sight. This is when you start to salivate, the memory of your last visit springs to mind, so you pick up your pace a little.
Anticipation turns to reality when you are in the queue and about to hand over your money, what will it be today?
I’ve gone for the classic Cheese Steak, it’s my favourite, and it’s delicious. I’m finished, do I go back in for another?
PJ’s Steaks = Yum

The food here is great!
I had the chilly cheesesteak and my partner had the street dog.
We both agreed the chips, which are lightly herbed, were great.
I couldn’t finish my cheesesteak (it was loaded!) but it was delicious! There was a hint of bite to the sauce, and a really American-​style, almost chipotle-​esque chilly.
My partner said the dog was good, but my cheesesteak was «fascinating!» I think thats a positive review!
Mmmm-​mmmm! I’ll be back!

It’s ridiculously hard to get genuinely good American food in Brisbane. PJ’s is putting an end to that.
The Philly Cheese Steaks are worth crawling over broken glass for. Beautifully soft buns, perfectly cooked meat and melty cheese. (Be sure to hit it with a slather of BBQ sauce, on each table).
The Onion rings are served as a tower of deliciousness, and compliment your cheese steak perfectly.
It’s a small joint, with Americana on the walls, and Root beer, Grape Soda and the amazing Brooklyn larger available too.
If it opened 7 days a week, it’d nail that 5^th star.

It’s no secret that I’m a sucker for American food, and I’m glad that a place like PJ’s exists because there is nothing else like it in Brisbane. It is where meat and cheese come together then wrapped up in a bun in a beautiful combination called a cheese steak.
There are different types of meat options and different types of cheese options, so you can mix and match to your liking. I’m a big fan of the chili cheese steak with American style cheese. The menu also includes a variety of hot dogs, though with the exception of the corndog I am yet to venture into that territory. There’s also an assortment of delicious fried delicacies as well including fries, onion rings and chicken wings.
Seating can be an issue sometimes. It’s not great for larger groups, but they always try to accommodate. The food is consistently good and the staff are always nice, there’s really not much more you can ask for! This probably isn’t the best place to go to if you’re after a ‘healthy’ meal though.

Philly Cheesesteaks. Previously unheard of for the common Brisbanite, or just a myth heard of in movies and/​or American TV shows — and yet now we have our very own shop, right in the heart of West End.
So what the heck is a Philly Cheesesteak? It’s probably not what you’re thinking. It wasn’t what I was thinking, anyway. Here’s what you get: an 8″ Italian sub loaded with thinly-​sliced steak, fried onions and melted cheese (you get to choose your cheesy weapon). The steak may be thinly-​sliced but it is applied LIBERALLY, making one real meaty log. Yep. Depending on which menu item you choose, you can also walk away with added mushrooms, or capsicum, or veggies, but let’s not take away from the bigger picture. MEAT.
Bonus items on the menu are tasty treats like double-​fried chips, sweet potato chips, onion rings, tater tots, devil wings… Currently only standard soft drinks in the fridge but the super-​friendly dude informs me they’re working on getting more American-​themed drinks like root beer in the fridge real soon. They also just got their liquor licence through (look for beer and cider in the fridge real soon), and are also thinking about putting some hotdogs on the menu as well. Join my housemate and I in trying to encourage them to do pulled pork, will you?
There’s not a lot of seating inside (pairs of stools at small tables along the length, a bigger table down the back, a couple of tables out the front) but this is also really easy food to take away. Still, if it’s not too busy you’ll probably find yourself chatting to the PJ’s dude, who is super friendly and really keen for feedback. I was more than happy to tell him that I was pretty stoked about PJ’s Steaks hitting Boundary Street, and I’m heading back soon for another hoagie, because damn.
P. S. My housemate says these cheesesteaks are better than the ones she had at the two must-​try places in Philly itself, so…