Olde City Cheesesteaks & Brews

Authentic Philly Cheesesteaks in NYC

Flatiron, Manhattan, New York
66 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016

Come here for: Authentic Philly cheesesteaks and other classic Philly sandwiches. Happy hour Monday – Friday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sports game. Throwback music and weekly specials.

What are the vibes? Sports bar with Philly inspired bar food and craft drinks.

A little background:

I was invited to check out Olde City Cheesesteaks and Brew to try their cheesesteaks and other menu items. It was opened up by Philly native, Evan Stein, who owned, but parted with Shorty’s. I went to Shorty’s before, but this spot is better. Named after the Old City district in Philadelphia, he uses fresh bread sourced from the bakery, Le Bus Bakery in Philly. When you enter, there is a large bar on the right serving craft beer and creative cocktails, several TVs for watching sports game and throwback songs were playing the whole time which was a vibe.

What we ordered:

They have a list of craft cocktails all for $15. I’m gin drinker so I ordered the Poison Ivy with Beefeater gin, Bonal (an apertif wine), Elisir Novasalus (a digestivi liquer), lime, honey, tonic, and mint. There were a lot of complex flavors; an upgraded sweeter gin and tonic. I also ordered the Well Deserved Punch with Barbancourt (a Haitian rum), Wray & Nephew (a Jamaican rum), strawberry, basil, lime, pineapple, Creme De Cacao (a cocoa bean flavored liquer), and orange bitters. It tasted like a Jamaican rum punch. It was so good. I was seriously impressed by the beverage program and would go back just to try more of the cocktails.

We started off with the beer battered onion rings and cheesesteak egg rolls from the starter menu. The onion rings came with garlic aioli. They were light and crispy. The cheeseteak egg rolls were served with queso which was a delicious pairing. Queso is so good. Can’t go wrong.

We had to start off with the OG Authentic Cheesesteak. You can choose either chicken or steak. The cheese options are: whiz, American, provolone or Cooper Sharp (an American cheese similar to cheddar) or ghost pepper jack for an additional dollar. Other add-ons for an additional dollar each are: spicy long hots (Italian hot peppers), sweet peppers, cherry peppers and mushrooms. You can also add fried onions by request. We kept it classic Philly style with whiz and grilled onions. It was really good. The cheese, beef and onions were mixed perfectly together and the bread was fresh, warm and delicious; it really made the sandwich. Definitely what you should order if you go there.

Besides cheesesteaks, they also have signature and specialty sandwiches. The signature sandwiches are available with steak, chicken steak, crispy chicken cutlet or roast pork. They have the special with broccoli rabe and Cooper Sharp ($15), buffalo available hot or mild with ranch or blue cheese ($15) or club with bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and American cheese ($16). Their specialty sandwiches are creative creations like Spicy Crunch, Truffle and Surf & Turf. We went with the roast pork special. The meat was flavorful and tasted with good with the creamy, nutty cheese. I’m not a fan of broccoli rabe, but it paired well with everything. They also have classic hoagies ($15). The options are Italian with mortadella, genoa salami, capicola, pepperoni, provolone and turkey oven roasted turkey and provolone. Both include lettuce, tomato, red onions, banana peppers & oregano and are served with a side of oil & vinegar. We went with the Italian hoagie. I love a good Italian cold cut sandwich, but would never think to order one outside of a deli. This one was really delicious. I was there with one other friend so we were obviously getting full, but I’m glad I tried it. I would order it again.

My friend was on an ordering spree and although I was full at this point. He wanted to try more of the starters. We ordered the garlic battered cheddar bites that were recommended to us. They are fried cheese curds served with marinara sauce. They were pretty good, but nothing that specials. They have a selection of fries for $6. For an additional cost they have the options of: Italian, cheese and Old Bay (+1), bacon cheese ($3) and truffle parm ($4). We went with Italian which was basically regular fries with parmesan and some Italian seasonings. It was good, but nothing special. We could have skipped it due to how much we already had ordered, but they were tasty.

Lastly, we ordered their wings which were also recommended to us. They are available with hot or mild buffalo, garlic parmesan or spicy honey sauces and served with blue cheese or ranch. We went with buffalo and ordered it hot with a side of ranch. The hot sauce wasn’t really that hot, but it was good. They make the sauce from scratch on-site. They were good wings, but for $15, very overpriced. I rather order a sandwich than pay that for wings. Overall, the food and drinks were good and the place was a chill spot that I would go back to. Apparently, additional locations are opening up so it is definitely a spot I’d recommend going to.

Bottom line: A fun sports bar that plays good music and has decent bar food and sandwiches. Check it out if you’re in the area for a game and some food and drinks.