Shorty’s

I always thought I didn’t like Philly cheesesteaks, but turns out I just hadn’t had a good one til my first visit to Shorty’s. For $ 11 you get a huge sandwich with tons of sliced sirloin. You can choose from American, Provolone, or Whiz, but there’s obviously no contest because why wouldn’t you order something with something called Whiz on it? It’s probably disgustingly unhealthy but you’re already in a bar eating a cheesesteak so just go all out.
Wings are also tasty, the spicy isn’t too spicy for my delicate tastebuds, and the service during lunch has always been fast with no wait for a table. But really the reason to go is the cheesesteak, which will turn anyone into a Philly cheesesteak believer.

Came here actually because the spot next sir was closed, so it wasn’t planned.
Food:
Fries were fantastic. Enough to share.
Cheesesteak w Wiz — I’m from philly so my standards are high. Neat was great, Wiz was spot on. Bread wasn’t quite right. It wasn’t bad but it was more like an approximation of legit cheesesteak bread rather than a replication. That said I’d still give the overall sandwich 8 stars.
Service: mostly inattentive. Bar read sorry slow when I arrived and waitress shouted a hello but didn’t actually come see me for some time because she was chatting up male coworker. I totally don’t mind chit chat but it should come second. This happened mid-​meal when my drink was empty, too. I have a feeling she was just being lazy since it was a slow afternoon.
I’d eat here again when in the area but would not make a special trip.

Had lunch here twice this week. Once take out and the second time at the bar. First cheesesteak iAd had with American cheese was dry but decent. Fries were awesome… nice crunch with out being dried out or burnt. Second lunch was at the bar. I had the special which was cheesesteak (wiz this time), Italian fries, and a blue moon beer. That’s was absolutely awesome. For me a little pricey for lunch as I usually work in Westchester but well worth it. The friend I had lunch with had a salad… way to make me feel fat, salad was huge and looked delicious! Overall great experience at this location of shorties. I wish I had gotten the bartender name because she was great too (brunette). Thankfully we sat on her side because the first bartender was not helpful at all and a little dismissive (blonde).

Love the philly cheese steak here. When I walked in I was surprised to see that it’s mainly a pub so don’t bring your kids here. There’s Philadelphia pride all over the place, tons of sports memorabilia and games playing on their T. V’s.
After trying Tony Luke’s philly cheesesteak in motherland of Philadelphia, the standard was set pretty high for me. I ordered their cheesesteak and I was very impressed. The steak was very juicy and flavorsome and the provolone binded the sandwich together very well. Their fried onions and french fries are the bomb and they offer speciality drinks during happy hour.
If you’re from Philly and you’re feeling home sick, take a seat in this nice establishment and soak it all in.

Ordered the cheesesteak with peppers and I must say it was great. The service was fast and friendly. The male bartender served us and was very nice and accommodating. The sandwich is very meaty, soft bread and a nice portion. We didn’t have any sides but we noticed the tasty looking fries of our neighbor.

The cheesesteaks are good. They skimp on the cheese every time. The person who handles seamless orders is nasty and really should be fired.

If your looking for a fast quick lunch, you are at the right place!
We ordered our food and it came out in like 5 min! Granted they probably have it pre-​made, but hey its still yummy and the portion was huge!
Philly cheese steak with fried onions
–Quite delicious!
–I was scared that this will be dripping in oil, luckily, it was juicy and the meat melt in your mouth.
Italian fries
–I wasn’t sure what to expect, but these turned out to be pretty good.
–Good crunch in their fries — Golden!
–Great flavor of cheese and basil sprinkled all over, I could just taste the deliciousness in my mouth
Cheap, chill and portions are perfect to share.

I’ve found a new go-​to bar.
Shorty’s came recommended by my best friend and her boyfriend, who were raving about the best Philly cheesesteak in NYC. I haven’t tried my fair share to make that call, but it was definitely up there. There are many ways to customize your hero: I chose to add hot peppers and mushrooms to my Steak Special with broccoli rabe and provolone. The hero came 15 minutes later wrapped in paper foil and piping hot. First bite had so much flavor that it was getting juice all over my hand (heh heh). At first I couldn’t find the mushrooms, but then I realized they were chopped up and mixed in with the meat. As I continued, I alternated adding ketchup and Tabasco sauce to my sandwich, which only made it taste better. We also ordered a basket of old bay fries, which was an interesting combination — it wasn’t bad, but not sure if I would get it again.
The drinks selection is pretty good. Shorty’s has a daily drink special along with happy hour. As we came on a Friday, we partook in the Shorty’s beer + Jameson shot special for $ 10. I’m still not a fan of Jameson (unless it’s chased by pickle juice), but the amber beer was actually really good.
The service was also really great. The waitress and bartenders were on point and very entertaining and even danced with our drunk friends that showed up much later. I also loved that there were TVs everywhere, so we managed to watch the Knicks game on both sides of our table without craning our necks.
I will definitely be back to try the rest of their cheesesteaks.

Not a bad philly cheese steak, although I will admit it’s a bit pricey for a lunch sandwich that isnt at all healthy! It’s worth giving a try if the everyday lunch salad is getting a bit too tasteless and mundane for you.
The take out window is in the back, so skip the bar and walk to the back to order lunch or dinner to go. Onions are definitely recommended as they come at no extra cost, and go for the lunch special if you want fries with your cheese steak.

Ordered thru Unilocal for delivery. First time for that! Me and my coworker are hungry after working all morning unpacking in the new office. Decided to look up places for lunch, and decided on Philly cheesesteak.
It was effortless to submit an order, and got a call 10mins later to confirm cross street. About 40mins later our order came.
I ordered the Special which is the Broccoli rabe w/​provolone, and added on the sauteed mustrooms. It was great! They packed in a lot of meat!
My co-​worker got the Steak club, and was able to sub the American Cheese for Provolone. That was good too!
We ordered a side of Old Bay fries. It was great that they seasoned it generously with the Old Bay, but it got very salty because of it also.
Definitely will be coming back to try out the other variety.

I opened the Seamless ordered cheesesteak and found no cheese inside. I wanted to find an oozy wreck when I unwrapped the tinfoil – I’m talking a dirty-​diaper-​style mess, where the mess is Cheez Whiz and not the feces of a tiny little humanoid.

Having attended Temple University for undergrad and living in Philly again a few years after graduating I know a good cheesesteak. Shorty’s is the best non Philadelphia cheesesteak you can get. Compound that with a bartender who had some killer Halloween makeup, good drinks and my alma mater on the big screens and we have a great place to be on a Saturday night. I had the buffalo chicken cheesesteak. She had the cheesesteak with provolone and sweet peppers. We shared some sweet potato fries.
My chicken cheesesteak had the coolness of ranch (the hell with that devil business of blue cheese), and the heat of buffalo sauce. It had that juicy drip that you would’ve saw through a brown paper bag had this been purchased in philly. All I needed to drown out the sorrows of our first loss this season to those crying Irish.

Fine as a sports bar, especially if Philly teams are not playing and it is relatively quiet. Good service and fair prices prevail and there are plenty of TV’s however, the food, at least the cheesesteaks, I found to be gross. Perhaps the concept merely eludes me but I was shocked that I ate about half of whatever that stuff was that they called steak. Also, the food came out pre-​wrapped and suspiciously quickly.

Likely the best Shorty’s location in all of Manhattan in my opinion. Never actually been to the UES location, but I have been to all the others, and I’ll make this generalization because the Nomad location is the most centrally located, the space is relatively large, and due to that large space, there’s no shortage of roaming staff to take your orders or clean off your tables. As a native of Philadelphia as well as its surrounding suburbs, I always feel at home at Shorty’s, and it’s just a fun place to be.
For Eagles games, despite the larger space, you have to get here at least a couple hours beforehand to ensure a seat at the bar or one of the tables. Otherwise, be prepared to stand for the entire game. That being said, it’s actually pretty easy to strike up conversation with the rest of the Philly fans around here, so it definitely helps to pass the time during commercials. There are TVs everywhere, so standing room ain’t too bad, since you’ll definitely have a view of the game at least somewhere. During Eagles games, there are always loud chants going on, or the occasional Eye of the Tiger or Rocky Theme playing here and there, and it just makes you feel good about life, and that your team is going to win. Whether they actually do win or not, is a different story.
As stated in my reviews of other Shorty’s locations, the food is just better than your average bar. The dough for their bread for their cheesesteaks is «imported» from Philly (from Le Bus Bakery, I believe), and the sandwiches use some quality ingredients like sliced ribeye, broccoli rabe, fried onions, and of course, cheese whiz, the most quality ingredient of them all. The mozzarella triangles and wings are also pretty bomb, as well as the Italian fries. The beer menus are pretty extensive too, although nowadays, I just go with a lager (Yuengling).
The prices are actually slightly more expensive than that of most sports bars in the area, but the quality is always a little better, so I can’t complain. As mentioned before, there’s a lot of staff around on game day, as well as during regular hours, and they’re all very friendly and attentive. I’m actually very impressed with how attentive they are, given that most of the sports bars in NYC have mediocre to horrendous service on NFL game day. Shorty’s, no matter the location, has easily become my go-​to place for all things Philly sports, so obviously I’ll be back at this location in the near future.

Klein gehacktes Sirloin Steak in einem Sandwich. Was für ein Genuss. Mitarbeiterin sehr interessiert an ihren Gästen. Fühlt mich sofort wohl an diesem Ort.

I’m not sure I’ll ever be impartial in reviewing Philly bars. They’re simply the best. And Shorty’s is no exception. I can’t imagine how fans of other NFC East teams can stand coming in here. Actually, I can. Because it’s how I feel as a fan of all things Philly in the cold, heartless streets of NYC everyday. I digress — Shorty’s is an awesome spot to watch a game. Fantastic crowd, down-​to-​earth staff and an impressive drink selection.
I came here on Sunday for quite possibly the worst game of football I have ever witnessed. But game aside, I still sincerely enjoyed the venue. The space is long and narrow with tables lining the back wall. Fellow Unilocaler Eric J. was tenaciously committed to getting a table here for the game so thankfully we had a place to sit. I get the sense that to snag a seat, you either have to a) be a regular here (of which there are many) or b) get here quite early. Otherwise, you’ll sadly be subjected to standing for 3+ hours. That said, because you’re among friends as a Philly fan here, people are really generous. This is more about an homage to Philly, but the camaraderie here is just fantastic. As in, I felt like I could easily give anyone in this bar a hug. And I don’t think I’ve ever felt that way anywhere in New York. So I gotta mention it.
Okay, onto some more objective facts (relatively).
Can’t speak for the food, but I was very impressed by the beer and whiskey lists here. 10 or so craft beers on tap as well as a whole «Whiskey Wall». Didn’t investigate the rows of whiskey but I was fully satisfied with the beers I tried. They’ve got a good variety, which I took full advantage of. I still consider myself somewhat of a craft beer noob, so I tried as many as I could (in moderation… though I almost wish I drank excessively to forget the game I was watching).
Service: Top notch. Despite the rowdy fans, servers here are quite attentive. If I worked here I’m sure I’d get caught up in watching the games, so that takes some serious self control. And you get that familial feel there too — because there are so many regulars here, the servers are more like friends who happen to be taking our drink orders. So that’s a nice change from your average sports bar.
Lastly, no shortage of TVs here. When the Eagles are playing, they’re on pretty much every TV. So regardless of where you’re stationed, you’ll easily be able to watch the game. They leave one or two screens open for other games so if the game is getting out of hand (see: this past Sunday), you can shift your attention elsewhere.
Final tip: Bad/​inconsistent cell service here. Just something to keep in mind if you’re trying to meet up with friends/​film the scene on Snapchat/​whatever else you may be doing on your phone.

Saw all the great reviews to go here yesterday so I decided to check it out while being in the area. The prices for sandwiches range from $ 12-​$ 15 and upwards. Fries are extra and you have to ask for onions or you won’t get any. Fries start at $ 5 and onions are free if you ask. Total order can cost you $ 20 dollars very easily.
So I order a basic cheesesteak with whiz and fries. The service was pretty fast since 1) the place wasn’t very crowded 2) its just chopped meat on bread with cheese and onions (nothing really complicated here). The waitresses were normal — very low key and doing their jobs. Nothing extraordinary here. So I bite into it and the cheese melts into my mouth with this meat and I realize… its an average cheese steak. There just wasn’t anything special. My friend had the chicken club and she said it was below average too. On top of being burnt, she said it tasted bland.
I’ve had better for half the price. I guess being New York the prices match but price/​quality ratio is poor here. Just get chipotle next door… a burrito might satisfy your taste buds more.

Friday evening with a party of two we indulged on:
1 Buffalo chicken cutlet hero with mild Blue cheese sauce
1 Roast Pork hero with mild Provolone cheese
1 Cheese Fries
1 soda
Price is reasonable totally $ 40.00 with tax and gratuity. My Buffalo chicken was no shortage of chicken and sauce is surely greasy and immensely messy. The chicken was somewhat harden when bitten and the white meat was dry. There are no moist towelette provided. Food is served on plastic disposable serveware including drinks. I would make a return visit for the sampler. Their beer and libation accompanies well with hero sandwiches and Philly cheesesteaks. Our hero sandwiches were wrapped as if we were to takeout when we already settled into our seats to dine-​in. The wax sandwich wrapping around the hero is to prevent a messy consumption as there were only one set of utensils offered.
Shorty’s is a good after-​work hangout to grab a hero sandwich or libation among friends or office workers. The all-​American sandwich and cheesesteak restaurant. Service is attentive. The couch against the wall is lifted from the ground as there is a ledge for feet rest, thus take caution when standing as I felt like sitting on a cushion couch high chair.

Strolling thru the streets, my husband states emphatically he needs a cheesesteak, STAT, from one of the street vendors. There is only 1 situation that I resort to street food vendors; its when its 2am, nothings open and I’m starving. It was lunch time, so I was able to convince him to give Shorty’s a try. Boy, was he ever thankful (until he went to the gym later).
We drank Allagash White beers, which they had on draft.
Ate Cheesesteaks with Whiz, Hot & Sweet Peppers. Which were AWESOME.
Added Italian Fries and these were Fantastic, too. (Italian seasoning & Romano cheese)
This place warrants 4.5 stars. SO GOOD.
Bonus, servers were quick & friendly.

Alright Shortys. I see you.
Came in for a quick bite to go after work around 7:30 on a Weds. Place was pretty packed. Usual sports bad type vibe.
Went straight to back window where they do to go orders. Asked a nice waitress who was walking by what i should order. She told me if its my first time to order classic cheesesteak.
So thats what i did. Classic cheesesteak with fried onions, whiz, and some old bay fries. Came to $ 16 and was ready about 10 min later.
Went home and dug in.
Cheesesteak was ok. Decent. Definitely pretty large. And the steak was good. As was the onions and bread. Just wish the cheese had been added first so that it would be evenly dispersed. Instead it was slapped on top, stuck to the paper wrapping, and not mixed throughout the sandwich at all. It was just on top. Kinda wack.
The fries though? Holy shizznit. Awesome.
Obviously battered and fried. And old bay seasoning all over them. Heavenly.
Do yourself a favor. Get the old bay fries. And ask them to mix the cheese in well on the cheesesteak or put it on first or something.
Definitely gonna try this place again and order a different sandwich.

Randomly did lunch this week here and was happy to do so since I had no idea that Shorty’s even existed. They have a solid beer list and an impressive «Wall of Whiskey». I love my whiskey… just not during lunch on a weekday… I suppose… lol.
I wish I would have known that they had a special (A Select Draft Beer & A Cheesesteak, Chicken Cheesesteak or Broccoli Rabe Sandwich for $ 12) and I would have taken advantage of it, but instead I ordered their breaded chicken cutlet buffalo sandwich.
It comes with two options of buffalo sauces — mild or hot. I went with mild. You can also choose if you would like blue cheese or ranch sauce, I like blue cheese, but I’m a ranch sauce girl at heart so ranch it was.
This sandwich was $ 10 and worth every penny since it was so freakin’ big (and thick, yeah yeah — that’s what she said). I was only able to eat half and the other half is wrapped up and going to make a fantastic dinner in about an hour.
While eating (at the bar since there were no tables during lunch time and tables that seat 4 – 5 people are reserved for groups of that size… always) I saw a sign that said they have trivia on Monday nights at 8pm and a special of $ 12 pitchers of Coney Island beer during said trivia.
I love bar trivia and am sort’ve an addict, but not really but kinda. I definitely plan on coming back for this at some point… and for lunch, because my sandwich was definitely up there are far as buffalo chicken sandwiches go.
My boss had a cheesesteak and being that this wasn’t his first time having it, I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that he’s a fan (he’s also the one that chose coming here). We shared «Italian fries» which came with Italian Seasoning topped with Romano Cheese and they were pretty delicious. Crispy, thick fries and really nicely reasoned without being overbearing.
I would like to note that they have Old Bay Seasoning fries. OLD BAY SEASONING. Yeahhh… I definitely have to come back.
EDIT ²⁄₁₀: They have draft/​sandwich specials but they’re super specific about which ones (I think it includes their Philly Cheesesteaks and SOME, not all, of their chicken ones). This is pretty stupid since the «South Philly Style Sandwiches» part of the menu features sandwiches that are the same price. Not cool and that really takes away for me when I’m here for lunch. If I could rate halfsies I would knock my rating down to 3.5 stars…