The food is always hot and delicious every time we go here . The staff is very friendly.

Food is good, portions are HUGE. Service can be on or off depending on the day/time and how busy the restaurant is. Memorial day weekend we came and the server was on top of her game, very present. Went again last night, just an average Saturday afternoon around 3pm and our server kept disappearing. Drinks are good but some are overpriced. My boyfriend got a summer cocktail (cucumber mint maybe?) and it was basically all ice he finished it in two sips. Red white and blueberry IPA is fantastic, but the mango habanero beer is no joke. Tastes fine going down but there's an aftertaste that's less than pleasant. Photos are of the Nachos with Pulled Pork (we ordered no olives no beans and it was missing avocado, cilantro cream sauce, and the server dropped our salsa and never replaced it). The pizza is margherita and I'm a HUGE fan of the way they oven bake their pizzas. We would come back for sure, but just be specific and be wary of service. Our server also messed up and ran my friends card on both checks and then had to restart (I know, it's busy on Saturday afternoons but worth mentioning) read more

Philly Bar & Lounge - Pulled pork nachos with cheese, bbq sauce, jalapeños, pick di gallo - Bars Near Me - Latham, New York

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Soooo this place vexes me. On one side, most of the food that came out was good. On the other side, we had a little issue that wasn't really alleviated. Wasn't a horrible experience, but I would've gladly gave Phillys 4 stars if they had handled it properly. Let's brrak it down. Came with a squad of 7 for dinner including my boy, new wife, bro, sis, mom and pops in law. Apps: Calamari and buffalo cauliflower. Calamari was light, crispy and delicious. The red (schezuan style?) looking dipping sauce was excellent. The buff caul had blue cheese or goat cheese or some cheese chunk droplets all over it. They were tasty with a nice kick. Only wish there was more of each. Wasn't a small portion or anything, just wished there was more. Most of us ordered beef cheesesteaks with different toppings and dif cheeses. Mine had suayeed onions and peppers wit Wiz. Always money. Everyone who had a cheesesteak enjoyed it. This is their specialty afterall. Other orders: The sweet potato falafel. Fried Oyster Po' Boy. The Salmon dish. Falafel was good (although our waitress asked how she wanted that cooked..not sure if that's an Albany/upstate thing). Oyster po boy was tasty (although one side of the po boy had about 2 oysters and the other side was loaded with like 9..Im not a stickler for that kinda stuff, but my wife is and she had the half w/ 2 on it, so i gave her some of mine). Salmon was where the stars start to get knocked off. As a whole, the dish was great. Salad was good, fried polenta cake thing was good, salmon was season nicely..buuuuttt it was raw in the middle. I literally heard Gordon Ramsay shouting in my head that the salmon was 2 seconds away from swiming upstream! So we had the waitress come over, but she didn't really know what to say or do..she said she hadn't been working there for a few weeks, but is that really a good excuse? She sent the salmon back. Took the whole half eaten plate. We all finished our meals as they prepped a new piece of fish. It came out on a small plate with no more salad or polenta cake and bro was pissed. He just boxed it to go and spoke to the manager. He was ok (I actually used to work under him when he was the head cook at McGillicuddys in New Paltz) didn't really help much but at least he took $10 off the order. There you have it. Mostly good food. Disheveled waitress was weak. Service on the undercooked salmon was trash. Oh but the drinks were flowin and they had a nice 2 for 1 deal on beers. read more

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Where do I start a brewery that doesn't brew beer because their equipment is broken. I will say the waitress was excellent. Is professional efficient friendly kudos to our waitress. As far as the food goes the nachos were good there wasn't enough cheese I hate when the last 10 chips don't have any cheese on them. I got a philly cheesesteak with cheese wiz on it the meat was overly salty and the cheese wiz was non existent. If I sent it back only to be told that the meat is pre seasoned and will all and we'll all be salty and the cheese cooks into the meat. They made me another one which was noticeably less salty with cheese wiz honest not sure how the 2nd 1 was so much better than the 1st but not good enough to get a 4 star the waitress is worth 5 stars but not the food. It's ok not great. My wife likes it so we'll probably go back... read more

Went to Philly's for dinner on Saturday and my wife got violently sick overnight. Obvious food poisoning so we called the restaurant the next day and explained what had happened. They said a Manager would get back to us but they never did. Apparently serving poor food and getting their patrons sick is not worth a call back. So not only do they serve food that causes diarrhea and vomiting, but they also don't care. Avoid this place. read more

On the recommendation of a friend who noted some new menu changes, we placed a large take away order on Sat. -A large cheese steak w/peppers, onions & American cheese - item was missing the cheese. Would order again regardless as to the omitted cheese. - Pulled pork sandwich with fries. Good but the brioche does not stand up to the roll, expect to need a fork. Good flavor, all around. Would order again despite the mess. - Grilled chicken sandwich with thick cut bacon. Just ok.. the chicken lacked flavor & was dry. Sandwich was messy to eat, tomatoes under ripe. Came with fries. Would not order again. - Salad with buffalo chicken- mixed green salad, chicken comes in separate container, which was fine. The breading didn't hold up so it wasn't crispy.. edible w/ok flavor once that was scraped off. * Would order again, just not take away. -Chicken & Waffles Great fried chicken. Waffle was slightly overdone but overall, the best local chicken & waffles out there. Will order again. - Smoked wings - a Bull & Barrel favorite. This is the item that actually brought us back through the door. We loved B&B and the wings were great. Served w/smoked bleu cheese, raves all around. Pick up for take away is a little confusing- the bar seating set up nicely w/dividers between patrons, less than 6' though and they didn't leave room to grab & go - but after the year + restaurants have endured, can't fault them for wanting to seat as many as possible. Overall, some nice improvement in the menu and quality. A solid spot, better than average offerings - definitely a stand out in the lack luster Latham dining scene. read more

I've come with a group, with my husband, with a friend, with coworkers for lunch (and then dinner another time) so I guess you could say I like the place. I have had their fish and chips three times and it's a gigantic portion of white fish, with an incredible crispy and tasty coating. The fries are always a disappointment because there's some sort of coating on them. I have also been here for appetizers and they are delicious. Their boneless wings are very good. The cheese plate was nice but I don't generally order that out, I think it's over priced for what you get. It was pretty looking but not something I would order again. If you looking for a quieter table, ask for the back room. There you can have a conversation, watch the game (any game on a number of screens). They have this gargantuan screen for the bigger games. Service is always attentive and they keep their drinks flowing. Each time I've gone in the bar is packed whether for lunch or dinner. The front room by the bar is rather noisy. I haven't sat outside but they have a deck with live music during the warmer months. Those I've shared a meal with have been pleased with the Philly sandwich, which I am told uses rolls delivered from Philadelphia. You can customize your sandwich with a variety of toppings on your choice of meat. There is options for non-meat eaters as well. We'll be back again. read more

I've been coming here for years. Almost every time I visit the Capital Region, I stop in here. They have a great selection of beers. The menu is good and the staff is friendly. The have a really nice patio space with gas fire pits, tables, and an outdoor bar. This is really great local bar that is a good spot to relax. read more

My friend and I decided to come here to get lunch on a cold day! We were seated promptly and the service was good! Our waitress was very nice! For an appetizer, we got French onion soup which was flavorful. We then ordered the Tennessee hot chicken Sandwich was good, however it was not spicy! The fries were delicious as well and overall, we had a good experience! read more

The food and service are always amazing! They Brew their own beers along with a great beer selection. This place has something for Everybody! Can't wait for the nice weather and the patio to open! read more

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From out of town wanted to catch an NFL game not carried on TV. Place has a lot of TVs, good selection of beers and a great bar food on the menu. Very shareable for game day. Wait staff could use some help but that's true everywhere today. Surprise dish - Mac n cheese. read more

Good cheesesteak is hard to find in upstate New York, but the Philly Bar & Grill is making a respectable sandwich that's just short of being killer. All of the components are right: authentic rolls straight from Philadelphia, properly grilled beef, nicely sautéed vegetables, and any cheese you could possibly want to top it off with. But the sandwich misses on one very important element, taste. It is bland beyond belief. I had the meat lover's combo, which in addition to the standard cheesesteak fillings was loaded with applewood smoked bacon and pepperoni. The sandwich was absolutely massive, easily covering the whole plate. I almost wish it was slightly smaller and came with a side, but that's just personal preference. I came with a fairly large group, which seemed to slow the kitchen down a bit, but our waitress was friendly and attentive so it wasn't that big of a deal. The outdoor bar is spacious and has a few TVs, making the Philly a good place to come for a drink and to watch the game. This place could be great if they improved the food (a little seasoning would go a long way), but even as it stands now it's a decent spot to catch up with friends and grab a casual bite to eat. read more

Philly Bar & Lounge - Meat lover's cheesesteak with provolone - Bars Near Me - Latham, New York

Since the remodel Summer 2016, although they tripled the outdoor seating which is great, the service was inadequate to say they least. The band sitting up 2 stories is not ideal, front tables have to look almost straight up to see the band. Ordered burgers no bun and they were good... Not great. Ordered round 3 of beers and waited over 30 minutes for them....they never came so we hunted down, literally, the waitress to get our bill. Hard to tell who was waitstaff and who was not... Idea: give the girls all the same shirt or something to help them stand out besides black clothes. We all wear black. I hope when the brewery section opens they have more qualified and competent staff. A bit disappointed. read more

Philly Bar & Lounge - New deck bands play up on 2nd level - Bars Near Me - Latham, New York

Outdoor seating was great. They have a DJ that was playing music for the crowd. Food and drinks were great. I definitely would come back.

Wanted to sit back with some co-workers and chill on the patio and have a conversation. That was quickly ended when the band started playing loudly at 6pm. I would have let that slide but when we were out in the parking lot saying goodbyes and talking, we were rudely interrupted by the bouncer who asked us "Are you leaving? Because this guy has been sitting here waiting for your spot and is blocking traffic." I don't care. That's not my problem. We just spent a couple hundred dollars at your establishment. And you are basically kicking us out. read more

Upping my star rating slightly after visiting last night, and being more impressed than usual with the experience and food. They are once again expanding and updating the building, looks like its going to be huge. I inquired with our server as to what the expansion would consist of, and she mentioned there would be more dining space, a dance floor, and room for banquets. She also mentioned more outdoor dining space with firepits and a space for bands to play outside. I can imagine once the renovations are complete, this will be a fun spot to hang out, especially in the summer. Went on a Thursday night, not realizing there would be entertainment, so it was fairly loud. But, the band was good...they did cover songs with only one or two instruments, so it wasn't too distracting. For food, we ordered nachos, which were really good. The beef could have used more seasoning, but aside from that, toppings were plentiful and the serving size was pretty big. For dinner I ordered the buffalo chicken sandwich which was much larger than I had remembered, and they were very generous with the fries as well. The chicken itself was flavorful and juicy, and the bun was some sort of seasoned ciabatta, which complimented the sandwich nicely. I was only able to eat half of it. Prices were reasonable too, spent $40 on two sandwich meals, nachos, a few beers, and a soda. Not too shabby... read more

Philly Bar & Lounge - Massive buffalo chicken sandwich - Bars Near Me - Latham, New York

Service was passable and food was edible, but outdoor space is great. Philly cheesesteak was quite solid, though

Love, love, love. I am a transplant in upstate NY and this is true authentic Philadelphia!!

I had their build your own philly cheese and it was pretty good. I kept it simple with steak, cheese and onions. I also had a side salad. The philly cheese steak was toasted a little more than I like but it was still pretty good. I would come back and have the same meal, but I would probably try the lunch special version of the philly cheese because that came with fries and was fairly close in size (the build your own did not) and was cheaper. The waitress was very friendly and personable, but it took us a while to get our food. To their deffence we were a party of 7 but they were not extremely busy. read more

Philly Bar & Lounge - Side Salad - Bars Near Me - Latham, New York

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Great food and atmosphere. Ate outside on the deck during a sunny afternoon and enjoyed the six different football games on the array of televisions -- great for Sunday football. Apparently the place turns into a nightclub after hours and it does the sports bar kind of feel down, if you're into that. Anyway food was excellent, not too expensive and the serving sizes were quite large. Actually I haven't been so happy with a burger in a while -- I definitely recommend them. Worth a stop! read more

Philly Bar & Lounge - The Smash Burger. Mmm. - Bars Near Me - Latham, New York

Stood around for ten minutes ...nobody approached us for seating or anything. Hostess station abandoned. Staff just kept walking on by. WE LEFT AND WON'T BE BACK ANYTIME SOON! PLACE WAS A ZOO.. read more

What a great place to eat! Food is awesome! Staff is incredible! Todd, our waiter was soooo accommodating. They played music for us, accommodated a huge party. I can't say enough about this place. We will be back!!! read more

Not a bad place could use some extra staff and inventory check on beer and tap our poor server was over worked

Huge fan of cheese-steaks, but Philly's didn't meet the bar for me. Their food took WAY too long and then came out incorrect. Our waitress was definitely inexperienced and lacked sympathy for our long wait and incorrect items. The manager didn't seem to care that night either. We visited on a Saturday night where they must have been preparing for live music because they spent most of the time we were there clearing the tables and chairs from the dining area. That was displeasing to watch and listen to as we waited for our food. We probably would have stayed for the entertainment, but all of us were turned off to the place after our experience. read more

Philly Bar & Lounge - Bars Near Me - Latham, New York

Phillys are mediocre at best. Nothing fancy or standoutish. Should include unlimited toppings for the price. Pripri fries were good and well as the country chicken. But with the name Philly they should concentrate on improving that item. read more

We came here to meet friends around 10pm on a Friday night. However, the service was absolutely terrible with conflicting messages between the bouncer at the door and bouncer in the bar/club area , plus a $5 cover to get into a "restaurant" - bouncers words not mine! The bouncer in the bar/club was very rude and nasty for no reason. The drinks were weak and tasted like soda. Food was disgusting and dry and way overpriced for Latham. Rude bar bouncer with awful customer service. Go elsewhere. Terrible service. Terrible drinks. Terrible experience and won't be back. read more

The reason I am giving this one star is because of the service. I went with a few co workers on May 30th and I have to say the waitress we had was AWFUL. Personality of a wet mop and looked miserable. She acted like she hated waiting on us. Plus she was training a new girl who looked like she had seen a ghost. She ended up not even serving us because Miss Grumpy took over. The food here is awesome but they need to do something about the service. It took forever to get our food and drinks. To even get a refill on our drinks we actually had to get the waitress. She didn't even check in on us. Sorry to those that like this place but I was totally turned off by the service. read more

Had a few friends stop by for happy hour and said it was a pretty decent time. We decided to all meet up for a 4 o'clock game. At first I was happy to see a good selection of beers and responsible prices. Half way through the game a table of men started yelling slurs at our female friend because she was excited to see her team winning. We are well conditioned to sports fans but this was completely inappropriate. They approached their table twice asking them to stop and they only got worse with sexual remarks. Other people in the bar started getting offended by it and also asked them to back off. This continued for about an hour while our waitress apologized but then seemed to go into hiding. The waitress serving them apparently thought this was hilarious and was asking them if they were causing trouble in a flirting manner and giggling. She continued serving them more beer which they obviously didn't need. They never told them to leave because apparently their tip was more important. I can tolerate a lot but I do not tolerate men harassing and threading females. Apparently this place drinks to it. Not to mention children were sitting right next to us. No thanks Philly's. You should be ashamed. read more

This is my first review so bear with me. Feels like this is a term paper, I keep editing it over and over. Argh! Anyway, Philly Bar and Grill is one of my main bi-weekly lunch spots. Its tucked away in an odd spot on 155 basically across from Dee Dee's. It is a bar (which will make my only yelp friend snicker) but the main attraction is the food. I have never been there at night so I wouldn't know how the nightlife is. As the name suggests, they serve cheesesteaks. And they are AWESOME. You can get your choice of meats and toppings...custom style...or order a standard one or a specialty one like a pizza steak or a buffalo steak. There are endless combinations. I am a big guy, but one of these fills me completely. I'd say half the time people take half of it home. But they are awesome. As a matter of fact, no location anywhere in the capital district comes close. You gotta try one! Second really good thing about this place is the wings. I am a HUGE fan of hot food, and this place can "bring it" heat wise...if you know what to say. There is a heat level called "homicide" wings that you can order, its not on the menu. And you will get a solid habenero style wing. Lots of creeping heat. Now, sadly, over the last six months the heat factor has slowly gone down....but still can be very hot compared to most. If you don't like super hot and tasty wings, you can get them normal. They are solid. They have sandwiches and burgers which look good, but I've never tried them. I mean seriously, this is a place you go when you want a cheesesteak or a hot wing....thats what I go for at least. The place recently expanded its outside deck and has a full outside bar. It has a few TV's and such and looks like it could be a great sunny happy hour place. Again, I've never been there for that, nor have I even had a beer there. But it could be neat spot for that I just don't know for sure. The waitresses are cool and friendly, but the place is notoriously slow and understaffed. Usually its one girl working the whole restaurant and bar during lunch. We were there a few weeks ago during the nice day during the NCAA tourny and it took forever. We sometimes will pre-order wings if we know we are coming and have a big party. Youll get a lot of military types in fatigues in there from the guard base around the corner, and a smattering of locals drinking even though its noon. Then youll get business folks like us come in and out, as again, its a great lunch spot. One last thing for locals is that they accept something called a "source card" from the Times Union. Subscribers get this card...and it scores a 20% discount. Well worth remembering that.....just be sure to tip on the original total!! Even without it, you can expect to pay $10-$12 for a cheesesteak with drink lunch, and around $14 or so a head if you toss some wings into the mix. It's really well priced, and I'll update this next time I go with some ideas of what things really cost. Hope this helps, it would get a five if not for the slow service....but then again I don't know how the "bar" part is, just the lunch portion. read more

Philly's has been around a long time, and I always assumed it was a middle-aged alcoholics bar based on the fact that my boss from a summer job in college was one and he used to beg me to drop him off there after work. Up last week, I'd never been any farther than the parking lot, let alone inside the bar. While home for the holidays, I came here with friends since someone we knew was already hanging out at Philly's. Despite the fact that this bar is in the middle of Latham with nothing around it and it was before 10, my friend's husband had to pay a $3 cover (ladies were free til 10am). I was a little shocked but they said it was because of the live music. The live music turned out to be a past-middle aged singer who sang a bunch of old cheesy songs. He stopped singing shortly after we got there too since it was definitely a rip off but whatever. The bar is nothing special, just a standard bar with nothing to recommend it. The drinks were decently priced, but that's really all I can say to recommend it. I'd rather go almost anywhere else. read more

Very solid place. The rotating beers are solid, and it's always 2 for 1, which you can't beat. Plenty of TVs to watch whatever sport you may like. On weekends it becomes a bit more of a club than a straight up bar, which is a nice thing to have in the middle of Latham. read more

Stopped here while away for business. Food was great, service was great. Friendly and clean environment, I would definitely come back again and again if I lived in the area read more

Went to Philly Bar & Grill on Saturday with my husband who is a recent transport from Philly and we were looking to catch the Phillies Cards game. It was quiet when we arrived and we sat near a table of some other folks from Philly. :-) The waitress/bartender was sweet and attentive. They had two-for-one drink specials the whole time we were there. We started with the sampler platter which was really yummy. The chicken tenders were juicy and crispy and the french fries were addictive. We devoured the whole plate of food in no time. We followed it up with a couple of cheesesteaks (having been to the great places in Philly - we had to compare) and these were, by far, the best cheesesteaks we've had outside of Philly. They have Whiz! That's important. :-) The bread is key to a good cheesesteak and this didn't disappoint. I would've been happier with a little more variety of beer on tap, but what they had was decent. We also were there during a shift changeover and it took FOREVER for our second waitress to even stop at our table, we had empty beers for more than a half hour before she came to our table. The place had filled up really fast after 7 and she had another large table, but we were just two people, it would've been nice if she had at least checked in on us after our first waitress left. We'll definitely be back for Flyers and Eagles games this season! read more

Zoe R gave us the best birthday service ever! Amazing food, quick service! Fairly priced drinks!

Some of the best Philly Cheese-steaks outside of the Philly area! The prices are fair and the amounts of food are enormous! The bar was recently rehabbed and looks great, and the price are reasonable for the amount of food you get! We've got a group of DJs who meet there on a regular basis, and everyone gets excited when we know the location for our monthly meeting is Phillys! Give it a shot. I promise you won't be disappointed! read more

I have stopped in several times, enticed by the idea of an authentic cheesesteak, pretty much impossible to find in the Capital District. As a native of New Jersey I do have high standards. On the first visit I would grade the cheesesteak a B-. Everything was good EXCEPT they toasted the roll. One of the things that make a great cheesesteak is a great, soft roll. On my second visit I asked them not to toast the roll. Much better. Still not as good as one in NJ/Philly, but close. Give it a B+. Fries were great. Portions are huge. Nice atmosphere. Bar area is what you want from a tavern. Haven't sat outside yet but the patio looks really nice. Draft beer selection a little disappointing. Tabs are in several different locations and they don't provide a beer list to help. They should correct that. read more

I've only been here one other time but recently went to their newly undated patio with live music (in the daytime) and really enjoyed my experience. We ordered calamari which I'm always sketchy about ordering out but this was pretty good. They have a variety of hotdogs and overall a pretty big menu. I order a salad with fried chicken and liked it. The food was good but the atmosphere was great and I would for sure go back this summer. Since they specialize in philly cheesesteaks I really need to actually try those out. This is a great place when weather is good and the patio is accessible. read more

Came here to eat 3x. The food made me sick every single time. Good place to hang out and have drinks outside but I always feel terrible after eating the food. Makes me wonder about what the kitchen is like. read more

My sister and I ate here for the 1st time recently ...I've driven by it many times but have never stopped in. The place has an identity crisis - This restaurant / bar is strangely set up - you walk into a location that is a "homey" neighborhood bar, then you walk through that to a large area that looks like it's a nightclub with walls of flat screen TVs. crystal chandeliers, lighting rigs and what looks like a couple of VIP lounge areas. We were sat in the nightclub area by ourselves - it was 5pm on a Saturday. As the night progressed more people were seated in this area - it did get quite busy. The menu was quite extensive and there was alot of items I did want to try. We both ended up getting the Cheese steak sandwiches - my sister got the chicken and I got the beef. Oddly enough even though the menu said all sandwiches come with French Fries - these didn't so we ordered them on the side. Both of our meals were very good and plenty to take home. I really did enjoy the food! Now the reason why only two stars and why I won't return ... we both ordered diet cokes upon being seated. When we got our sandwiches I was almost empty and my sister was half way empty - we asked for refills. Our server took our glasses - filled them and brought them back. When we got our bill - we were charged for 4 sodas! Are you kidding me!! I didn't see sodas listed on the menus but my assumption is as with other non fine dining restaurants - refills are complimentary. I work in the hospitality industry and soda "on the gun" is pennies. It's the highest margin you have. AND if you are going to charge for each soda, the server should have first said something - we charge per soda. AND if you are charging for them - don't take the ones we have that are partially full and "refill them" and with mostly ice. That is service 101. If I were to come back again, I would get tap water - that's still free ... or is it? :) read more

Went for happy hour, the outdoor patio is really nice. Pretty typical drink specials on draft beer and well drinks. Food was underwhelming. Service was pretty slow but it was quite crowded. read more