P.J. Whelihan's Pub

P.J. Whelihan's PubP.J. Whelihan's Pub
P.J. Whelihan's PubP.J. Whelihan's Pub
Bar, Eatery

1854 Marlton Pike E
Cherry Hill, New Jersey, 08003-2028
United States

(856) 424-8844 | map
pjspub.com
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.22
Reviews:
10
Ratings:
15
pDev:
18.32%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by GeoffFromSJ:
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Reviewed by GeoffFromSJ from New Jersey

3.03/5  rDev -5.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 2 | selection: 2.5 | food: 3.5
I actually saw GnomeKing at PJ's at the same night so let me echo his thoughts. If you are going to come here there may or may not be good beers on-tap. About a year ago there would be about two good microbrews on-tap. Then, nothing special, and I'm not counting Sierra Nevada nor Sam Adams. Things seem to be getting better recently. Hopefully, the trend continues.

The achillees heel is the service. And not regarding the food or friendliness. I've had the same server the last two times. She is extremely nice to me and she even seems somewhat knowledgable about what they have. She tries the beers and since I'm ordering an odd brew, we'll talk about it. She even informed me, without prompting, about Mad Elf. I like her. She hasn't been the norm.

The problem with service is with management and training. "Ask about local microbrews", which are in bottles. Which really means: do you have x? Let me go check. Server goes back and checks. Yes/no. Repeat. So unless my server mentions something I've abandoned the bottles and stick with what's on-tap. Being a waitress is a hard job. I don't want to complicate it further by being a pain in the butt for what something that isn't her fault.

Regarding the selection. As I said one or two good things on-tap with an additional Sam Adams. But how the heck can I tell? A little menu on the table would be wonderful.

The food is quite good for bar food, esp the wings. Nothing will blow your mind however. I recommend the hot-honey wings.

The atmosphere has the same strength and flaw. It is somewhat cavernous. The good thing is that that like the PJ's in Haddonfield, it gets crowded (except with enough parking!). But all the singles are crowded at the bar. I've never had a problem getting a table.

PJ's is good b/c it is local, but I'm not about to stop going to my favorite bars in Philadelphia. If you aren't from the area or in the area, don't come here for the beer. PJ's has a lot of promise. They make so much money I wonder if they will pay attention to our concerns. Good luck to them.
Dec 02, 2004
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.53 by FightinIrish88 from New Jersey

Oct 28, 2015
 
Rated: 3.73 by InspectorBob from New Jersey

Sep 10, 2015
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Rated by meat-hook27 from New Jersey

4.36/5  rDev +35.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.75 | food: 5
Different variety of beer to choose from. Nice atmosphere, great food.
Jun 28, 2015
Photo of Kyjobe
Rated by Kyjobe from New Jersey

3.94/5  rDev +22.4%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.75 | food: 3.75
Like this location slightly better than the Haddon Twp location. Vibe is way better due to the size of building and the great outside bar.
Feb 05, 2015
 
Rated: 2 by tkdchampxi from New Jersey

Jul 28, 2014
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Reviewed by avalon07 from South Carolina

2.95/5  rDev -8.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3 | service: 2 | selection: 3 | food: 4
A: This place has almost a sports bar feel to it (I'm not sure if that's what was intended), with lots of TVs mounted on the walls. It was clean and well-laid out, if a bit sterile - very much like a chain restaurant.

Q: The quality of beers there was a weird mix of craft and macro beers. That being said, the latter won out over the former pretty handily.

S: Our server was a bit inept, taking inordinately long amounts of time to get our beers. She didn't seem particularly knowledgeable about the products she was serving either. When it came time to pay our bills she balked at splitting them up, even though she had done with other people. Service was lackluster to say the least.

S: There were a couple of good beers (Yards, Victory, Flying Fish), but the selection was dominated by a wide array of terrible macros (as if there's another kind).

F: The food was typical bar food, but generally well done fairly priced.

V: I got a Flying Fish Hopfish IPA and a Yards Philadelphia Pale Ale for $5.25 which (I'm told) is a bit overpriced.

On the whole, this is probably a place I wouldn't frequent very often.
Nov 15, 2011
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Reviewed by corby112 from Pennsylvania

2.45/5  rDev -23.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 2.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 1.5 | food: 3.5
One of the bigger PJWs with a nice outdoor space/patio that improves the atmosphere a bit. Inside is one huge room with a decent sized bar and a ton of televisions. A good place to watch a game but can get overcrowded with some of the worst douchebag jocks you could ever imagine.

The beer selection here is pretty awful considering how many taps and bottles they offer. All pretty much the same macros and two or three craft offerings. Very disappointing.

The service is what you would expect at a chain sports bar. Friendly and quick but they have no knowledge about beer at all.

The food is one of the only reasons I come back. Above average pub grab with a great selection of wings, apps and sandwiches.

Overall a decent place for a good cheap meal while watching a game but I would certainly not call it a beer destination.
Oct 31, 2011
Photo of Edgecrusher
Reviewed by Edgecrusher from New Jersey

3.1/5  rDev -3.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3 | service: 2.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3
Atmosphere: Nice big place-lots of TV's. New outdoor section is nice.

Quality: Still contructrion going on. Still pretty clean inside and out. TV's have low quality pictures. Not in HD-will be soon we were told by management.

Service: Leaves something to be desired. Have been here several time and the servers never seem to know whats on tap or what bottles they have. Does get extemely busy during games-so may contribute to the slow service.

Selection- Slightly better than average.

Food: Just ok-portions seem to get smaller everytime. Menu size is decent. Average food-good wings.

Value: Reasonably priced in compareison to Philly or surrounding areas.

Overall a decent place to catch a game with some friends. Just needs a few improvements to be a really great place.
Sep 16, 2008
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Reviewed by countmeoutt from New Jersey

2.48/5  rDev -23%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 2.5 | service: 3 | selection: 1.5 | food: 3.5
I've felt the need to come on and review PJ's cherry hill establishment for a few months now. I used to work near there so i'd be there for lunch or after work usually 2 times a week. They have somewhere around 30+ taps and i can remember a year ago a good 10+ were micro or good imports. Flying Fish is right behind the bar basically and they've gone from carrying at least 3 to 1 of their beers..

I met up with some friends there the other night and I asked our waitress what micros they had on tap.. the reply she gives me is "We have ESB." I just ended up getting up myself to see what was up there.. victory storm king,sierra nevada pale ale, hook and ladder, and flying fish esb...thats it. Its mostly saturated with michelob ultra and meatheads.

It's become more of a nightclub atmosphere and thats fine because that's their target audience.. I'll stick to taking the train to the city for some beers. I've never had many pleasant outings to PJW bars anyway.
Aug 05, 2008
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Reviewed by NeroFiddled from Pennsylvania

3.43/5  rDev +6.5%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3
Formerly a Pizzeria Uno's, this is possibly the largest PJ's, but I'm not sure about that. Big parking lot... regularly cruised by police cars on weekend nights (young, drunk crowd). It's definitely a kind of hollow space, with an island bar within the room that houses the main dining area. They have bands on weekend nights in the area behind that, but they're basically college-crowd cover bands. Some are OK, some are just "ugggh". Decent tap selection, and I enjoy their new PJ's Copper Ale brewed by Victory. The bar is mainly staffed with dumb blondes, and the guys that you find on weekend nights are just as bad. Don't bother to ask about the beer. Food is average. Food service is average. ...as is par for most PJ's. Where this place falters seems to be that they cater to that drunk-college-crowd and allow it to happen. The bathrooms get all F'd up, and they just let it be. Sometimes it's pretty well fixed by Monday, sometimes not. Happy hour can be OK, particularly in summer; but I'd never take anyone here to eat, even on a Tuesday for lunch. ...Not the jewel in the crown, per se.
Feb 16, 2007
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Reviewed by NEhophead from Massachusetts

3.3/5  rDev +2.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3
Stopped through for a quick lunch and brew. The vibe is sports bar meets chain Irish pub. Flat screens, daily drink specials, Yardhouse feel, etc.

They were pouring about twenty-five brews including: Flying Fish, Troegs, Yeunling, Bass, Guinness, Stella, and SNPA among others. A lot of choices, but nothing that stands out.

The bartender was friendly, even though we were informed of the NJ law prohibiting the sale of alcohol at a restaurant before 1pm on Sundays. (We were lucky only to have to wait fifteen minutes). Food service was slow.

Food was par for the course for this Bennigan-style chain. Typical pub fare, and of course a variety of cheesesteaks.
Jul 03, 2006
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Reviewed by blitheringidiot from Pennsylvania

3.28/5  rDev +1.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3 | food: 2.5
A casual Monday Night of beer cruisin' leads me here to try some NJ flair and lo' and behold it's local craft beer night. Vic'ry and Flying Fish for $2.50 a pint. This joint looks like a steak house slash sports bar. TVs and a circle bar in the middle. Nothing beyond a TGIFridays decor awaits.

Our waitress was attentive enough to bring to me a second Vic'ry Hop De'bil before killin' my first one and still found time to make chit chat with the jocks at the other side of the bar. Who cares if you are here for the beer, eh?

Beer selection was a notch above blah with FF and Vic'ry. They need a few more good handles.

Oh, the wings were undercooked and the "suicide" hot wasn't even "suicide" enough to knock off a Jim Jones devout follower with a bucket of Kool-Aid. LAME!

Last call: Could you bring your Mom here? Sure...if you want to serve Mom average to blah pub grub and so-so food. Otherwise, drive to The Grey Lodge in NE Philadelphis for beer and food.
Jun 19, 2005
Photo of GnomeKing
Reviewed by GnomeKing from Pennsylvania

3.03/5  rDev -5.9%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 3 | food: 3
The numbers don't tell the tale of my review--I'm actually going to compliment this place. The management is expanding the place's beer list, adding a nice mix of local microbrews and a smattering of imports. Over several visits, I had a Troeg's Mad Elf, Dogfish Head World Wide Stout and 90-Minute IPA, and a Victory Hop Wallop. The problem is that the staff doesn't know these beers exist, and the printed beer list doesn't mention them. Even when I directly asked some of the servers about their microbrew selection (the menu says "Please ask us about our local microbrews"), they said they didn't know or that they didn't have them. What's the point of having micros if you hide them behind the counter, exclude them from the beer list, and don't tell the staff about their existence?

I'm very glad to have a local place fighting the good fight by serving craft beers, especially when that place caters to a crowd (business people at lunch and sportsbar-goers at night) that doesn't usually put a high value on craft beers. I hope this review is constructive. PJs stands to expand its customer base while still catering to the regulars, and the new lineup of beers has better profit margins. Now, they just have to promote the good stuff.

A note on the service: the low mark is based on the server's unfamiliarity with the beer selection, as well as some inattentiveness and making mistakes on food orders. I put the burden of addressing this on management--they have to educate the servers on what beers are in stock.
Dec 01, 2004
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Reviewed by Foxman from New Jersey

3.63/5  rDev +12.7%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5
The first impression on walking into this one-time ex-Pizzeria Uno buidling is that it's big, and damned big at that. It has a large dining area set off from the bar, and then a big dining area pretty much incorporated into the warehouse-sized bar area. The oval bar itself is just a touch smaller than a quarter mile race track. Well, OK, maybe not that big, but it has at least 40 stools surrounding it. Plus there are more cafe-style tables under three huge flat-screen TV's. But, in this case, and in spite of the miles of dark wood and brass, the size lends a somewhat distant and sterile feeling to the overall atmosphere. But as a happy hour destination, you're not likely to have to worry about finding someplace to congregate.

The beer is served cold, pretty much across the board, regardless of brand or style, but then, that's no surprise. The lines are clean, no question, and the glassware is as well, but the only glasses you'll get your beer in are the standard straight pints, another expected but deficient trait.

The service is a strength here, with the servers, at the bar and the tables, knowledgeable in what they have if not in just what each offering has to say for itself. They're friendly, fun, and obviously well-schooled in working in a bar, and all that that entails. And at the risk of sounding insufferably sexist, PJ's has a regional reputation as an establishment that hires some very easy-on-the-eyes individuals of the female presuasion, and this one is no different.

The selection is simply better than average. On a recent visit they had Hoegaarden White on tap, a surprise, but they also often have a seasonal on tap from Sierra Nevada or Flying Fish, as well as the standard SNPA and Flying Fish ESB. They've also had SNCA and FF Farmhouse Ale in past visits. The British Isles have some sway here, with what you'd expect on tap: Guinness, Harp, Bass, and either Boddington's or Newcastle.The macros are well represented, naturally, and the bottle selection is nothing to be especially impressed with.

In spite of the fact that my wife and both sons absolutely love the hot and honey wings, overall the food is just a bit more than okay. It's pretty much standard bar fare, with various wings, burgers, fries, clubs, and salads. To be fair, though, you're not likely to run into anything that will turn you off either. So if dependably decent is your goal in tavern grub, you won't likely go wrong.

So it's a fun place, big and roomy, to say the least, with plenty of TV's showing everything from every sport on the tube at the time to ET, should a screen be left over. And you never know what the special tap may be serving up at any one time, so the visit can even carry some small measure of anticipation.
It's not a target destination for a true BA, but you could do a lot worse in a land not exactly known for its fine beer establishments.
Mar 30, 2004
P.J. Whelihan's Pub in Cherry Hill, NJ
Place rating: 3.22 out of 5 with 15 ratings