By james art 
Top rated for its tomato pies, cheesesteaks and more, Lillo’s Tomato Pies of Hainesport NJ has announced a second location coming to Gloucester City NJ.
If you’re not familiar with Lillo’s in just a few short years they’ve jumped to the top of almost every conversation about the best pizzas and cheesesteaks in the entire Delaware Valley. With their upcoming location in Gloucester City, they’ll be ‘upping the ante’ even further by offering a full bar too!
I stopped by their Hainesport location yesterday to try a slice of pie and one of their massive cheese steaks… I have to experience things to know how to tell you about it!
For its second location, Lillo’s is heading to Camden County, taking over the former Thomas Murphy’s Pub on Burlington St. in Gloucester City.
The corner pub property is actually a large facility with two floors of dining (and bars), an outside terrace on the second floor… And I remembered from my many visits that it had a really nice Irish pub interior.
Thomas Murphy took over the space in 2018 and worked through the pandemic. Their last Facebook post was on August 1st, 2023 when they said they would be on a short vacation, and it seems they just never reopened.
I stopped by the Gloucester City Building yesterday and based solely on looking out the windows, it looks like the place just needs a few days of good cleaning and they could open!
Well according to Lillo’s Facebook page this opening as Lillo should take place in early January... in just two months!
The property will be a perfect match for Lillo’s, their customers and the local Gloucester City community as it brings so many good things together in one building.
As mentioned, Lillo’s has already built a huge reputation for their menu, especially the “Trenton Style” thin crust pizza and amazing cheesesteaks.
Things really took off when Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports stopped by (November 2022) and tried both their Trenton-style pizza and cheesesteaks.
Dave is the founder of the Barstool Sports website, which later expanded into his One Bite Pizza Review videos. These videos are available on all social media channels, but as an example of their popularity, his YouTube channel has 1.4 million followers.
A positive review from Dave can absolutely “blow up” a business with thousands of people coming from miles around to try what Dave says is the best.
Two years ago, Dave was driving through the Mount Laurel/Hainsport area and they passed by Lillo’s, not even knowing it was already a top rated pizzeria.
After some quick research in the car, he and his crew turned the car around and pulled back to try the pie.
Now, if you’re not familiar with his rating scale, anything above a 9 is completely rare and signifies an “off the charts” pizzeria. Most places fall between 5 and 8, so any score above 8 qualifies this shopping as one of the best pizza makers.
Lillo’s Tomato Pie received an 8.4 rating for its no flop crispy thin crust pizza, which is again a stellar rating!
Dave also seemed to really enjoy talking to the owners and hearing their story, which starts with Papa’s famous Trenton Tomato Pies, where the Lillo’s team learned the craft of pizza making!
Portnoy was told Lillo’s Cheesesteaks were the winner, so Dave then dived for a cheesesteak and upped the score to a 9.1…putting Lillo’s on par with his favorite cheesesteak, Angelo’s of Philadelphia.
The Youtube version of this review video has been viewed 735,000 times, and I’ve also seen it on Facebook and TikTok.
For my lunchtime visit to Hainesport yesterday, I walked into a very crowded little restaurant. I naively thought I would be able to chat with the owners or the manager during my visit but to be honest things were just bursting at the seams!
In my brief conversation with one of the counters they told me “oh it’s actually a bit quiet at the moment, come back in a few hours!”. Well, I can’t imagine what that experience is like!
First I tried a slice of pizza and it was absolutely delicious with a real crispy “no flop” crust.
It’s definitely something I haven’t had in Gloucester and Camden counties and should put Lillo’s new Gloucester City on everyone’s radar.
But my focus that day was their cheese steaks.
People ask me all the time for food reviews that… I try to stay with the “experience” aspect of things, just letting people know there’s something interesting.
Partly I don’t know how qualified I am, but honestly, so many places just look the same to me. To the question of “who has the best fast food chicken”… I don’t know what to say when to me the breaded chicken breast looks the same everywhere. ha
But for Lillo’s cheesesteaks, I can say for sure that they are different. Deliciously different.
Just looking at the sandwich and seeing the meat coming out of the top, completely covered in cheese with big chunks of onion…makes you think you’ve come across something completely new.
On the popular Cheesesteak Facebook groups, people argue about slabs vs. slices, but Lillo’s uses a completely different way of preparing meat (which I think is somewhat similar to Donkey’s)
At Lillo’s, it’s a sliced steak, but cooked in a way where many of the slices don’t separate, so you end up with hunks of beef. This makes for an extra hearty bite. Absolutely very tender because each piece is made from individual slices, but it adds an extra texture that you don’t get from a traditional cheesesteak.
Also, somehow Lillo’s has found a way to completely melt the cheese throughout the sandwich in a way that it’s almost like a sauce, yet has a thicker consistency.
And the onions? They don’t hide them with small pieces… not what they served me offered larger pieces of onion.
It made for a sandwich that was incredibly delicious… and somewhat familiar, but also incredibly unique.
Lillo’s is extremely different.
Overall, this is a really tasty and unique sandwich. I totally understand why people drive miles to try it… and I can’t wait to make the 6 mile drive to their new location in Gloucester City starting in January.
Links and location
Lillo’s Tomato Pies Hainesport (Open!)
2503 Marne Highway
Hainsport, New Jersey
(609) 491-7751
Lillo’s Tomato Pies Gloucester City (Opening January)
157 S Burlington St
Gloucester City, New Jersey