It's an absolute travesty that I've never reviewed Carmella's, a place I've been to so many times. Sometimes actually enjoying life gets in the way of writing reviews. Located in the heart of the South Side with its welcoming & rustic decor. Known for higher-end comfort food (never had a bad meal), 500+ tequilas, whiskey, and scotch, close to 30 tap craft beers, 10+ tap cocktails, and 10+ wines on tap. Trust me there's nothing to dislike about the food and booze offerings. There's even a Whiskey Wall of Fame (iykyk). The folks that work there are top-notch service industry pros. Their knowledge of spirits, beer, wine, and cocktails is incredible. They treat patrons with care and genuine happiness. read more

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It was a very enjoyable dinner . I stopped first at the bar waiting for the others in the group to arrive. The overall atmosphere was really nice with the diverse collection of bourbons on bar. We had a special bourbon tasting dinner and I learned a lot. I'd recommend Carmella's for anyone wanting to try a variety of bourbons along with good food. read more

Carmella's Plates & Pints - Bar area - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

My Supper Club enjoyed brunch at Carmella's Plates & Pints. Upon entering, you see this old school bar and these Barrel high top seating. In the back, the Old English decor continues. There's even a cute, little fireplace in the middle. My group included 14 people, and our waitress did a great job with the service. We didn't have to wait long for anything, and they were on top of it all! Our group had a wide range of brunch menu items, and everyone was so pleased! I specifically had the Bourbon banana bake and the breakfast sandwich. I REALLY loved the Bourbon banana bake. It was so flavorful and tasty. The breakfast sandwich was a little messy and the delicious sausage was a little too tiny. Overall, I really enjoyed my meal. My hubby got the Steak Breakfast Bowl, and he loved it as well. At the end of the meal, live music began, and it was a perfect ending and the icing on the cake. This is such a unique and cool spot, and I cannot wait to come again and try some new menu items! read more

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My friend and I went to brunch. It was my first time going to their brunch and sadly it was their last brunch. It made it hard bc they had three items I wanted to try but could not eat each. That said the waitress was super friendly, when asked about her favorites she gave advice (even if I went with her second option) but I did add the homemade waffle so I could try it before it's gone. The atmosphere is sort of lodge like with an upscale vibe. I thought Meade hall of the United Kingdom variety. You'll have to go to understand my thought or disagree with but it's a vibe and can be a dressier date night or casual grab a bite and catch up place! read more

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Such a cute vibe at Carmella's!!!! The front area near the bar is giving dive bar in New York vibes. The atmosphere in here is super cute and vibey. Cocktails are great! They have a late night happy hour, which i definitely will be coming back for. For dinner, I started with the panzanella salad. It was super tasty, but it was 90% bread. I definitely wish there were more tomatoes in there. For dinner I got the halibut special with risotto and blister tomatoes. The risotto and the tomatoes were great, but unfortunately I felt like the halibut was a little over cooked and slightly under seasoned. It was a little dry to eat. My boyfriend got the scallops and shrimp pasta which was delicious! The scallops and shrimp in that were cooked perfectly and the flavors were great! read more

Carmella's Plates & Pints - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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This is a nice little neighborhood bar and restaurant on the south side of Pittsburgh. They have a bar in front with lots of whiskeys, scotch and other liquors. We started with the crispy Brussel sprouts. They were so good! Crispy, light, airy, with a little tangy hot sauce. Then we had a sausage pasta dish that was to die for. Wild mushrooms, a white sauce, home made pasta. Wow. It was delicious. Finally, we had a short rib dish with risotto. It was fine, nothing like the other two. Our server was very good, even making us an off menu mocktail. read more

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I have eaten here several times.... everything is made up to the nines and awesome!! The waitresses and bartenders are fun to hang with and the live music is always excellent! read more

Carmella's Plates & Pints - Tuscan pasta is incredible!! - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Carmella's is always a solid choice for date night or a laid-back dinner with friends/family. We had the broccoli cheddar chicken risotto, pork schnitzel, and flank steak--everything was delicious, served fresh, and full of flavor! Every dish has an elevated touch that keeps us coming back. The setting is cozy and intimate, which makes it ideal for a smaller group dinner or date night, but they do have a few larger tables if you're coming with a bigger party. Service was quick and friendly. While we did notice a few errors on our bill, they were quickly corrected-just something to be mindful of anywhere. The bar is also worth mentioning...they have an impressive whiskey selection and some unique, special labels available, including bottle purchase options. A nice spot to grab a drink, even if you're not staying for a meal! Consistently a good option that always hits the spot! read more

Carmella's Plates & Pints - Broccoli Cheddar Risotto - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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Nice and cozy place on Carson. Seating at the Bar, for drinks are ok, for eating not so good, either Bar is to high or the stools to short... Food,... could be more creative and seasoned... Try Meat Balls, needed a little more love, seasoning and definitely NO CHEESE! Very busy bar atenderás C. read more

Didn't eat but had nice glass of wine. Service was great, fast and friendly. There was a lively crowd that night but cozy at the bar. read more

Carmella's Plates & Pints - Nightcap - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Subpar food, excellent drinks. The drinks prepared by the male server D**************((no names mentioned)) were superb! The food tho... not great. The pierogi for appetizer: filling was delish but the end of the pierogi was hard. Husband's Wagyu burger was amazing! It came with a side of potatoe wedges. The Amish chicken pot pie was bland & flavorless. Not worth the price. read more

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The drinks were the best. I had "The 1908" and my mom had "Limincello Spritz". The food was good and our service was great. They had a guy playing live music which we enjoyed! Would recommend for happy hour. read more

Carmella's Plates & Pints - Tuscan pasta with chicken. - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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great experience in a super cool place!! our server was very helpful. the restaurant has such and awesome atmosphere. my veal parmesan alla vodka was the best!! we also got the truffle frites!!! so good read more

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Carmella's is in a good location, and I would go back for drinks and the live music. The food itself was nothing special - we tried various dishes and they were all just fine but missing a lot of flavor. read more

We are a group of 7 people - we had a great dinner at Carmella's. The lady who served us was sooo sweet. Food was delicious. They are mostly small plates. The seating place is quite large. read more

Carmella's Plates & Pints - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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Food was high quality and would recommend. Loved the ambiance!!! Wish I took photos to post. Will need to go back soon! Service was solid! read more

Carmella's Plates & Pints - Amish Pot Pie - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Carmella's was an unique experience. The interior of the restaurant was like eating in a ski lodge/cabin. It's a bar when walking in at first and I wasn't sure what to expect lol. The service was super friendly and nice. Food was served fast. Their food surprised me a lot. I didn't have high expectations for a fine dining experience because of a comfort/casual setting, but their food was actually exactly as written on their website: upscale comfort food. Each dish was delicious and the flavor palette was complex. We came for their restaurant week menu because it looked the most intriguing out of all the menus. However, I liked their regular menu items so much more. I felt the portions for restaurant week was a bit small. The dessert was too sweet for my taste as well. The appetizers were very good though. I didn't expect to like the popcorn with the scallops but it was delicious. The corn batter with the scallops really added to its flavor. [Wagyu Meatballs] [Caprese Salad] were both amazing. I was quite shocked by how good it was. The meatballs were juicy and the caprese salad was refreshing, just what we were craving. [Gnocchi Portofino] Same goes for the gnocchi. It was very big gnocchi and I loved it. The serving size was giant for $28, with plenty of seafood. I think it may be one of the best I've had in Pittsburgh. Drinks were ok, nothing out of the ball park. My rec would be to come by for their normal menu food. It's such a versatile menu with generous portions, made with expertise. Its food level matches fine dining, but with an affordable price and interesting environment. Can't think of another restaurant like this. read more

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The food is absolutely top tier, definitely on my top 10 list of places to go in Pittsburgh. Drink selection is additionally superior compared to most places. Must stop for whiskey lovers!! read more

The ambiance was very nice and our server Tabitha was very friendly and attentive however I ordered the Tuscan pasta which contained sun dried tomatoes When I got my dish it had blistered cherry tomatoes instead along with 2 pieces of burnt, and I mean black garlic bread. Can't believe it was allowed to leave the kitchen. When I asked her she inquired in the kitchen and I was told that "they make their sun dried tomatoes the same as these but they're out of the sun dried ones" ??? Sun dried tomatoes and blistered cherry tomatoes aren't even close! To think I would be ok with explanation is an insult! Should have been told from the beginning that they were out of them. I would have ordered something different. It's little things like this that make a 5 star experience into a 3 star at best. read more

Ambiance was top notch. Beautiful place. The decor is so fun. The round fireplace inside is so cool. The food was phenomenal. The service was quick and polite. I felt like it was quality ingredients and worth the price tag for that. The banana old fashioned will absolutely be the drink I want the next time I go back! read more

Carmella's Plates & Pints - Crispy Brussels and calamari - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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We went to Carmella's this past weekend when they were featuring their Valentine's Day menu and the food was so good! Ben, our server, was super friendly and helped us out with some recommendations. Like the last place I reviewed, this is definitely not a place to go as a vegetarian. The whole restaurant has a winter lodge feel which was super cute and cozy and would be perfect for a romantic date. read more

Carmella's Plates & Pints - Calamari, Lobster Bisque, Burrata Salad - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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We had such a great time. It's pricy so it's an event and not a weekly thing but it was worth it. I'm a sucker for a changing menu. The pictures don't do it justice. It's like walking into Gaston's tavern. It's great and immersive. Our server was super friendly and recommended some fantastic vegetarian options. And there was live music they you could hear but still talk in the back area. read more

Carmella's Plates & Pints - The back room. - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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Omg, where to start in this OVER RATED DUMP. #1. Dirty. #2. Wait staff terrible. #3. Food was terrible. #4 mgr/ owner dumb as a rock, ignorant. When I asked her a simple question about the menu she was condescending. Thats funny coming from what must be a totally uneducated women read more

I love the vibes in this restaurant! It's very beautiful and quaint inside from the lights to the decor to the beautiful bar. Love that they have live music on a Friday, really livens the place up. Service is pretty attentive and the server was nice albeit a little pushy on drinks and dessert. I think they have really great drinks here. They do fresh fruit infusions with liquor and the cocktails are great. I loved my strawberry vodka drink. They have a huge whiskey selection and seasonal drinks like pumpkin spice coffee you can add liquor to. I think the menu is a little limited but my friends all liked their food a lot. I got the bolognese and thought it was fine. It wasn't super flavorful but the pasta seemed to be made in house and the bread it came with was decent. It feels a little pricey for what you get on the dinner menu. Would love to come here for brunch since there might be more items I'd like on the menu. I'd also try dessert next time since they had options like tiramisu and creme brulee. read more

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The atmosphere was amazing and the drink list was next level. Service was great; fast and friendly. We all had the steak with the peppercorn sauce. Not really to any of our liking. We had expected something akin to an au poivre but got a peppery A1. Drinks were good, whisky was dope! Would def do again but avoid the steak. read more

Love the vibes at Carmella's! Get a seat at the bar or head to the back dining room (the fireplace is cute!). The menu is seasonal and delicious. Perfect for a date night or even solo dining like I did last week! read more

Carmella's Plates & Pints - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The food was delicious. The decor is perfect. The staff was just so pleasant & attentive. Cheers!

I stopped there on recommendation. As I entered the bar, the Bourbon selection blew my mind. As a Pennsylvania resident, I'm used to a limited Bourbon selection. Carmella seems to have some connections... The bartender (Kailin, by my receipt), was superb. She wasn't flustered by any order and presented a perfect cocktail every time. Highly recommend. read more

Service is always top notch. The consistency of the food can be a problem, however, when they execute as intended, it's one of the best restaurants on the Southside and they possibly have one of the best burgers in all of Pittsburgh. read more

This was our second visit based on our previous dining experience but alas something is awry in Pittsburgh!! The general theme here was lack of seasoning. Two of us had a lobster and shrimp dish that was not only bland but on the verge of undercooked. The cinnamon ginger chicken as well as the quinoa salmon were also lacking in seasoning or flavor. The rub here is it's not cheap. I expect to get what I pay for but in this case I'm making a donation. It's not all terrible, the spatzle and the gnocchi were very good. The bourbon and scotch lists are impressive and our server was excellent. I gave 3 stars because they did comp the 2 seafood dishes. Maybe we caught them on an off night? read more

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What an enjoyable dining experience! Came here after a recent University of Pittsburgh Women's Choral Ensemble event for a relaxing end to a fun weekend. The interior of this place is super-funky, but we fell in love with it. The bar space itself is incredible, made even more so when we opened up their overwhelming extensive liquor list. O.M.G.!!! We ordered a chopped Greek salad for the table to share, as a starter to the meal. It hit all the right notes and was plenty large for our table of five to split. My wife and I shared an order of lobster and shrimp risotto. It was cooked to perfection, creamy and hearty. The lavish flavors of the shrimp (and especially the lobster) took the dish to another level. Being so rich, it was a great meal to split. Leaving juuuuuuust enough room for dessert, the table decided we'd all share both a cheesecake and a peach bread pudding. Although the cheesecake was kind of dry and unusual in flavor, everyone raved about the peach bread pudding. The meal was a big hit, the space and service charming and approachable and the overall experience one worth repeating...which we most certainly will! read more

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I went to Carmella's the other evening for a pre-concert happy hour & enjoyed it! The happy hour deals on share plates are great (25% off!) - especially with the large share plate menu. We ended up trying most of it & sharing across a group of four (the right size for most of the dishes). My favorites were the meatballs & gnocchi (both delicious & a good sharing size), and I felt that the cheese board was the one I definitely wouldn't order again (just very underwhelming). The cocktails were underwhelming & unbalanced (the "spicy" strawberry margarita was super sweet), but the draft list was huge & had a great variety. The beer is definitely where the drinks shine here. Service was super friendly & our dishes came out paced nicely (which was key because we definitely ordered too much food to fit on our high top haha!). The ambiance of the high top area was cool with heavy curtains separating the tables so you felt a sense of privacy, and the bar had a nice open design with low lighting. I would go back to try their entrees for sure! Food: B Drinks: B- Service: B+ Ambiance: A- read more

Visited Carmella on a Wednesday night with a large group of 8 well after the dinner rush. Here's my thoughts- Pros: The food was amazing. Everyone loved their dinner and drinks. The menu is great and I can guarantee whatever you get you will enjoy. Cons: the service was terrible. Our entire party arrived 15 minutes prior to our reservation time. Not only were we seated late, it took an additional 45 minutes to receive our cocktails & appetizers for the table. When asked if the waitress could put the appetizers on both sides of the table she straight up said "no" and put them all on one side. It took an additional hour for the waitress to come back and take our dinner orders. Also, the staff did not use serving trays so they carried all items in their hands. As you can imagine, serving 8 people drinks+meals when you can only carry one thing at a time in each hand took forever. Once our food was delivered the waitress disappeared. She never came to check on us and eventually the entire table ran out of water in the middle of dinner. No drink refills were offered or provided. In fact, the service was SO slow that the bar closed while we were waiting for dinner to arrive! In the end, we had to frantically wave the waitress over to get the check. Overall it took 2.5 hours from start to finish to eat well after the dinner rush! read more

Such a quaint place. Tabitha is an amazing server. She was on point with everything! The octopus and pork belly appetizers were amazing! Pork chops were yummy and cooked perfectly. Great ambiance. read more

Carmella's Plates & Pints - Smoked Corn Ravioli - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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So new place for me .. others in my party go here for whiskey night .. Obviously on the south side you have street meter parking .. we go lucky with one right out front. When we got here -we elected to eat inside - and the back room had many open seats ... but they do take reservations.. so strongly suggest you call ahead. As we sat there - many of those tables filled up with reservation. We got lucky and was still able to get seated inside ( yes they do have a few tables out front). Believe Carmella was the on who actually sat us as well (owner). The atmosphere was interesting-in a good way.... Spent a little time just checking out the decor...and snapped a few pics. A few drinks were ordered ... they have a full drink menu with many selections. Menus we scanned a bar code to read but one in our party was having issues so they gave us a real menu. Our waitress was great .. friendly and honestly was very attentive as she appeared very busy. Food ... took a few pics ... sorry it was after folks starting attacking their dinners. The lamb is what I had .. so tender. Definitely would get that again. The bass came with sweet corn that the person in my party said was really good ( along with the bass of course). Everyone enjoyed their meal. We were in a bit of a hurry but would have loved to sit there and truly enjoy this place a bit more. On our way out ... it was nice to have at least three employees thank us and wish us a good night that night...definitely a place to try again read more

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Had an excellent brunch today and it was thanks to our server Lydia! She was so attentive and kind. I cannot say enough good things about the Carmellas Breakfast Plate... that bacon was out of this world! Don't forget to use the offer in the Yelp app for $4 infusion, we got the banana Infused whiskey and WOW!! So good! I'll be back for sure! read more

One of the better happy hours. $5 for any wine less than $10. Bar service was quick and very friendly. read more

Carmella's Plates & Pints - Butter Poached Lobster & Shrimp - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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Great food, yummy cocktails, and a delightful ambiance.. The only problem was that the bartender, a lovely young man in a vest, was so funny I could barely leave! Ha! My grandson said he comes here a lot. read more

Happy Hour We didn't realize it, but were pumped to learn that Carmella's does specials every week day 4:30-6:30! $4 Blue Moon or Guinness $5 Select Wine $6 Old Fashioned I sipped on an ELIJAH CRAIG OLD-FASHIONED (which is normally $13) Hand-Picked Barrel, Angostura, Orange Bitter, Simple Syrup. My husband enjoyed a tasty Guinness! Carmella's is a great little spot in the Southside. It's so cozy, they have tonnnns of whiskeys, and the service is good. We didn't have food this time but we've really enjoyed it in the past. I recommend checking this spot out! Especially when it gets colder and they have their fireplace lit & it's even more cozy. read more

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Wow this food was BAD. We got the salmon pasta and the amish pot pie, but you wouldn't know it by looking at our plates. There were only five small salmon meatballs that came in the *34 dollar* salmon dish, and they were horrendous. A cat would've disliked this cat food. The pasta was stiff and underdone. The sauce tasted like nothing. The amish pot pie had little to no veggies, and was as lively as Amish p*rnography. The garlic bread was somehow also bad, which feels like a sin against God to achieve at a restaurant. Our sever was lovely. Ambience was nice. Horrible food. read more