Located inside the hotel, a great bar to grab a cocktail and even food. There's a bar area with limited seats but tons of super comfortable seating throughout the lobby area. There's no cocktail menu, but they can make you something or suggest a drink if you tell them what you like. All of our drinks were good and well made. Service was terrific. Very friendly and personable. They were also quick with the orders. You can order from the Terrace Room menu as well while sitting at the bar area. Very convenient and easy to get to if staying at the hotel. read more

See all

This review is exclusively for the afternoon tea experience. I've eaten here a couple of times and I've had impressions of it being unremarkable. However, I was looking for a space to host a bridal shower afternoon tea for ten ladies and it came down to selecting between Johnston House & William Penn. In the end I chose this place because it had the classic old world afternoon tea service attributes I wanted, including loose leave tea (vs tea bag), and butler service. Gluten free offering was a bonus. The space turned out to be just the perfect setting for our lovely happy gathering and I couldn't have had a more charmed experience for our special celebration. read more

Palm Court - Afternoon tea service - New American Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Such a pleasant surprise... located inside the Omni William Penn Hotel. Service was good and the food was too. It was reasonably priced--especially for a hotel restaurant. The gumbo was really good. And the spinach salad was great. Their lemon cream berry cake is to die for. And they have a good Australian red wine. We are there two times during our stay. Highly recommend! read more

Went here today for their Sunday Brunch buffet and was quite disappointed! While the omelette (misspelled on the menu) and prime rib were decent, the rest was a hot mess. There were no breakfast potatoes, toast, bagels, etc. and most of the fruit was quite sour. The service was poor and, when the bill came, there was an automatic gratuity of 22.5% added. This is ILLEGAL since there was no notice of an automatic gratuity on the menu. I would certainly not choose to tip this high of an amount since the food was buffet and the service was poor. I told the waitress that there was no notice of the gratuity on the menu but she did not care. Seems to be a definite lack of motivation to provide good service when the gratuity is automatic. WILL NOT BE RETURNING TO THIS RESTAURANT! read more

We went to Palm Court last night for dinner. The service is slow so I suggest you sit in the lobby portion of the restaurant, order a drink, and enjoy the people watching while you wait. I ordered the spinach salad. It was plenty big for my meal but it was as if I just had a bag of spinach with feta cheese poured on top. There were a couple pieces of apple thinly sliced on each side of the salad. The apple was extremely sour and just didn't work well with the dressing on the spinach. My son got a hamburger which he said was very salty. Overall I would say our experience was average. I would probably give it a lower rating if we had a time constraint. read more

Ordered the Grilled Salmon with Succotash, rice pilaf and lemon butter. It was delicious! Service was excellent as well. Will be back. read more

Palm Court - a meal in a plastic container - New American Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

I'd rate Palm Court three and a half stars. I appreciated that they were one of the few bars in the area that was open mid day on a Monday. I grabbed a beer and my wife got a cocktail. They had three beers on draft. We had a chicken sandwich with fries to accompany our drinks. Service was very attentive and helpful. The atmosphere is nice; it's located inside the William Penn Hotel. read more

I stopped for lunch at Palm Court with my aunt after we needed to be downtown for some errands. I love the Omni and always have because the ornate building and the ambiance just feel special and luxurious. That being said.... lunch didn't quite fit those feels. My aunt had a ceasar salad, but they said they couldn't make it for her with iceberg lettuce instead of the romaine like she asked. She has trouble with the spines of romaine so they did offer to use mixed greens instead - which helps but isn't what she asked for. She did enjoy the salad overall though. I had the OWP Club sandwhich. I didn't have super high expectations from a club sandwhich, which is probably for the best, because it wouldn't have met them of I did anyway. It was a large quantity of turkey, and it was assembled well, but it was nothing out of the ordinary or anything fancy. It came with no condiments so I asked the waiter for honey mustard and he offered to look for it or even make me some (thus leading us into 4 star territory)! Now. The best parts were the Rosemary Sweet Potato Fries and desserts. I love sweet potatoes and all sorts of fries, but those rosemary ones are some of the best I've ever had. I would 100% order them again. We also each got a post - lunch dessert. I had the Panna Cotta which was the perfect balance of light, creamy, fluffy and citrus zest. The best Panna Cotta I've eaten to date. She had the banana cake. We were really please to find out that the portions were big enough to share, and both of them were sooo good. Other small notes: They do not serve from their breakfast/lunch/dinner menus outside a certain time frame. We had asked about the possibility of a waffle for lunch and were told no. I did not care for the iced tea. I am unsure if it's typical as I havent eaten there before. Maybe it was a batch issue or just my own particular preference. They use paper straws. I understand the supposed eco-friendliness of paper straws but I cannot stand them taste wise nor texturally. I wish places asked before providing you one so that it could be EVEN MORE eco-friendly not to waste it on me for no reason. read more

Treated my mom to Royal Tea for her birthday, and we had a lovely time! I had made reservations for us about a month in advance (recommend res just to secure a spot), and we were both looking forward to the visit. Valet parking is offered at the Omni, but if just visiting for tea and not staying at the hotel, recommend street parking - I luckily snagged a spot right in front of the hotel. We arrived early, so walked around the hotel a bit - if you have a few minutes to spare, definitely do this, it's beautiful!! We were a little confused on where the Palm Court was in the hotel, but we saw some tables set up for tea right in the lobby, so assumed that was it! The decor for tea is beautiful - large comfy chairs, beautiful red and white China and the most delicate and lovely tea cup/saucer/strainer. We went for the Royal Tea, which includes a cocktail in addition to tea and the accompanying food. My mom and I both ordered the Kir Royale at the recommendation of our waitress, and we both loved it! The drink is a glass of champagne with a shot of Chambord in it- an unexpected combo but perfect to accompany our tea. I ordered the Wild Berry tea, which had a rich and flavorful profile with raspberries, blueberries, vanilla, and caramel - the longer it sat, the more delicious it was. My mom got the chocolate tea, which was so decadent and warm. You are provided with a full mini carafe of your selected tea, enough for about 4 cups! The food menu is pre-set and includes tea sandwiches, scones, fresh fruit, and mini desserts. I most enjoyed the smoked salmon and homemade biscuit tea sandwich (so flavorful and the homemade biscuit was a nice touch), lemon blueberry scone (the perfect sweetness and paired well with the clotted cream), and French take on tiramisu (name escapes me, but had the classic espresso and chocolate flavor but with more bittersweet chocolate to not make it as overwhelming). All other food was excellent too, just didn't particularly care for the egg salad sandwich. We were given so many mini desserts that we wound up taking most of them home to enjoy another day :) We wound up staying at tea for about 2 hours, but never were pressured to leave, which I appreciate! This is a lovely outing for mothers and daughters, a group of girlfriends, or a bridal party. It is a little pricey (my main reason for 4 vs 5 stars), but totally worth for a special occasion and considering all you get as well as the atmosphere. Looking forward to coming back again with some girlfriends! read more

See all

We took our young granddaughters to high tea at the Palm Court this afternoon. It was a very enjoyable experience which I rate at four stars, although I have no basis of comparison, since this was my first high tea. The food consisted of a couple of tiny sandwiches and a very good assortment of pastries for desert. The function of the sandwich service was to reduce the well-deserved guilt arising from the desert course. The food was pretty good and the service was excellent. At least half of the value comes from the beautiful surroundings. It's a pretty pricey indulgence, with the cost for the four of us exceeding the price of at least 10 large pizzas. It was a 4 star experience, but not a 4 star meal. read more

They honestly have no clue about how to do a High Tea, so I'd skip that in favor of the happy hour, which has the unusual nibbles and cheap drink prices that you really want, and the lobby location really hearkens back to an earlier era. There's no dress code, which is a plus and a minus, but as long as you have company it won't matter too much. I can't see making this a regular stop but something to try once for sure to experience the William Penn's vibe. It's super-public - everybody coming and going will see you and vice versa -- so if that's not your thing, take note. I kinda like doing this every now and then. I thought I saw Betty Draper order a Gimlet. I note as ever you can order "off menu" if you ask the server, since there's but the one kitchen for the five food/drink venues in the hotel. read more

The Palm Court at Happy Hour is underrated. They have great drink specials. Half price small plates including oysters. They have a special called "oysters and bubbles" with 1.00 oysters and 2.00 prosecco. It's really one of the better happy hours in downtown Pittsburgh. The Palm Court is inside the Omni William Penn Hotel so it is beautiful and spacious inside. Even when busy there's plenty of seating and good service. I mean the place is freaking gorgeous. Very fancy looking but no dress code worries. There's no music really so the atmosphere is very relaxed. Large comfortable chairs or a large dinning room. place for cheap drinks and food in a fancy atmosphere. If you have never been give it a try. read more

Palm Court - Whiskey and oysters - New American Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

See all

I want to start by saying, I took my mother to high tea here a few years ago and thought it was a very nice experience, so for her Christmas/birthday present this year, I wanted to try it again since she liked it so much the first time. I called the Omni to schedule a reservation and the woman said, "oh, you have to schedule that on open table now, but I'll try to transfer you to them and see if they will answer." I guess that should have been my first indication of their ineptness. Of course, they didn't answer. So, I went back to their website and clicked on the link that said "scheduled a reservation" or something along those lines. It tried to take me to open table but I got an error message. Should have been my second indication. If you can't keep your website updated, you probably don't care about your company/facility at all. I ended up downloading the app and doing a search. I made the reservation and put in the comments to please call, text or email me if this wasn't something they could do because it was such an ordeal, I was afraid that might be the case. Well, yesterday was the day of our reservation. Mind you, it's snowing like crazy and my car is sliding all over the place, but I was excited to take my mother to this, so I stuck it out and drove all the way downtown from Delmont. I get there, go to the valet (who was incredibly nice. Give that guy a raise!), then go in and up to the hostess. Here's where the problem starts. I wait until she's ready because she was on the phone, then when she's done, I say, "hi, I had a reservation for high tea." She INSTANTLY sucks her teeth and says, "we don't have high tea on Friday" with the worst attitude like I was ruining HER day! I said, "well, I put in the comments to call me if this was going to be the case." She says, "yeah, I did call you and I told you this." Sorry b*tch, but if we spoke, do you think I would have driven my elderly mother all the way there in a snow storm? What, because I care so much about you, all I could think about that day was what I could do to somehow ruin YOUR day? Anyway, she goes on to say, "yeah, I talked to you, you're the 301 number, right?" Um, no. I'm 304. So now we've established that she was wrong and she never spoke to me, which, duh! But does she admit that? Again, pretty damn sure I wouldn't drive there in a snowstorm had I spoken to this woman, but pop off, I guess. God forbid you apologize, or, I don't know, OFFER TO SEAT US FOR YOUR REGULAR LUNCH INSTEAD?!?! No way! That would just be too logical. Just stand there and argue with me about something YOU DIDN'T DO and can't even prove because IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. I even checked my voicemail and my last one was from 12/9. I scheduled this on 12/21, so yeah, she most certainly didn't speak to me, nor did she leave me a voicemail. I wasn't even upset about not getting the high tea by the end of it, I was just flat out pissed over the way this woman gave me attitude for HER INEPTNESS!! I get that her life is miserable and she has no discerning qualities, but, not my problem. You decided to work customer service, so if you hate your customers that much, maybe find a new job. I'll get you a call center job and then you can put customers on mute while you give them attitude. That would fit your personality a whole lot better. Needless to say, we won't be back, and by the looks of your other reviews, not very many other people will either. Next time you want to accuse your customers of being wrong, maybe get your facts straight first, but also, make accommodations for something else, like a GOOD restaurant does. It's simple, you mess up, you fix it. Give me a damn coupon for a whopping 10% off next time or something if you can't even be kind enough to ask we would like a table to eat lunch after YOUR mistake. Bottom line, avoid this place like the plague and don't make direct eye contact with the hostess if you decide to take your chances. read more

See all

The hotel is spectacular and the environment is very nice. However my experience was not so great. I was attending a conference - during my first night there, I had a nice experience at the bar ordering "house wine" that I was billed for $9 per glass. The following night I asked for the exact order and was surprised to see my card was charged for over $24. Also during this time they also asked for my room number EVEN though I had already had given my card. When I asked about the high charge for the wine I was told that was the house wine price and apparently the night before the bartender didn't charge me correctly. I would have never paid that price for a house wine as it was not that great..... Not a happy customer. read more

Bartender yelled at my party for cursing. Said my curse words would be offensive to children in the bar area. This was after they served me a horrendous Cobb salad where the avocado was hard as a rock and the chicken was completely raw. read more

Find a local high tea (Johnson House in the North, Boston Shoppes in the South, Inn at Negley near town) and skip this one if you have experienced the William Penn in any way. The hotel is lovely and grand, especially at Christmas, and deserves a visit, but get a coffee at the Starbucks inside and enjoy the lobby. At $30-$38 per person, tea is "meh" at best. Our service was truly sub-par. After standing at the entry for 5 minutes I asked the bartender to find someone who could seat our party of 6 for our reservation. 5 minutes later someone came out and shuffled us to a table. 5 minutes later our waitress made one of the few visits to our table, none of which were particularly helpful or interactive. The finger sandwiches were absolutely stale. The tiny scones were flavorless and the servings of accompaniments sparse. There were a few slices of fruit on the top tier, and tiny treats (we had to ask what they were) in the middle. High tea at the William Penn has been an institution for decades, and it is so disappointing to see the management let it crumble like their scones. read more

Palm Court afternoon high tea was dreadfully disappointing. Bland and stale food. Non existent wait staff. Seating was next to a bar with loud drunk wedding guests. So bizarre. Avoid the high tea. Do yourself a favor and try Frick Cafe tea, far superior in quality of prep, ingredients, freshness, taste, and wait staff. Im so annoyed at myself for not going there instead. Oh well, live and learn. read more

Very disappointed in this place. Ordered the Caesar salad and crispy skin salmon. The salad was on point but the salmon was a joke. I'm not sure the chef here even knows what crispy skin salmon is. The salmon didn't even have skin and the top side of the salmon was seared and served facing up...overcooked and dry. 2 star food and 4 star prices. This place can do better and you can too by eating somewhere else. read more