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Penn Brewery

3.6 (412 reviews)
Closed • Closed
Updated 1 week ago

Services - Penn Brewery

Bartending services

Catering services

Venue rental

Penn Brewery Photos

PENN BREWERY ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Classy
Casual
Moderate noise
Outdoor seating

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Recommended Reviews - Penn Brewery

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Reviews With Photos

Flight
Michael F.

Very old building with a long history of brewing. Lots of varieties of beer. I had the large pretzel as a snack, delicious with the beer cheese. Friendly staff, happy to see out of towners.

Pretzel Breaded Cod Sandwich with a side of German Hot Potato Salad.
Steven K.

If you want the slowest service in all of Pittsburgh, then this might just be the place to go. With a party of only 4 people, we waited well over an hour for food. Waitress checked on us maybe once the entire time. Random week night when the restaurant was practically empty so not sure what the issue was. Despite the fact that food took ages to arrive, it did come out pretty tasty. Went with the Pretzel Breaded Cod Sandwich. Tasted good. Not the best fish sandwich ever but had good flavor and was crispy. Onion slices a bit too thick. (Rating: 7/10) Got the German potato salad as my side instead of fries. This was very good. Would recommend. (Rating: 8/10) The beer is always good. Don't matter what you get. Got a pumpkin shandy and it was delish. Overall, not bad. Disappointed in the wait. Decent food though.

Cider
Ken L.

This building is really cool and the space is really big so it's good for groups. They have a basement too. The service however was terribly slow and the waitress didn't check on us. It wasn't crowded on a Sunday afternoon. The cider tasted like a beer and it wasn't good at all. The food looked really mediocre too (it's mostly just bar food) but I didn't eat, my friends did. I like that they have a parking lot as well.

Main entrance to Penn Brewery

First, super thin PLASTIC cutlery is used - thru October 12 2025!! Difficult to cut anything!! Good food, though broccoli was cold. Nice atmosphere Mens restroom clearly needs attention!!

Food and beer was amazing!! Great way to start off the New Year!! Beef stroganoff and the pork schnitzel were so good. The Christmas beers were on point too!

Pierogi
Rick S.

I enjoyed my visit to Penn Brewing sampling locally made Pierogi and Potato Pancakes made in-house along with great beers. The Pittsburgh Steak Egg rolls were significantly different from a Philly Cheese Steak version but enjoying them as well. I ate a lot!

Outdoor seating with decorations
Tiffany Y.

Penn Brewery traces its origins back to 1848 when German families operated breweries here. The current business began to brew craft beer in 1986, but some of the original buildings remain and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. I never drink beer, so I unfortunately cannot review Penn Brewery's beers. Sorry! Instead, I visited Penn Brewery because they also have a restaurant. My husband and I arrived at noon on a Saturday, and we parked our vehicle in a free on-site garage. We felt unsure of where to walk, but we found our way to the front entrance of the restaurant by walking down steps, past stone caves, and up other steps. Penn Brewery's website says that reservations for the restaurant are strongly suggested, but many tables were available during our lunch, so I assume that reservations would be needed instead for a Friday night or Saturday night. Our waitress spoke to us very courteously. She accidentally gave me an outdated menu, so I ordered food that is no longer offered and then had to choose a different food from a new menu. I saw the new menu briefly, but I remember reading about appetizers such as pierogies, poutine, truffle fries, salads, Hungarian goulash, and wings and entrees such as sausage, salmon, and cajun pasta. Prices were moderate. The waitress and another employee brought out our foods after short waits. My husband and I rate the pretzels with cheese and mustard as 5 stars, the potato pancakes with applesauce and sour cream as 3.5 stars, the wienerschnitzel (fried pork sandwich) as 3 stars, the mashed potatoes with gravy as 5 stars, the cod sandwich as 3 stars, the German potato salad as 5 stars, and the apple strudel as 5 stars. Please visit Penn Brewery's website for information about their public events and private parties.

Wienerschnitzel Sandwich
Taryn C.

So this place was good if you're into carbs, more carbs, a side of carbs and wash it down with some beer (carbs). I really wanted authentic pierogis and spaetzel (never had it before). We wanted beer (Pittsburgh is a craft beer town for sure). Penn Brewery made the cut! First, I was confused by the parking situation here. There are spots across the street, but it was a Sunday and it looks like you can't park there during the week or during work hours. When I asked about it, the staff seemed nonplussed. I'm from NYC, we walk everywhere so parking is an after thought usually. But HELLO this is Pennsylvania. Everyone drives here. Give us a clear picture of the parking situation. The staff wasn't all that friendly. We got our food and beverage just fine. Admittedly we were there about two hours before close on a Sunday. But like, I dunno. Fake it? Not my fault you don't like your job. The food was a'ight. The real selling point was the beer, we had the Hefeweizen. Which was pretty fab. We decided to go for the gusto and get basically everything that a Biergarten would be known for (lol): pierogi, spaetzel, schnitzel! I was not impressed. The spaetzel was very bland, the pierogi were okay (in a town known for Eastern European food, they should have been fantastic). The schnitzel IMO was very dry, bland. Again, everything was just okay. If the service was better, we may have given it another try by the time we return. It wasn't terrible. That's all I got.

Fish sandwich
Morgan G.

I enjoyed the atmosphere and food at Penn Brewery. We got the pierogis, potato skins, and I got the fish sandwich as my entree. I liked the potato skins and fish sandwich. The pierogis were really soft, which is authentic but I prefer a little crisp. The sandwich itself was absolutely huge and I thought it was pretty good. I only tried one beer, but plan to go back to try some more. I will say the service was a little slow, but appeared only one waitress working that I saw in our area. I would go back and plan to try more menu items, as there appeared to be a lot of options.

Lindsey C.

I just popped in to grab a beer and had a couple of pretzel sticks as well. Unfortunately, I am an IPA fan and they only had one on tap which was very ok... not very hoppy and the pretzel sticks... dry and ok... just an average experience.

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4 years ago

Our food was phenomenal but our service was terrible. I would go back for food but would pray for a different server.

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3 years ago

Very disappointed. Used to come to the restaurant years ago. Had a chance to go back today. Food was bad all around.

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Page 3 of 11

Ask the Community - Penn Brewery

What do you have in store for the vegan fans of Oktoberfest this year? Can I count on any Impossible Brats or Plant-based sloppy joes?

Hi there - yes, we will be offering vegan brats. Prost!

Can kids under 21 go in here?

Yes they can with supervision of course! :)

Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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Food, yes! Service, absolutely yes!…read moreAmbiance, needs a bit more gnome-ness! 10/10 Parking yes, but Uber, Lyft better for everyone!

No complaints about Blue Sparrow. The food was amazing and so accommodating. I have a nut, dairy…read moreand egg allergy & they let me look at the dairy free cheese ingredients to make sure it was all good! The pizza was amazing. My girl friends and I came after four years of me wanting to come here. I love Gravel Grinder and live close to an OTB so heard of Dancing Gnome from that. Finally made our way there and well, make sure you do not bring young kids. My friend had an 18 month old with us and as she was BUYING a beer from them, the guy who worked there asked if she "could keep the screaming to a minimum." An eighteen month old!!! And Mother's Day is tomorrow, nice. He said that they had to draw a line somewhere and he wasn't kidding. The 18 month old was not running around screaming crying all day. We were outside having the kids play and when my friend was buying a beer he got a bit fussy and was told to keep it to a minimum. Needless to say, we will NOT be coming back. If you have small children, I would not suggest this place. Super disappointing. I've always hyped their beer and place up and now I can't support it. We ended up going to Grist House and it was a WAY better vibe and WAY busier...I wonder why. I should have known when their sign said no dogs allowed.

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Cask conditioned Bitter up front, fruity sour behind.

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Cinderlands Warehouse - Jumbo pretzel

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4.0(321 reviews)
0.6 mi•Strip District
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Mother Nature is keen to the needs of the masses and to give a day with sun and temps 55-60 degrees…read moreprior to spring so we can experience a rooftop and outdoor facility that caters to the eye of the beholder. That Mother Nature is a smart lady!!! We looked over the drink list and food offerings Would not have changed the afternoon snack picks and have found a new place to visit during every season Wings and blue cheese so perfect The chip Dip items was perfect. Again, the Margarita that Heather had was flavor and strength. The replicant Mexican Lager was cold and refreshing. Don't miss this spot...Take a moment to see life from a rooftop...or Not...It will just leave us a normal seat...Just kidding Go now and enjoy the trip. Did I say BEER?

Have been to Cinderlands multiple times & have never done a review. We were just there on a…read moreSunday night. It was nice enough to sit outside. Not super busy & staff was very friendly & attentive. We always enjoy the beers! Our party of 3 took advantage of the Happy hour draft pitchers & had the Archive: Amber Lager - they define it as Classic American amber lager brewed with pilsner, Munich, and crystal malts and hopped gently with Chinook and Willamette. Crisp and a touch toasty. I describe it as awesome I only took one picture tonight of my Pizza!!! Wow!! Full of flavor & cooked perfectly. The Lamb Sausage & Peppers pizza featuring housemade lamb sausage, roasted red peppers, confit tomato, ricotta and burrata cheese, hot honey, and basil. It was amazing. We also shared some of the house made chips & onion dip & wings. Then the rest of our party had the smash burgers. A fun relaxing night!! Definitely will continue to go to Cinderlands warehouse.

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Cinderlands Warehouse - Kale Salad

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2.3 mi•South Side

Velum is a really cool spot. My friends and I like to play pickleball but don't want to be outside…read morewhen Pittsburgh weather is doing Pittsburgh weather things lol. The indoor courts are super nice and it's fun to have access to other games, a delicious food truck, and awesome drinks.

So have you seen that meme out on the InterT00bZ that's like "Hey let's go to that new beer place…read morethey have $27 warm hazy IPAs in the middle of a parking lot?" Yeah, that's the vibe I was getting at Velum. There was a lot to like and a lot to not like about this place, so I'll start with the bad and end on a positive note. First off, it's in an old brewery and it looks like a warehouse. I'm not sure if they still brew their own beers but it straight up looks like an old warehouse. I've seen abandoned warehouses that look less like a warehouse than Velum. Maybe some people like that vibe but I felt like the cops were going to bust in and shut the party down like a teen coming-of-age movie. The taproom is all the way in the back, and so are the bathrooms, so if you break the magic circle, prepare to get your steps in. There's no kitchen. They DO partner with a food truck but they're getting their own review. I paid $10 for an average cocktail and $8 for a 12 oz cider that frankly wasn't that great. Either better drinks or bigger drinks, please. And everything is community seating. I don't hate the idea but I didn't care for the vibe so when I found a smaller table my friend and I grabbed it and boarded it. With that being said, there was a lot to like too. First off, we were there for a pinball night, and they have a great selection of pinball tables there, both classic and modern. I really would have liked information on joining a pinball league, but that wasn't offered anywhere that I could find. Plus on that particular night it was $10 for all-you-can-play, so we definitely got our money's worth there. The staff that I did interact with were super nice. That goes a long way and saved this from being a worse review. And the place is dog friendly, which is always a huge plus for me. All in all, I had a decent night. But the question as always is if I'll go back. Unfortunately, probably not of my own accord. If there's another pinball event, I'll definitely go, but it's not going into my rotation of cool spots. Not every place is meant for me, and that's fine.

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Velum Fermentation
Velum Fermentation
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Penn Brewery - german - Updated May 2026

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