I went here with my friends before going to a show at The Benedum and it was a blast! I made a…read morereservation for 5:30 pm on a Friday and we got seated immediately. Our table had two servers assigned to us, which was interesting. I'll be honest, I was skeptical of the prices and that I would leave hungry, but I was proven wrong! I was extremely full, and we went during happy hour so we got one of those deals! Split between 3 people, the bill was pretty reasonable! We each got a personalized wine flight. I got a rosé, Riesling, and Pinot Grigio - the rosé was my fav! Everything else we ordered: -Whipped Sheep's cheese w/ truffle honey + chips -Jamón & Manchego Croquetas (happy hour deal) -Patatas Bravas (happy hour deal) -Mussels + homemade sausage -Albondigas aka spiced meatballs (happy hour deal) -Bacon wrapped dates -Potato tortilla -Spiced beef empanadas -Espresso martini -Chocolate cake Overall I really enjoyed everything! Hard to pick a favorite, but I'd say my least favorite thing was the bacon-wrapped dates (I just don't eat dates very much). I was a little disappointed in the size of the empanadas, I'm used to eating bigger ones from other restaurants, but they were still very tasty! The food came out fast and was super fresh! Our main server Becca was funny, relatable, and really made this such a fun experience! She also treated us to the sangria chug (not sure if that's the official name but that's what I'm calling it lol). The dim lighting and dark decor makes a perfect ambiance for a girls night or date night!

Barcelona Wine Bar is a nationwide chain with a location in downtown Pittsburgh…read more They've got over 400 wines as well as cocktails. Service for dinner and weekend brunch. I've only ever been for brunch and the offerings were delicious. We chose from an array of tapas that included olive oil pancakes, roasted carrots, gambas al ajillo, hummus, focaccia and more. I had a glass of Tierra Limpia (brut/sparkling) that was very good. The atmosphere is modern with European flair. Good service.

Visited Palm Palm for Mother's Day dinner and had a great experience. The food was flavorful,…read morebeautifully plated, and fresh. The lobster rolls were delicious, the salmon was cooked perfectly, and the pistachio dessert was amazing. Our server, Daron, was attentive, friendly, and made the experience even better despite the holiday rush. Great food and great service and a beautiful atmosphere. I'll definitely be back.

A classy atmosphere with endless options of culinary excellence!…read more At the top of most Pittsburgh searches for trendy restaurants, Palm Palm delivers on all aspects. Simplistic, covered parking with a large parking structure attached to the restaurant. Elegance encapsulated with the high ceilings, modern fixtures, and classy atmosphere. The food is next level. With so many awesome small plate options, we decided to get drinks and share in the opportunities. This may be of benefit, as Palm Palm brings out food when it is ready instead of waiting to serve a full course to a party. Let's review the small plates: - Roasted Broccoli Caesar - roasted tender and perfectly coated with the brioche and parm - Focaccia Bread Board - fluffy, salty focaccia with somewhat simplistic board options of butters and jam - Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup Dumplings - easily our favorite bite!! Served in a spoon with creamy soup floating a perfectly filled dumpling of cheese goodness - Truffle Spaghettios - hello childhood, you missed the mark. These spaghettios may have you thinking nostalgia but the flavors are stellar. - Mini Lobster Rolls - chilled, copious lobster on a buttery crisp roll... shhhh they brought us a second one for free!!! - Waygu Meatballs - the plating is top notch. Little meatball holders to allow the French onion to soak in and the cheesy to perfectly melt across them all. Melt in your mouth meatballs with seasoning to make your want another! - Classic Oysters - a nice starter for the birthday boy! For drinks, we loved their homemade sodas - Lemon Ginger, Strawberry Passion Fruit, & Sunset Fire added the perfect sip between bites! And of courseeeee... you need desserts! Why not turn them into shareable small plates too!! - The Orange - levels of orange flavor perfectly paired together with sweetness to enhance the palate and enjoy! - Dark Desire - rich, dark chocolates with flairs of chocolate work. So goooood!! - Key Lime Pie - wooowww citrus overload. But so moist and yummy. Our waitress was phenomenal. Giving great suggestions, ensuring we always had dishes cleared and glasses filled... and even telling us menu changes that made some dishes not worth it anymore. Wow!! This is celebration station too! With the sparkler extraordinaire almost every table was celebrating someone or something while we were there. It's no surprise that this place is, was, and will be a trendy spot in Pittsburgh!!

This is a cozy, classy spot tucked in by Bridges and Bourbon. Perfect spot for a drink and a snack…read morebefore or after dinner! We got the "girl dinner" which was pork rinds and popcorn. Both had great flavor, with the pork rinds having good heat. For dessert we had down the rabbit hole, which was a carrot cake. It was excellent! So moist and tasty. The walnuts lacked the brown butter flavor, but the cake was exceptional. We really enjoyed our visit!

Whisper was a pretty cool little spot. My friend wanted dessert one night so we found this place…read moreand decided to check it out. It was pretty quiet when we went with only a few people inside but the ambiance was nice. The décor is modern and really cute. We sat at the bar and the bartender was super attentive, which made the experience even better. I ordered the chocolate cake and my friend got the carrot cake. Both were amazing. We ended up wanting something salty to balance the sweets so we tried the flatbread pizza too and that was pretty good overall. My only wish is that the vibe inside was a little more alive and lit because this seems like it could be a really cool spot with the right energy. Still definitely worth a visit if you're craving dessert.

We stopped by on a whim for an after dinner drink last Wednesday evening. We asked for a table…read moresince the bar didn't have enough seats for all four of us and were told the tables were for people eating food but we could sit in the lounge area that's the area to the right of the bar. We were told we had to go up to the bar to order but someone from the bar came and took our orders. The person who carded made a big deal about carding us and would remark on our ages which was kind of weird. We got our drinks and while they were on the pricey side, they were pretty good. The lounge area has a nice fireplace which was cozy.

Diner and drinks with a friend. We tried the two charity cocktails of the month, which both sounded…read moregood, but I found the pomegranate one lacking flavor. Dinner was better. Had the side of macaroni au gratin and a half of the butternut squash salad, and it was still so big I took part home for lunch. And we saw friends on our way in and our way out!

My wife wanted to have burger. Lot 17 did not disappoint her. She likes it pink and it was cooked…read moreto perfection. She also gave two thumbs up to the sweet potato fries. I usually get their wings (top notch), but decided to try the Jalapeno Steak Wrap--it was fabulous. The beer selection is always extensive and diverse. They had a Guinness special along with a deal on Broken Heels. The bartender was attentive without being overbearing and the vibe is always pleasant. One of the owners stopped by to check on us as well. We will be back soon.

It's been a really long time since I had food this good eating out to be honest. The food was good,…read moreit didn't upset my stomach after, and it was reasonably priced. All these things seem like the bare minimum, but it truly isn't in this day and age. I feel like getting anything with steak when you're eating out is risky, but I got the steak wrap and it was cooked to perfection. The staff was so nice. Place was very clean. I will definitely be back.

I had high hopes for The Millhouse in The Joinery Hotel. The restaurant had a cute atmosphere, and…read moreit is tucked away in a cute, little boutique hotel. My friends and I visited during Restaurant Week, and the menu looked really great. Boy, was I wrong. The bartenders were also the waiters so service was VERY slow. They had trouble seating my group of 3, and they even sat us right next to the supply cart and refused to seat us downstairs where there was plenty of seating. We ordered drinks, and many of our orders were wrong. I, fortunately, really enjoyed my passion fruit cocktail. We proceeded to order off the Restaurant Week menu. Our appetizers came out, and we all really loved the smoked clam chowder. After that, service went completely downhill. Our waiter was not attentive at all. At one point, he completely forgot about our entrées, and we waited about an hour for our waiter to even realize. I ordered the cacio e pepe ravioli, and they were not great. My friend thought her pot roast was OK, and my other friend really loved the fried chicken. Once again, when it was time for dessert, we waited another 30 to 45 minutes to order and get our dessert. They had forgotten about us again. By that time, it was the end of the night and all the desserts were gone so we couldn't even get what we wanted, which was chocolate creme brulee. They allowed us to order whatever dessert we wanted. I got the lemon bar and my friends got the tiramisu. The lemon bar was so ridiculously tart that you couldn't even eat it. My friends liked their Tiramisu but it was nothing special. In the end, the service was absolutely atrocious, and I will not be back. They did comp us our meals and we paid for our drinks, but I wasted a good 3 hours of my life at this restaurant. The restaurant wasn't even busy, so there truly was no excuse for the poor service. They definitely did not seem prepared for Restaurant Week.

We're in Pittsburgh for the Steelers game and staying at The Joinery Hotel. We decided to have…read morebreakfast at their restaurant, The Mill House, and it did not disappoint. The moment you walk in, the place smells like smoked wood--so cozy, with a wonderful, inviting ambiance. From the looks of it, the morning was busy with just one server and the chef running the show. As it got busier, the chef was the one who brought us the menu, while the server remained incredibly attentive--smiling, friendly, and present with every table. You would never have known she was the only server working; she never missed a beat. As the crowd grew, the chef stepped out from the kitchen to run food, clear plates, and bus tables. And now, let me tell you about the breakfast--because eggs should never be taken for granted. The eggs were perfectly cooked over medium, with crispy edges just the way I like them. The bacon was spot on, and the cubed potatoes... oh my goodness. Perfectly seasoned, golden brown and crunchy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside. For "just breakfast," it was honestly perfect. The teamwork between the server and the chef was amazing--you could tell they genuinely enjoy what they do. The server was extremely gracious, kind, and helpful. This was hands down one of the best breakfast experiences I've had in a long time--good enough that I felt compelled to write about it.

Highly recommend this place and highly recommend getting there early! Limited seating in this…read moretrendy gluten free friendly bar/lounge. They do not take reservations and we joked about there being a line. Well, when we showed up 10 minutes before opening, there was indeed a line. However, we went on Valentine's Day to one of the only GF places in the city, so that was to be expected. They were able to accommodate our party of seven no problem, and the staff were so friendly. Our server was amazing. One of our party members is hard to please, but our waiter was on top of it! We ordered a variety of apps for the table - wings, brussel sprouts, and fried provolone. All tasted fantastic. My husband and I agreed we would come just for the wings alone. Perfect smokey flavor. We got the hot buffalo garlic and they weren't super spicy. The marinara with the fried provolone was creamy and delicious. The Brussels were your standard side that every place has with the balsamic glaze. Not mushy at all and the garlic aioli was the best touch. We saw the food coming out and had to make room... the portions are huge! I could only finish half my burger and took the rest home. It was juicy, full of flavor, and easy to handle. Sometimes when you get a massive burger it ends up so sloppy and the toppings just slide off. Not with this! Perfectly stacked and ready to be devoured. The fries were a little greasy but still crispy. They earned my crisp seal of approval! The drinks were strong and everybody loved them. I got the blushing lady and it was sweet but not overly sweet and I could actually taste the spirits. Fantastic bar food options for people who are GF. We visited for the first time because someone in our group was GF and we would definitely go back!

Mullet's was an unbelievable experience. Being gluten free, I was so happy to be able to have…read moreanything on the menu because that's never the case! We started with the onion petals which was their weekly special and can't get over how good they were. The breading and sauce were amazing, and they used red onion which we thought was so different! The chicken sandwiches were unbelievable and they give you so much food. They also have really good gluten free buns (that's not always the case at other restaurants). Another thing to note is the servers were incredibly nice and helpful! My only complaint is the service was a little slow, but they were really busy. Highly recommend!!

Here's a place that offers locally sourced foods with the misson of getting you to think globally…read more The food is very good, and is not your typical fare. The drinks are outstanding, all hand-crafted. The photographs on display are thoughtful and support a theme of international justice. The live music is quite good. There's a funky bohemian vibe that is all part of a unique experience.

Y'all. Yinz. Yes, I mean you (plural)…read more Stop what you're doing and change your dinner plans, because you need to meet your crew at this unassuming eatery with adult beverages. It may look like a hole-in-the-wall, but inside it's shabby chic (with the nicest bar bathroom I've seen in a while), and there's an outdoor space that can be re-arranged to host a group of almost any size. Plus, the music was speaking to me: it began with "99 Luftballons" and ended with "All the Small Things" from Blink-182 ("Work sucks / I know"). I met some girlfriends there on a Friday evening, and we split the Norwegian, vegetarian mezze, and Basque mussels platters. 1 per person seemed to be the right ratio, and everyone had enough to eat from the finger-licking variety. We enjoyed our meal while watching / listening to / feeling the rumble from the freight trains passing beneath us and across the railroad bridge over the river. (#ThatsSoPGH) The proprietess is a chef first and foremost, but the cocktails are hardly second rate. I really want to give a shout-out to the hard-working bartender! Although the margarita was mostly grapefruit juice, the whiskey sour was delicious, and the old fashioned was just different enough to be interesting. Beware! When the menu says the Oaxaca Sunset is spicy, they mean it! (It was too spicy for me.) To top it all off, after the sun had set, while we were trying to decide whether to wrap things up, a wild raccoon crested the hill and looked confusedly at all of us humans, as if to say, "Scram! It's my turn to eat!" Our little group paid up and left, at any rate, with plans to come back.

I was fortunate to have gone to the Table Magazine happy hour tasting, and overall, I was pretty…read moreimpressed with Sakari's offerings. The one downside of the tasting was that many of the items up for grabs weren't on the actual menu, so we ended up ordering a few extra items to get a more accurate idea of what Sakari was up to. Overall, the atmosphere is excellent. Would it be so nice without the incredible view of the city? I'm not sure, but the restaurant is very modern and uses a dark palette throughout, which works fine since there's so much light from the windows. The service was so-so, and probably the real down point of the experience. Perhaps it was the free tasting concept in the wait staff's mind, but many people were still ordering food off of the regular menu (we spent $90 on two rolls, the grilled cheese small plate, and a glass of $13 rosé), so I'm not sure why the waiters/waitresses seemed so disinterested. I would've been even more disappointed if this was the service provided, say, on a romantic evening when the bill would quickly escalate to the $120-150 range. They were fast to clear the table, but it was almost disruptive, as the staff continually interrupted conversations, reached over us for plates while we weren't quite finished, and even spilled stuff on my wife's purse. Really made for a meh experience. The food, though, was good...I think. I'm torn, as Monterey Bay promotes their use of fresh fish (and the fish used WAS wonderful), but the sushi rolls were sort of victims of trying so hard to be unique that the fish becomes a backdrop to the other 5 ingredients in each roll. We tried about a dozen things, from fish-focused rolls and savory wagyu rolls, to dessert rolls, and almost all of them suffered from this. If I'm being honest, my favorite item from the evening was the sashimi. It was melt-in-your-mouth good. Which is probably why I walked away feeling like the rest of the rolls were overthought. If you have access to such incredible cuts of fish, why disguise the quality for the sake of trying to fit every flavor profile imaginable in each roll? Don't get me wrong, the rolls were all tasty, but if you pay $20 on a roll, I think I'd prefer to taste what I'm really paying for: the fish. Presentation, though, is spot-on, so the chefs certainly aren't slacking behind the bar. The two non-sushi things that we tried were the dumplings and the grilled cheese small plate. The dumplings were awesome, with a pork sausage filling and a sweet sauce lining the plate. I was a bit surprised by how large the portion was, as well. The grilled cheese was good, but I probably wouldn't get again. It's simply too filling, and the stomach space would be better spent on the sush/fish options. All-in-all, Sakari has loads of potential. The atmosphere and view are sensational. The staff is okay, but could use work on reading their customer's needs (the bussing of the tables was disruptive, but they at least kept waters topped off) and giving off a more positive vibe...epecially for the type of bills they're handing to customers. Perhaps, most importantly, the food is creative - almost to a fault - and delicious, so let's hope they pull everything together and make Sakari a top restaurant in experience, and not just elevation.

I thought it was exciting news when our neighborhood seafood restaurant with the best views of…read morePittsburgh decided to remodel and add a sushi bar! We decided to go check it out on a Saturday night. Unfortunately the dinner turned into a comedy of errors: a tray of water glasses was spilled over Joe and our neighboring table's guests, the $20 appetizer we ordered was served at room temp, I received the wrong wine, and finally when it came time to pay our $90 bill, I was mistakenly charged triple that amount and the manager had to void it out. Although they did provide a free round of drinks for the water incident, I felt that for such a nice restaurant we should have received better customer service. The positives? Pretty good sushi rolls and a fantastic view of the city. Wanted to enjoy this local spot but will likely not be returning.

Another excellent evening at Uncorked and our first time with music. Large crowd so glad we got…read morethere early. Mason was a top notch server and added to our enjoyment of the food by her descriptions of what to expect. My favorite remains the stuffed peppers. They are special. Go for the food. Go for the music. Just go!!!

Lovely little jazz bar/restaurant located on the main strip of Sharpsburg! Came in to see my…read morefriends perform and an amazing atmosphere. 100% PLEASE GET A RESERVATION!! I've been turned away before because most of the seating is reserved. If you really want a spot, always better to book ahead. The restaurant is like a long rectangle shape so it's tough to really get a good view of the band unless you're seated near them. I love the way their menu is formatted it's so fun and a ton of great options. Opted for the salmon papardelle with a bread app and of course a lychee martini. All dishes were fantastic as always and this is a great date night spot!!