I was pleasantly surprised by the squirrel hill cafe. I'd call it a neighborhood dive bar, for that, it was great. They have a few beers on tap, not a lot, and the Guinness was out tonight, bummer. Then there are bottles and cans. No list, so you have to try to see what's in the fridge or try to get the attention of the busy bar tenders. I did find a counter of good dark lager type beers. The menu is limited. I had a burger. It was good, although they forgot the mushrooms. But the price was right. And the fries were good. Overall a fun place for a beer and burger with friends. read more

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This is a great night spot to slip into we weren't done with drinks so we continued with some food. The mozzarella sticks were hot and cheesy. The burger was delicious and enough for two to share. Great vibe overall and friendly servers and bartender. Adding this to list of fav spots in Pittsburgh. read more

Squirrel Hill Cafe - Fried Provolone - Pubs Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Great little bar, very friendly. We had a chef's salad and a cheeseburger with hand cut fries. This was the best burger I've had in Pittsburgh! read more

My college bestie and I were in Pittsburgh for a weekend...random dinner on the first night here. Initial service was SLOW...understaffed but staff was SO nice! Food was reasonably priced...burger was hand pattied and huge...mushrooms were delicious! Kind of a local dive atmosphere but SO MUCH better than anticipated ...would recommend!!!! read more

Squirrel Hill Cafe - Mushroom appetizer - Pubs Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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I'm met a girlfriend at the squirrel Hill Café a couple weeks ago for Lunch and we had the hamburger and french fry and it was one of the best hamburgers I've had for a while. The service was great! I loved old-time atmosphere in there. It's been there a long time just totally enjoyed everything from the service to the food to the ambience! Prices are good too! read more

This place is perfect. Is it the fanciest place? Certainly not. But it has character and amazing, cheap (!!!!!) food and drinks. Seriously- I think every item is under 10$. Service is laid back but always there when you need them. And the ambience... dark, beer signs everywhere, simple tables and booths. Also you may hear people refer to this as "the cage". Perfect place to catch up with friends over some drinks or get affordably buzzed with delicious food. read more

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$25 for two amazing burgers and fries. Divey and laid back bar atmosphere, quick and friendly service. You know it's going to be good when they put a paper placemat down, right?? read more

Squirrel Hill Cafe - Cheeseburger - Pubs Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

All the other reviews tell you what you need to know about beer and food and service, but a real plus is the pinball machine in the back. It's in great shape and it's fun to play. A great hang out. read more

great small spot with great affordable food. Great place to have a drink and catch up with friends!

very good food and very good prices. terrible service, with super rude and slow servers.

Great burgers and fish sandwich. Been here a bunch of times. Food is always great at Extremely reasonable price. read more

Squirrel Hill Cafe - Bacon double cheeseburger. One pound of meat. Good luck finishing it. - Pubs Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Best burgers in Pittsburgh!! Great bar selection. Parking lot across street. A local institution. read more

Beers during a break in the UAA conference meet at Carnegie Mellon. Hole in the wall, dive bar w great service and cold beer. Limited food menu. read more

Great food and service. We have been in a few times I. The last couple of months and always have a good experience. Highly recommend!

I have been coming to the Cage since 2017 and have made so many fond memories here. Whether it's just a delicious draft beer and burger after work or celebrating a birthday with friends it's always a fun time. It's a dive bar and I do have to say I miss the days when smoking inside was okay, but if you are sensitive to smoke it is now smoke free. The service is excellent and the food is affordable. read more

Cheap beer, good food, but they have horrible service. I tried to pay for my beer with my card and they told me there's a $10 minimum. There are no signs to indicate this and I was not informed upfront about this policy. Also, the older woman working the bar took my friend's ID and my other friends passport into the back and left the establishment 3 times to verify they weren't fake (we are all 24). Someone's valuable personal information should ever leave the building. read more

The world is a better place, because the squirrel cage exists with all the heart and soul of the neighborhood watering spot that we so badly need And yes they have gotten ride of smoking but kept the great late night food with an old school jukebox and video games This is a place which has been much revered by pitt and cmu graduate students and professors who blend in with just a myriad of great pittsburgh characters That means leave any pretense at the door Like many businesses this place was affected by Covid But please do everything you can to support this institution And by the way the best burger in town and never had a bad thing off the menu Go alone bring friends or just stop in to appreciate that a place like this still exists read more

Tina is a very nice and caring bartender. Taco Mondays are Excellent!! Old school charm read more

I've been coming here for the past few months. The dude behind the bar is dope, but the beers and especially the food is a really good price! If I'm knowing I'm gonna get hungry while I'm drinking, I'm always heading here. Great spot. read more

We stopped in for a quick lunch while shopping. The BLT and onion rings were delicious, but the star was Jan the server. She sat down with us and chatted while we waited for our food. We will definitely go back and try a burger and catch up with Jan! read more

The service was awful. The food was mediocre. I ordered a cocoa cola that had no sweetness. The waitress said that was the way their coke tastes. My husband ordered soup. After waiting at least 45 minutes, it was literally thrown down at him. It was only a little more than half full and tasted terrible. That was sent back, along with the coke. The burgers finally came almost an hour after we got there. The fries were cold. The burgers were large, cooked well, but pretty tasteless. We will never return to this establishment. read more

One of the true squirrel hill neighborhood - divey in a good way bars left a n squirrel hill. Friendly service , cheap beee and good cheap food. read more

Squirrel Hill Cafe - a man watching television in a bar - Pubs Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Very dark, smoky atmosphere (not from Pittsburgh so didn't know you could still smoke in bars) This place had some amazing homemade burgers! The fries were crispy and fresh read more

Squirrel Hill Cafe - Pubs Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Great spot with good food, beers, and people. Billy is an awesome guy and you can tell he cares for his customers and business. Definitely worth the try if you've never had it read more

It gives me no pleasure to write this. The last time I was at the cage, I was with two friends after playing some rec basketball at the JCC. We sat at the bar, and the room was almost entirely empty. We sat right where the bartender was; he had his back turned toward us, was an older guy. We said hi, everything seemed cordial enough. Then we waited as the bartender served the other tables. And then we waited as the bartender stood close by us. We even asked if we could order something, and the bartender pretended not hear us, looked around us, and refused to engage with us. We left after 20 minutes. We couldn't get served. My friends are both black, and they said to me (I'm white), "now you know what it's like." It was extremely depressing. We went down to the Murray Avenue Grill and were served immediately. I never had trouble getting served there before and I had enjoyed that particular establishment. But, all the charm of the place has been lost to me and I won't give it another chance. This was about 4 years ago. read more

Good late night food place ..fish sandwich was on point ..to be 11pm at night u can't beat this place

We hit the Squirrel Cage last night for something different. While we normally don't go to bars to eat and drink, this was a good change and I'm glad we did. Not only is everyone friendly that works there, they have a great selection of beers and a perfect line up of bar food. We tried a little bit of everything because we'd not been there before. Hot pepper cheese balls with marinara(marinara is must with them), a few garlic wings which were some of the crispest and hottest(temperature) wings we'd ever eaten. Of course we had to try a basket of fries too. They were hot and fresh. Ah, but the star of the show, the burgers! She had a cheeseburger with grilled mushrooms and onions with cheddar cheese and loved it. I myself had a cheeseburger with pepper jack and all the fixin's. Service was good, folks were friendly but most of all the food was top notch! read more

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Amazing neighborhood bar with intimate booth seating. This is the perfect place to unwind with friends and a pitcher. We usually eat dinner when we come here. Their food is quite good and I love their veggie burger. French fries are not the best, they usually are a little burnt, but there a lot of other delicious app options. I also like that this bar isn't overwhelmed by TV and sports. There are a few TVs, but they aren't that big and it seems like most of the crowd is there to talk and drink - not just watch a football game. TVs are usually playing old movies or cartoons as well. This place gets very smoky, so sensitive lungs might want to avoid peak times. read more

What can I say about The Cage that others haven't already said, based on my lone visit last night at 6? I don't know, but for the sake of brevity, I'll sum up my visit with a pro-con list. Pros: 1. Cheap, decent food. My BLT ($4.25) was delightful, with crispy, juicy bacon and crisp, fresh lettuce--only the hothouse tomatoes disappointed. Get the fries--they're hand-cut and delicious! I tried some from a companion, and regretted not upgrading to a platter to get them. 2. I can't comment on the drinks myself, since I'm not drinking at present, but everyone says they're good--and they're cheap, too. I got a club soda ($1.25). 3. Interesting people watching opportunities. I wasn't able to take advantage of them due to concentrating on group discussion with my table mates, but the bits and pieces that I saw and overheard were amusing. Cons: 1. Smoky. If you're sensitive to cigarette smoke, don't come here! When I first entered, I thought I might be okay with it, but then the table next to ours started smoking. I could smell smoke on myself for the rest of the night until I changed and showered. 2. Slow service. Our waitress wasn't the swiftest or the most friendly, and it took 20 min. to get my BLT. Getting change took way too long, too. 3. $10 credit card minimum. I suspected this would be the case, so I hit the ATM next door before coming. Plan accordingly. Quite honestly, though I enjoyed the food and company, I doubt I'll be back here soon due to the smoke. Increasing my risk for lung cancer and reeking of eau de cigarette isn't my idea of a fun, relaxing night out. If you don't mind that and the slow service, though, then by all means, stop by for some inexpensive, delicious food and drinks and take advantage of the interesting people watching opportunities. read more

Squirrel Hill Cafe - BLT sandwich - Pubs Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Such a cute and intimate place to just grab some food/drinks and chillax. Prices are extremely reasonable and service is efficient. Great for group hangouts! I'm not much of a drinker so I don't really know about their drink specials, but I am a devoted consumer of food so I'll just get straight to the point! Sandwiches here are amazing and really satisfy that burning hunger. I highly recommend their burgers and load it with mushrooms for an additional quarter. When you get a burger...you get a REAL burger. I don't mean those fake factory patties...I'm talking about a thick chunk of juicy beef sandwiched between soft fluffy buns. Their spinach artichoke dip is quite tasty as well. The one thing I don't really like here is their fries...way way way too greasy to the point where it doesn't even taste like potatoes anymore. read more

Squirrel Hill Cafe - a plate of sandwiches and chips - Pubs Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

I think I figured out why this place is called The Cage. There's no concrete evidence that what I observed here is true. You walk in and you see a mix of people that would represent different classifications of people you'd see throughout Pittsburgh. Each booth and table is a different subset of the population. Every booth and table is an exhibit or cage at a zoo, there for you to observe how each group interacts with one another. Err, what am I saying? Maybe I just enjoyed myself so much here that I started spacing out. I mean you do get to see a wide mix of the human race interacting in here, but who cares, they are all there for one thing, to have a good time. Whether you are sitting at the bar or pick a booth along the wall, the staff are there to make sure you have a libation nearby. Always able to make a suggestion if you want to try something new. The music touch has a nice mix of music to fulfill anyone's need to hear tunes. But who needs tunes when you can just sit there and chat the whole night? I'm still skeptical about going up to the loft area. It looks so small from down below. Such a nice intimate place to go and grab a beer with friends. It's a great place to sit and blow off some steam. Beer selection is pretty good. They have their fair share of seasonal blends, as well as read more

Cheap drinks. Love Tina. It's a really good place. I like it a lot. I get drinks there

One of the best kitchens in town. Not the healthiest, but it's a bar with a wonderful crowd full of chain smokers. Old school style. Friendliest staff youre gonna get. All about the cheese balls, fried mushrooms, and wings that are cooked to so much perfection it's hard not to go full monster and not eat them behind a curtain in the dark. The longevity is well earned and its one of the friendliest places in the Burgh. Post visit dry cleaning/superwash required for non smokers. read more

Had a late lunch yesterday - fabulous! I had grilled chicken sandwich - one of the best I've had. My wife had cheeseburger and was thrilled with its moistness. And "Hell or high watermelon" beer that she raved about. Classic, old style neighborhood pub. Our server Tina was terrific - friendly, efficient, with info for these two Buffalonians on our first time there. We will definitely be back! Don and Lucinda I, Buffalo, NY read more

Don't smoke-never have. But, if I want to go out smoking is something that has to be dealt with at some bars. If it gets too bad, I just leave. With that said, it's never gotten too terrible for me. Oh how I love the food. There's nothing basic about the taste of this bar food at all. Quite a good selection of beers at this Pittsburgh institution. read more

It was my first time visiting, and I fell in love! This place is like the dive bar in Squirrel Hill, that will make you yearn to return and become a regular.The waitress was truly like a waitress from Cheers, even though she didn't know my name. But I enjoyed her so much. Unfortunately I did not get her name. She is a beautiful brown skin girl with curly fluffy hair, and comedic sass! LOVED IT! She was so attentive and pleasant. Honestly, she's has got to be one of the best waitresses that I have ever encountered with her vibrant personality and she is so hospitable. I have not gone into a bar in a while where it felt so at home. The prices are very reasonable and the food is delicious. I had the spinach artichoke dip and it was good for bar food. My friends were in love with the burgers. I cannot wait to get back there and try out more from the menu. WARNING: There is smoking, so if you are intolerant, then it might not be the spot for you., but I don't think it was that bad. Other than that....CHEERS read more

HI QYPE, LEARN HOW TO SPELL PITTSBURGH! What an awesome neighborhood joint. As an out of towner I was lucky to get taken here! No frills food, drinks and company. Great jukebox with a wide selection and lovely waitresses that don't ask if you want another drinkthey ask if you want another pitcher. It's set on the main strip in the neighborhood and has a great feel. Even my first time here I felt super comfortable, nice dive bar feel without being superdivey. Make sure and tag the chalkboard in the womens bathroom, much mor civilized than a sharpie! read more

Squirrel Hill Cafe - Pubs Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

If you are sensitive to the smell of smoke, I would steer clear of here. I'm not sure if smoking is allowed during all hours, but when I went on a Saturday night, I left smelling like an ashtray. I did sit at the bar so I can't say how it would be if you were sitting at a table further away, but the restaurant is pretty small so I think it's safe to say you smell it everywhere. We ordered nachos and cheese with jalapenos. It wasn't fancy, just basically tostito chips and nacho cheese, but for around $2.99 I wasn't really complaining. If there could be a change with the smoking policies, I think I would be willing to come back because I've heard the burgers are great, but for now the smoke isn't worth it. read more

I stopped in for a stiff glass of whiskey, and I got the classic Pittsburgh dive bar experience. Dim light, strange stains and loose women. Gotta love it! read more

I will always have a soft spot for the Cage. I don't like smoke one bit. However, for the Cage I'll put up with it. The burger is one of the most underrated in the city. Tastes like one you might make at home. The beer prices are the best in the area and they always have a solid selection. Taps selection is small but bottles and cans are plentiful. Bill the barkeep is a Pittsburgh legend too. read more