I've been visiting Sri Venkateswara Temple in Pittsburgh many times since December 2010. It's a busy and lively temple with beautiful architecture. There are always rituals going on and many people visiting. Each time I go, I feel connected and peaceful. It's a nice place to experience Indian culture and prayer in the U.S read more

This temple is famously known as the tirupathi of America. Though not on the seventh hill, this peaceful temple site sits on a hill with ample steps to climb, that is if you park down below and decide to walk up. The temple is well maintained with a variety of Hindu gods that you can worship. Don't forget to buy some prasadam and other food at the canteen within the temple. I don't visit temples that often unless I'm traveling. Make sure to enter the temple with a clean head, as it doesn't work out for people with bad intentions and karma catches up to them resulting in instant karma. read more

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Must visit Sri Venkateshwara Temple. Calm, Serene, and well maintained Temple. The Canteen is a must visit

It is one of the earliest traditional Hindu temples built (1976) in the U.S. It is located in Penn Hills in Pennsylvania state. Almost all religious events/services/poojas are performed in the temple. Indians in the U.S can place an online orders for any of the daily pooja like aksharabhyasam, abhishekam, Archana, annaprasana, car pooja, and Satyanarayana Swamy Vratam. Lord Venkateswara is the main deity inside the temple premises. The other deities inside the temple include Lord Ganesha, Lord Shiva (in lingakaram), and Goddess Parvati. I was in shorts, I bought a dhoti for $6 and went inside. there is a canteen inside the temple where one can relish mouth-watering typical South Indian veggie stuff. I guess its the best meal of this Pittsburgh tour. We asked for Upma, Termrind rice, and Pongal. it was just amazing, so good in taste, and just $3. The portion size was too good. read more

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Its a nice temple and would recommend it to all who want to experience Hindu culture. Nice cLm experience with helpful people

This place was a disaster, terrible, my dad works here and listen I respect it but they kicked me out for reading the Vedas a little too loud, like WTF? And my dad tried to help but nothing worked. read more

The most iconic temple in Pittsburgh. It would be overcrowded during festivals and long weekends. You can meditate when it is not crowded.

Venkateshwara is the Hindu god that keeps all troubles away, so of course I had to come here (last month, I was at the Venkateshwara temple in Malibu, CA). Ganesha is the Hindu god that destroys all obstacles (I was at the Ganesha temple in Salt Lake City earlier this month en route to Zion NP in Utah). There's also a Ganesha temple in Flushing in Queens, and I should have visited when I was visiting family on Long Island earlier this year, but sadly I didn't make the time... I was there in spirit though. Between Venkateshwara and Ganesha, I don't have to worry about anything at all :-) I was wearing a tank top and shorts when I came here after lunch today. I wasn't sure where to change into something more appropriate for temple when I got to the temple. I mean they weren't Daisy Duke shorts but still shorts in temple never works. Luckily, I had my new Vera Bradley wildflower print bath robe with me. I tore off the label and wore it over my tank top and shorts. I was praying that no one would see me in temple in a bath robe. Luckily, it was after lunch and I was the only one there. Who's to say that I wore a bath robe to temple? Maybe I went to temple in a wildflower print kimono. read more

No photography was allowed inside the temple (Exterior shots WERE allowed), but I was invited in as a guest, I was shown around and given explanations of the gods and goddesses, given a banana, and some golden raisins to eat, and then I hung out for a while and observed some of the ceremonies that were going on today (a Hindu holy day), and I got to practice a little bit of Hindi also . . . Very peaceful inside. Cheers . . . Dhanyavaad, & Namaskar! P.S. When visiting inside the temple, you must remove your shoes (there is a place to store them as soon as you walk in the door), so remember to wear good socks without holes. read more

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Designed after the historic Sri Varahaswami temple in India, and built in 1976, this is the first Hindu temple in North America. Everyone was extremely welcoming and helpful. This could be a major life experience for anyone. It's a chance to learn about a major religion and to visit a deeply spiritual and revered building. There's no way to show it in pictures or videos, it sacred ground and there's no photos or video allowed after you reach a certain point. But it was so beautifully moving, a photo can't compare anyway. Believers travel from all across the world to visit, something like 75% of visitors are from outside the local region. The food is marvelous, quite delicious and complex. But you might also plan a visit to Udippi Cafe, which is minutes away. Make sure you read a FAQ to better plan your visit. If you want to be respectful, read ahead about what to wear, for example, avoid wearing leather. Most of the chants you hear are in Sanscrit and sung from memory. They are deeply moving. Just read ahead to prepare, however don't worry too much, the congregation is very accepting and gracious. read more

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Great place for good vibes. Staff is very friendly. Food in the canteen is worth trying.

Sri Venkateswara temple at Pittsburgh hands down is one of the best temples in America. Recently visited the temple on a visit to the Burgh with friends. The temple is huge, kept pretty clean and quiet peaceful. It can get pretty crowded during weekends and there is ample parking space available around the temple. This temple is pretty popular among all Indians in America, especially among the Telugu and Tamil communities because of its resemblance to Tirupati. The decor and atmosphere reminded me of my visits to Tirupati, the idols are beautiful and the overall experience was fabulous. The temple offers several types of Pooja that one can book at their office near the entrance. Post Darshan, they serve some complimentary prasadam. One can also purchase some extra prasadam from the temple canteen. The food served there was of great quality and very falavorful. They serve about 5-6 items at very nominal price of $3 per item. There is some seating available too at a hall behind the canteen. Overall its a must visit place if you are visiting Pittsburgh or if you just want to have some peaceful time at a temple. read more

Yelper Tushar is truly on point when he says this is "one of the best temples in the country" cause that also where I would rank. Its certainly so much better than the Memphis Temple! Also certain holy places have a lovely quiet peacefulness, and just going there calms you down, and this is what the feeling here is like. A lovely heavenly smell of incense floats in the air (this temple reminds me of Catholic Churches in that respect) and there is a really cool shop, before you climb the steps that take you into the actual temple itself. So what I really liked about the Temple Shop was that it has these really cool comic books about Indian Deities and the Hindu Belief system as well as CDs of bhajans, mantras and prayers. They sell ladoos and chiwda mixtures for very reasonable prices. I would also suggest taking a few minutes to also check out the small photo display they have related to the building of the temple. After leaving the shop and walking up the stairs to the main temple areas, the first thing that hits you is the lovely sense of light! I reckon is cause the building has these lovely glass skylights- there was just so much light flooding inside! There's another set of stairs (fairly steep) and then you find yourself in the outer room of Sri Venkateswara's sanctum. Look to the right and find a table where you can purchase bananas, nuts and fruits for the priests to perform a puja for you. (soooo.... I didn't realize this was the protocol and unknowingly gatecrashed another family's pooja! But they were very decent and neither they or the priest made a fuss. Nevertheless, I was massively embarrassed when I found out and as they were still around, went later and apologized to them). Shout-outs to the staff who are just fantastically friendly and I also echo all the other reviews re: the canteen. The food is fantastic and very reasonable for the price. I'm super glad I came here and will definitely try and come back again, when next in Pittsburgh. Yelp Review 69/2018 read more

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Very good temple. Truly one of the best temples in the country. It's on a hill which replicates pretty much the Balaji temple in India. Being on a hill, they have restricted parking access, but the temple management has done a great job to create additional parking spots over the top of the hill. Not so easy access for handicaps as the temple has lot of staircase. There is free food as prasadam, generally by people who offer food to God. Staff has done a magnificent job in taking care of logistics. read more

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I didn't take any pictures because it was really crowded and I don't think you could take pictures. It's really nice to go visit if your in the area it's free to tour but parking can be a challenge on the weekends everyone was really nice. I like see religions of different cultures. read more

Best Indian food EVER. Only authentic tamarind rice, curd rice and bisibelebath... Pray while you're there too :) Beautiful temple read more

1. Best indian temple 2. Religious and one get mental peace if they visit this place 3. Free nuts & banana as Prasad 4. Great for kids 5. People come from thousand mile away. 6. GREAT CANTEEN WITH VERY TASTY AND CHEAP FOOD 7. Very near to Udipi resturant read more

Visited temple om Sunday, June 29, 2014 and paid for an archana. The deity area was crowded, and getting attention of the priests to take the slip for the archana was not easy. Eventually, we did manage to make eye contact and get the slip to one of the priests. After the pooja finished, instead of giving tirtha and prasada, the priests began collecting slips for the next round of archanas. After waiting for sometime, we ended up leaving without prasada or tirtha. There is a competitive atmosphere in terms to getting the priests attention. There is no line to wait for one's turn. The temple seems like a mini tirupathi with less focus on devotion. The priests look bored and intent on fast forwarding through their routine. Middletown, CT temple is far superior. I wonder how god feels about this. read more

This temple is always on the family radar whenever we are going to Pittsburgh or passing by that area to another destination. I think I've been here 20 or 30 times in my lifetime. I think the notoriety of this temple is that it's in the hills and modeled after hilly temples of Tirupati. There definitely have been changes over the years and the signs to get there could be added to help avoid confusion even with a GPS. I'm not religious enough to judge the purohits on their chanting and pujas but it's a clean and well-maintained temple. Moreover, the tamarind rice and curd rice has always been on point for me. Overall, it's a great place for a Hindu, (or a person of any religion), to get some peace of mind. read more

One of the best indian temples in US.....you should also try the canteen which serves awesome indian food