Our Favorite Places to Eat in Pittsburgh!
It’s here! My guide to the best Pittsburgh restaurants.
I’m finally sharing some of my picks for the best Pittsburgh restaurants and a few of our favorite spots to go.
We’ve been working on this post for ages but last week on instagram live, I promised you it was coming very soon. This is one of the questions I get asked constantly and while I mention my favorites here and there, you’ve asked me to put it all in one post for you for years.
There are so many amazing places to eat in Pittsburgh right now. There are tons of lists for the best Pittsburgh restaurants and I probably could have added 10 more places to this list, but I wanted to keep it to our absolute favorites right now.
When I go to a new city, it can be so overwhelming to find a great place to eat. With the exception of dinner, we tried to limit these categories to the best of the best! Food and service that is really good too.
Speaking of dinner, I left out the brunch category for this exact reason: a bunch of the places where we love to eat dinner also serve an amazing brunch. I added an asterisk to the places we love the most.
There are also a few (hopefully helpful!) notes for some places below.
Where to eat & the best Pittsburgh restaurants:
Coffee
Espresso a Mano in Lawrenceville. Go for the iced latte (seriously the best you will ever have) or a macchiato.
De Fer in The Strip District. Their coffee is so delicious. They roast their own coffee and it is fabulous. They also have amazing nitro cold brew on tap!
Commonplace Coffee: various locations. The iced lavender latte is my favorite!
La Prima Espresso in The Strip District.
Arriviste Coffee Bar. The best pour over.
Bakeries
Bella Christie and Lil Z’s. This is my go to for cakes and cupcakes for parties! They make the most gorgeous and delicious cakes and cupcakes. They also have over the top milkshakes and the most fun/creative desserts in the shops. Cute glitter bon bons and donuts too.
Oakmont Bakery. Seriously just get one of everything. You cannot go wrong here. The white cake is just the best we’ve ever had. And the Oakmonter is beyond!
Prantl’s. They are famous for the Burnt Almond Torte. It has been voted the best ever – nationally.
La Gourmandine. OMG – pastries. The most amazing croissants. The almond croissant is the best I’ve ever had and the chocolate almond croissant is fantastic. They also have delicious bread.
Pizza
Iron Born Pizza (Smallman Galley) + Michigan and Trumbull (Federal Galley). Both places make the most amazing Detroit style pizza. We are completely obsessed.
Driftwood Oven. Bon Appetit named this one of the best restaurants in the country this year and it does not disappoint. The sourdough crust is to.die.for.
Il Pizzaiolo. The most amazing Neapolitan Pizza.
Piccolo Forno: We love their pizza so much and the pasta is great too.
Beers
Dinner
Morcilla. Everything on the menu is SO good. Everything is made to share and so fun to go with a group.
Butcher and The Rye. We love this spot for date night! Fried brussels are amazing.
Poulet Bleu. The most delicious French bistro. The decor is so beautiful and chic.
Tako.
Gaucho. Seriously the best food and worth the long line wait.
Meat and Potatoes.* We still love it. It’s always named in the best Pittsburgh restaurants.
Floor 2.* This is where we had The Pretty Dish launch party. It is a gorgeous spot. The drinks are amazing and we love everything on the menu. Also stop by the bar at Andy’s in the lobby for a drink and jazz!
Smoke. The queso and homemade chips are everything. They also have amazing margaritas.
Vallozzi’s. We are obsessed with the arancini.
Noodlehead. The best noodles ever. The pork buns are SO GOOD. And the crispy chicken is perfect.
Umi. The best sushi. The omakase is unbelievable.
Umami. The sashimi is SO good!
Soba. Love sitting in the bar for dinner.
Soju. The food is wonderful. The Bibimbap is the best and the korean bbq dish is so delicious.
Dianoias.* Pro tip – if you go during the day the sandwiches and pizza are so good. We also love brunch here. The gnocchi in a bread bowl (pictured above) is an experience that everyone should have.
Mediterra Cafe: This place is so cute! The breakfast sandwich and the tuna melt are amazing! They make their own bread and it is fabulous.
Pear and the Pickle. The best breakfast sandwich. When you get the breakfast sandwich, order a Rialto to go!
Fast Casual
Bitter Ends Garden & Luncheonette
Ice Cream
The Best Places for Kids (breakfast, lunch + dinner!)
These are the best places to meet friends and take kids out to eat. They are open seating, loud (but not overwhelming), quick, and so delicious. Both are restaurant incubators and have at least four different restaurants (+cuisines!) to choose from.
In the summers, we also love to go to the night market in Market Square, eat something there and then go to Millie’s.
I’ll continue to add to this post as time goes on and I find new favorites. I’d love to hear some of your faves below!
29 Comments on “Our Favorite Places to Eat in Pittsburgh!”
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Makes me miss Pittsburgh so much! Moved away 4 years ago. My favorites, to add to this list: The Porch (Oakland, get the fried potatoes with chipotle ketchup), Spice Island (Oakland, best best Burmese food ever!!!), Rose Tea Cafe (Squirrel Hill, Taiwanese food), Everyday Noodles (Squirrel Hill, fresh hand pulled noodles and soup dumplings), Girasole (Shadyside, simple Italian food, phenomenal house salad and good pasta), Tram’s kitchen (Lawrenceville, Vietnamese, cash only hole in wall kind of place, good pho), Chaya (Squirrel Hill, Legit old school home style Japanese food, stews are so good), lunch buffet at Tamarind (Indian, Oakland on South Craig, lots of good veggie options), and finally the Conflict Kitchen food stall in Schenley park is really quite creative and good, we always went to try when they switched up the menu. I’m not going to lie, I love me a Primanti’s sandwich (pastrami!!) and Pamela’s pancakes and breakfast potatoes, but I am used to going to the Oakland branches where there are lots of students but less tourists.
Love your list! Sadly I haven’t had a chance to go to a lot of these places but I have gone to a few. La Gourmandine JUST came out with their chocolate almond croissant as I was moving and I was about to die that they didn’t develop it earlier!!! But probably also for the best for my waistline haha. And can’t beat La Prima espresso for the people watching. I love seeing the Italian grandpas playing poker on a Saturday morning when I get coffee there.
Meee too!! I am in Boston now, but Pittsburgh will always have my heart. SO fun to see some of my old haunts and new ones too!!! Love it!!!
This is perfect! We’re going to be in Pittsburgh for about 24 hours in May for a concert and I was hoping to get some good food recommendations!! Thanks Jessica!
Umm I need to go back to Pittsburgh…now! All of these places sound amazing. I took your recommendation for The Commoner a few years back and it was amazing! Thanks for sharing.
I always get so sad when Jean-Marc Chatellier’s bakery in Millvale is left off of “best of” lists! They’re seriously the best in the city – leaps and bounds better than Oakmont.
This is awesome, thank you so much! You’re right, so many amazing places to eat in the city and I always feel like I’m missing out if don’t do research before we choose a place. I’ve often looked back through your posts for ideas so this is a great resource!!
as a fellow pgher i have to agree with your selections! bella christie did my wedding cake- almond sponge with hazelnut buttercream and nutella filling..it was to die for. meat and potatoes burger and truffle fries would be my last meal request.
Omg. I have tried an embarrassingly small amount of these places! Love love love Noodlehead. And Millie’s. And La Prima. And and and… ;)
Some that make my list:
– Kaya – for their caribbean rainbow salad!
– Strange Roots – formerly draai laag, we just went this weekend, and it was great (and surprisingly kid-friendy!)
– Della Terra – a bit of a hike from the city (it’s in Harmony), but man. SO good. Their pizza is life.
– Aladdins – fresh, healthy, and their hot sauce is to.die.for.
We moved to PGH almost 2 years ago and have found few really good restaurants. The Commoner (suggested a few years back) and Union Standard are the best we have found so far. As you mentioned, its hard to find good restaurants in a new city so I can’t wait to explore more of the food scene!
Thanks so much for this! I’m spending a long weekend in Pittsburgh this summer and am so happy to have this great list of food recs!
I love this post. I second the Kaya recommendation – always great food. For coffee my favorite place is Big Dog Coffee on the south side.
I was visiting Pittsburgh in October and I’m still dreaming of the Korean Fried chicken and Vietnamese iced coffee from Bae Bae’s Kitchen. SO GOOD 🤤
Yay! I’m so glad you made this list. I moved to Pittsburgh from California in August with my boyfriend and we are in need of recommendations!
You should go to Madeleine Bakery & Bistro in Wilkinsburg if you ever get a chance. I work there as a baker right now, and they are the cutest French-style bakery. Excellent pastries and a fun little neighborhood joint. :)
It will take me forever to get through this list. But I am up for the challenge! Thanks for sharing ❤️
This is amazing ! you should do this for all the cities you have visited , I would absolutely love to see your recommendations !! I love seeing what others recommend besides the same old yelp reviews=)
YES YES YES to DiAnoia’s, Morcilla, and Tako. Cannot go wrong. I just love all the food, coffee, ice cream, and cocktails Pittsburgh has to offer these days. My fiancé and I enjoy it all so much and can’t imagine living anywhere else. Pear and the Pickle and Bitter Ends are on our short list of places to try next! Thank you for sharing!
No hotdogs from the Dirty O??? We always have to stop there on our way through after we visit family.
Ummm it all looks amazing! I wish I was in Pittsburgh longer last weekend!
Dear Jessica: What a fabulous list. I had a question; we lived in Sewickley in 1991; I had occasion to go to a downtown kind of small dark corporate restaurant because my husband worked nearby, Hillman Corp.; I cannot for the love of me remember the name of it, but they had the best salad I had ever eaten in my life.; kind of an Italian salad, I think lettuce based. Any chance this rings a bell? I have never forgotten it. Best regards, Louise John
Smoke queso is what dreams are made of! We love Alla Famiglia for special occasions!
Have you ever been to Uncle Sam’s Sandwich Bar?
Wow, am I ever grateful for this list!! My daughter is a freshman at Pitt, so we are always looking for deliciousness when we visit. So far we’ve been disappointed by the lists on Trip Advisor but this compilation looks like it’s right up our alley! We did absolutely love DiAnnoia in The Strip and a cool little place in Shadyside called Senyei that had some of the best Thai food I’ve ever eaten. But now that I have this list in my paws I think I’ll go a day early when I pick her up at the end of term in April just to try some of these! Thanks for sharing!!
Any suggestions for your favorite activities with kids? We’re en route with our 3 yo, 6 yo, and 8 yo girls for a week and I thought I’d take a chance to see if I could get any quick recommendations for things to do/see with the kids. Thanks!
how fun!! the zoo is great, carnegie science center, natural history museum – those are all inside. as for outside, you could do kennywood or idlewild for amusement parks, go run through the fountains at PPG place (this is one of max’s favorite things to do!), definitely get millies ice cream, go to a pirates game… let me know what you end up doing!
we are back home for a visit this week and have found and looooove pie for breakfast, a terrific restaurant on craig street. legume next door is also super.
and i second noodlehead, one of the best thai places ever. and if you have never been to point bruge cafe…
run. don’t. walk.
:)
Have you tried Sienna Mercato? or Sienna on the Square? Not super for little ones, but delicious house-made everything! Sienna Mercato consists of three levels on Penn Ave (near Convention Center). Level 1 = Emporio, a meatball joint, Level 2= Mezzo, rustic Italian/pizza oven/charcuterie (cured in house!!), Level 3= Il Tetto, rooftop bar with retracting glass roof! Sienna on the Square is at Market Square, next to Nola. Similar to Mezzo, but no pizza oven. Everything is made in house, from the charcuterie, to the dressings, to the desserts. Nothing is frozen, except leftover bread for croutons. Menu changes constantly, to reflect seasonal available produce. Haven’t had anything bad there, including the top shelf cocktails!
Hi! Planning a trip and hoping you can tell me what place/restaurant the very top photo with the wine glass is taken? Thanks!
Thanks for sharing this list. These are some amazing places. I don’t know about many of them but https://www.cookedgoosecatering.com/ is one of my favourite places to eat.