A Local’s Guide to the Best Restaurants in Pittsburgh

Last Updated on August 31, 2022 by Jeremy

This Post: A Local’s Guide to the Best Restaurants in Pittsburgh

Disclaimer: Our site uses demographic data, email opt-ins, display advertising, and affiliate links. Please check out our Terms and Conditions. Pricing, operating hours, or menus may have changed since our initial visit and may not be reflected in subsequent updates. Please confirm these directly with any business or attraction prior to visiting.

When it comes to Pittsburgh restaurants, we are fortunate to be home to some of the country’s best. From the local institutions, fine dining, international restaurants, to hole-in-the-wall spots, you can find it all here.

One of our quests on Discover the Burgh is to share these great restaurants and help you plan your next meal out. To help with that, this restaurant guide (linking to every single review published on this site) was born!

Please keep in mind that this list is continually updated as we visit more restaurants in the city. If your favorite is not featured here it is because we have either not visited or have not published our review yet.

If you would like to make a recommendation for us to try, please contact us.

About Our Ranking of Pittsburgh Food

When we first started this database, our rankings were organized by personal preference only. Now that we’ve been to hundreds of restaurants, we wanted to re-organize this guide in order to help you better find reviews based on many categories.

This restaurant database is now organized by restaurant type. Click the links below to be taken to each of the main categories of restaurants. Within each category, restaurants are organized by our personal preference with our favorites generally being at the top of each list and our least favorites trending towards the bottom. Use this as a rough approximation only.

Next to each name will include the neighborhood the restaurant is found, a notation on price ($-$$$$$), a short description, and any sub-categories we feel are necessary to highlight.

Prices are marked with dollar signs ($) based on the following breakdown. Note the pricing is estimated and is based on a full meal without drinks. Actual menu prices are subject to change from our initial update. As such, these should only be treated as rough guidelines to start.

• $ – Under $15 per person
• $$ – $15-$30 pp
• $$$ – $30-$50 pp
• $$$$ – More than $50 pp
• $$$$$ – More than $100 pp

Click the following links to jump down to our category types:

• Restaurants by Location (Map)
• Top 10 Best Restaurants in Pittsburgh
• Fast Casual / Takeaway
• Gastropubs
• Modern American
• Fine Dining
• Breakfast / Brunch
• International
• Pizza
• Barbecue
• Seafood
• Vegetarian / Vegan / Healthy Focused

Please note: We may repeat a select few restaurants in multiple categories. For example, Apteka is in our Top 10, International, and Vegan sections and Pusadee’s Garden is in our Top 10, Fine Dining, and International. Others may only appear in just one section at our discretion.

In general, if the restaurant has a primarily themed menu (from a specific country/region, mostly pizza, barbecue, etc.) it will be found in those respective categories over the more general ones (modern American, fine dining, etc). The vegetarian/vegan/healthy section likely will feature a number of duplicates as any cuisine style can qualify here if done well.

Pittsburgh Restaurant Map

RED : Brawl Breaks Out Over Golden Corral’s Signature Sirloin

Looking for a restaurant by location? Check out our interactive map that shows every restaurant we’ve featured to date. So whether you’re looking for Pittsburgh restaurants downtown, in the Strip District, the South Hills, or more, you can find all the ones we’ve been to by region here!

To read more from each, click the link in the pin to be taken to our full review!

Or, to read more restaurants by category, scroll down to read more!

The 10 Best Restaurants in Pittsburgh

The following are our current Top 10 Pittsburgh restaurants. The restaurants that earn this distinction are ones we are certain we can order anything on the menu and not be disappointed. Likewise, these are spots we would happily return to again and again without hesitation.

1. Apteka – Bloomfield – $$ – Eastern European, vegan meals coupled with a wonderful bar.
2. Pusadee’s Garden – Lawrenceveille – Thai – $$$ – A high-end Thai restaurant in Lawrenceville with one of the best ambiances in the city.
3. Fig & Ash – North Side – $$$ to $$$$ – Modern dishes all cooked over a wood fire.
4. Spork – Bloomfield/Friendship – $$$$$ – A fine dining restaurant with inventive dishes and a flawless attention to detail.
5. Morcilla – Lawrenceville – $$$ – Spanish tapas bar with gourmet pintxos and small plates.
6. Gi-Jin – Downtown – $$$$$ – A gin and handroll bar in the Cultural District that offers a stellar experience from top to bottom.
7. Gaucho Parrilla Argentina – Downtown – $$ – Argentinian meats done right with delicious steaks and sandwiches.
8. DiAnoia’s – Strip District – $$ – Modern Italian fare with a great brunch, cocktails, and more.
9. Bar Marco – Strip District – $$$ to $$$$ – Modern American fare with a stellar cocktail bar.
10. Poulet Bleu – Lawrenceville – $$$ – High-end French fare by the Richard DeShantz restaurant group.

Fine Dining in Pittsburgh

In many cases, a fine dining restaurant may have similar menus to the modern American spots above, but the biggest differentiator is price and execution. To us, a fine dining restaurant is going for a higher standard overall, has a more elegant ambiance (we likely dress up a bit more), requires reservations (often much further in advance), and comes at a higher price to match. Our selection of what makes a restaurant fine dining vs simply modern American is purely our opinion.

• Gi-Jin – Downtown – $$$$$
• Pusadee’s Garden – Lawrenceveille – Thai – $$$
• Spork – Bloomfield – $$$$$
• Fish Nor Fowl – Garfield – $$$ to $$$$
• Aqueous – Laurel Highlands – $$$$
• Helen’s – Laurel Highlands – $$$$
• Altius – Mount Washington – $$$$
• Eleven – Strip District – $$$
• Spirits & Tales – Oakland – $$$
• Floor 2 – Downtown – $$$

Central & Eastern European

Pittsburgh has a strong Central & Eastern European community thanks to our steelmaking roots, and as such we have a number of restaurants that offer up this region’s stellar cuisine!

• Apteka – Bloomfield – Vegan – $$
• The Harmony Inn – Harmony, PA – German – $$ to $$$
• Lorelei – East Liberty – German/Alpine – $$ to $$$
• Max’s Allegheny Tavern – North Side – German – $$
• Huszar – North Side – Hungarian – $$
• 40 North – North Side – Eastern European – $$ to $$$
• Bubba’s – Greensburg – Pizza and Polish – $ to $$
• Pierogies Plus – McKees Rocks – Eastern European – $ to $$

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Vegetarian / Vegan / Healthy Focused

In the mood for something healthy, or perhaps even vegetarian or vegan? You may want to check out some of the following!

Please note: Some restaurants in the below list do serve meat; however, we are including them for strong healthy/vegetarian-leaning menus. Properly vegan restaurants will be noted as such after the neighborhood name.

• Apteka – Bloomfield – Vegan – $$
• ShadoBeni – North Side – Vegan – $ to $$
• Farmer x Baker – Aspinwall – $ to $$
• Onion Maiden – Allentown – Vegan – $$
• Udipi Cafe – Monroeville – Indian – Vegetarian – $$
• Sally Ann’s – Downtown – $$
• honeygrow – East Liberty – $ to $$
• Spak Brothers – Garfield – Vegan Options – $$

More Pittsburgh Restaurants Coming Soon!

Our goal at Discover the Burgh is to eat at every restaurant in the greater Pittsburgh area, which we are planning to be quite the long project. If your favorite was not on the list above, it is likely because we have either not visited yet or have not published our full review from our visit.

RED : Bangkok Bank Public Company Limited : British Chamber of Commerce Thailand

We visit 1-3 new restaurants every week and publish full reviews shortly after, so check back soon to see where our newest additions line up!

If you have a recommendation for a place we need to prioritize, please contact us as we’d love to hear where we should go next! Many recommendations we’ve received have been about places we’ve never known about and absolutely loved, so we would love to hear from you!

The following are some of the most frequently asked questions about Pittsburgh restaurants.

What are the best Pittsburgh restaurants?

Our Top 10 restaurants in Pittsburgh are Apteka, Pusadee’s Garden, Fig & Ash, Spork, Morcilla, Gi-Jin, Gaucho, DiAnoia’s, Bar Marco, and Poulet Bleu.

What are the most famous restaurants in Pittsburgh?

Primanti Brothers is famous for having fries and coleslaw on their sandwiches. Pamela’s is known for their fantastic hotcakes. Beto’s Pizza is known for their Ohio Valley Style slices with cold cheese and toppings.

What food is considered local to Pittsburgh?

Primanti Brothers sandwiches, a Pittsburgh salad (with fries on top), pierogies, Prantl’s burnt almond torte, Pamela’s hotcakes, pepperoni rolls, Ohio Valley-style pizza, Heinz ketchup, and more!

What are the best restaurant neighborhoods in Pittsburgh?

Popular neighborhoods for dining out in Pittsburgh include downtown, the Strip District, Lawrenceville, and Squirrel Hill.

What is the average price of a meal in Pittsburgh?

Without drinks, most restaurants cost under ~$75 for an appetizer and two entrees including tax and tip.

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