PNC Park and Kennywood aren’t the only places plating up for the summer. As the weather warms and flooding subsides, nine new restaurants and food events are now or soon to open in Pittsburgh.
If you’re looking for a caffeine fix before your meal, check out who you and your fellow readers voted the best coffee shop in Pittsburgh: Queen Beans Cafe in Coraopolis. If you think Coraopolis isn’t “Pittsburgh enough” because it’s 25 minutes out of Downtown, take that up with your fellow voters, not me.
Order’s up!
Closings
Dave and Andy’s Homemade Ice Cream
207 Atwood St., Oakland
After 40 years in business, Oakland staple Dave and Andy’s announced that owner Andy Hardie will rinse his scoop for the last time on Sunday, April 28, (or when the shop’s ice cream supply runs out).
Everyone from Pitt alumni to UPMC Presbyterian patients lamented the loss in the comments of the Facebook post announcing the closure. Well, almost everyone.
“That’s fabulous!” wrote the shop’s co-founder, David Tuttle. “Not only was he was best man in my wedding, but a great friend and business partner. I sold out in 1990 to raise a family. I’m proud to have had the opportunity. It’s [quite] a feat to have that success but the longevity of 40 years in Oakland! Love and thanks to our faithful customers.”
There’s still time to get a scoop before it all melts away. Dave and Andy’s is open Mondays through Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 10 p.m.
Openings
Wing and Mac Smackdown
2900 Bedford Ave., Hill District
Spring is in the air, and … what’s that I smell? Wings and cheese.
Briana White is no stranger to a cook-off.
“Myself and a friend of mine started with a mac and cheese cook-off, then we did sweet potato pie,” White says.
Soon to follow was the inaugural Wing and Mac Smackdown in 2016 — an opportunity for local chefs to go head-to-head with their chicken- and cheese-based dishes. White’s business partner has since moved away, but with a host of new chefs, restaurants and home cooks in town, she thought, “It’s time to bring the smackdown back.”
Fifteen groups are competing, with 10 entries each for the wings and mac and cheese categories. The competitor lineup is available on the Smackdown’s Facebook page, and tickets can be purchased online.
The showdown is at St. Benedict The Moor Center on Saturday, April 27, from 6 to 10 p.m.
Lawrence Hall
4609 Butler St., Lawrenceville
Unless you’ve been trapped at home since the start of the month (which isn’t entirely unrealistic), you know that Pittsburgh’s newest food hall collectively left us mouth agape and drooling when it opened on April 12.
Lawrence Hall has been one of the year’s most anticipated openings. Hosting kitchens for Loaded, La Palapa, Cuddy’s Soul Food, Toma and Leona’s Ice Cream, you could put on a blindfold and walk out with something delicious.
Lawrence Hall is open Tuesdays through Thursdays plus Sundays from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to midnight.
Buenatarde
5741 Ellsworth Ave., Shadyside
A month ahead of Cinco de Mayo, Buenatarde opened its doors. The “cocina del sur” (kitchen of the south) serves lunch and dinner from both a build-your-own and fixed menu. Plus, there is tequila and mezcal for those indulging on a taco Tuesday.
From chimichangas, street tacos and carne asada entrees to street corn and yuca (a South American root vegetable) frita sides, they have it. Odds are, you’ll find me there in a carb and marg-induced food coma.
Buenatarde is open Mondays through Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; and Sundays from noon to 9 p.m.
Wei Lai Dim Sum
3200 McIntyre Square Drive, Ross
Looking for an east-Asian bite north of the city? Head to Wei Lai to get some dim sum.
Since its mid-March opening, the restaurant has been serving dumplings and other Cantonese favorites like pancake beef rolls, bao, chicken feet and a slew of hot and cold noodle dishes.
Add boba and my day is made.
Wei Lai is open Mondays through Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; and Sundays from noon to 9 p.m.
Bitty and Beau’s Coffee
1920 Smallman St., Strip District
In 2016, Amy Wright, husband Ben and their four children opened a coffee shop in Wilmington, North Carolina, that gave people with intellectual and developmental disabilities a work opportunity after learning that around 80% of people with similar disabilities are unemployed nationwide.
Bitty and Beau’s — named after the two youngest Wright children who were born with Down syndrome — has since expanded to 11 states and has over 400 employees. The chain’s 20th location opened in the Strip on April 13.
Aside from coffee, the shop serves tea, pastries and a healthy dose of the human rights mission to employ people who are often left out of workplaces.
Bitty and Beau’s is the latest of three similar ability-inclusive workplaces to open in Pittsburgh, following Brother André’s in Uptown and Bunny Bakes in Squirrel Hill.
Bitty and Beau’s is open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Khalil’s Sunday Brunch
4757 Baum Blvd., Bloomfield
Would you rather have Middle Eastern cuisine or brunch? If you, like me, just felt the most awful decision paralysis in your life, do I have a treat for you.
Khalil’s launched its new Sunday brunch on April 21. The three-course offers Greek, Syrian and American starters, dishes and desserts. Before today, I’ve only known spanakopita as a breakfast food when I dream that I wake up in Greece. Happens more than I’d like to admit.
Khalil’s serves brunch on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Reservations — available on the restaurant’s site — are recommended.
Otaru Japanese
1200 Grandview Ave., Mount Washington
Whether you’re plotting an upscale, intimate summer date or looking for a new restaurant with good food and better Pittsburgh views, Otaru has you covered.
The “Japanese gastronomy” restaurant opened in the old Vue 412 on April 1. Its menu features nigiri, sashimi, ramen and other hot Japanese dishes. Otaru emphasizes its ingredient selection, traditional preparation and artistic presentation, which translates — for some dishes — to higher prices.
Otaru is open Mondays through Thursdays from 4 to 10 p.m., and Fridays through Sundays from 4 to 11 p.m.
Wild Rosemary
1469 Bower Hill Road, Upper St. Clair
Raymond Mikesell — previously of Cafe Raymond before its January sale — is proving both his Pittsburgh chef career and a South Hills staple were simply perennial.
Wild Rosemary’s closure — announced in late 2023 — was short-lived, as Mikesell hosted a soft launch for his newly acquired restaurant on April 7.
“My vision is to create a place that will remind you of food you ate growing up. There’s something about eating food that takes you right back to home,” Mikesell writes in a press release.
An opening date is still forthcoming. Updates will be announced on the bistro’s social media pages.
Chillin’ Drive Thru
8701 Babcock Blvd., McCandless
Chillin’ — first featured in our February roundup — is open as of April 8.
The new drive-through cafe attached to Babcock Boulevard’s North Park Lounge serves breakfast and lunch snacks, shakes, La Prima coffee beverages and signature plant-based Lotus Energy Drinks.
Don’t be deterred by the neon colors — the Lotus drinks aren’t as sweet as they look and are as refreshing as they are energizing. Make sure to add the cold foam, though. It’s like ordering Rita’s ice but skipping the gelato: a rookie mistake.
Chillin’ is open daily from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
