15 tried-and-true Pittsburgh restaurants

In honor of NEXTpittsburgh’s 10-year anniversary, we’re looking back on our top stories of the last decade and sharing them again to show how much has changed (and stayed the same) over the years. This post was originally published on July 13, 2017.

When it comes to cities with a vibrant dining culture — and we can safely say Pittsburgh is one of them now — there’s a pronounced bias toward the new. Restaurants, trends, ingredients and concepts all come and go in the blink of an eye. It can be hard to keep up.

We get it. The promise of the new is always going to be a story. That’s why oceans of ink (and, uh, pixels) have been spilled on the subject of places like Superior Motors in Braddock, which just ever-so-softly opened its doors. (Superior Motors controversially closed in 2020.)

But we thought it would also be a good idea to showcase the places that have stood the test of time. These are restaurants that have carved out a niche and made it their own, or have found ways to reinvent themselves to stay relevant. They’ve earned their reputations the hard way, weathered adversity and fought the fickle nature of modern dining to a draw.

Ten years is a long time for a human being. But for a restaurant, a decade might as well be 100 years. Survival is a real accomplishment.

Here are a few really good Pittsburgh restaurants that have lasted at least that long:

Cafe du Jour isn’t exactly a secret, since it’s been right there on the South Side’s main drag since 2001 or so. And yet, it does so little in the way of calling attention to itself that it’s kind of easy to miss. That’s a shame, because Cafe du Jour has somehow found the sweet spot between great food and a completely low-key, unpretentious atmosphere. Current dishes include Tomatillo Bacon Bisque with Lemon Caper Crab Salad and Split Pea Veggie Burger (with kimchi, spinach and leek crema, on brioche). Plus, there’s an unexpectedly beautiful back patio.

It’s always been a bit of an anomaly — an elegant, white-tablecloth, traditional Italian place in gritty, potholed Allentown. Now, Allentown’s business district is in the midst of an actual revival, with food, coffee and tech startups in close proximity. Alla Famiglia is still here, doing what it does best: steaks, chops, veal, pasta, high-end, no expense spared. They even have their own farm south of the city, where much of the produce you see on the plate is grown.

Right above Soba, since 1999. Here, you’re in the hands of a master sushi chef, Mr. Shu, so you should just eat whatever he feels like making (though they do have a menu). The seven- and 11-course omakase meals unfold gradually, subtly, like gently rolling waves lapping at the beach. Both Soba and Umi hail from the ubiquitous big Burrito Restaurant Group.

Soba pairs a creative, chef-driven approach with Asian cuisines that weren’t exactly on every corner of Pittsburgh in the early 2000s. You can mix and match classics from across Asia with more unusual dishes — Korean BBQ Ribs, Burmese Tea Leaf Dumplings, Lobster Tacos, Banh Mi Bao Buns. Soba remains a really attractive, stylish place — lots of dark wood, bamboo, rich textures and semi-hidden alcoves.

Almost an entire generation of Pittsburgh culinary talents have come through Casbah to hone their kitchen chops. There’s always a creative, pan-Mediterranean menu, heavy on the seaborne dishes, like Charred Spanish Rock Octopus, and pastas like short rib ravioli. There’s also an emphasis on local, seasonal ingredients, like Elysian Fields Lamb from Waynesburg. A terrific bar and wine selection never hurts, either. A semi-enclosed dining room manages to circulate fresh air while shutting out the rain and traffic from the strip mall next door.

If you do one thing supremely well, you should probably keep doing it. For Piccolo Forno, that’s pizza. When the restaurant opened on Butler Street in 2005, Lawrenceville had barely begun to shake off its postindustrial doldrums. Even though others make credible Tuscan-style, wood-fired pizza now, Piccolo Forno still packs in the crowds. Luckily, if you have to wait, they also own the adjacent Grapperia Bar Classico (literally around the corner), the most Italian bar in Pittsburgh, serving grappa, amari and cocktails.

Mad Mex may be the bulk of the big Burrito Restaurant Group’s business, but its culinary all-stars (past, present and future) often seem to end up here. Eleven is physically and metaphorically located on a hinge between classy Downtown formality and the Strip’s more laid-back, convivial culinary culture. The Eleven Burger — made with braised veal, black pepper bacon and crispy onions — is still a must-try dish. Like all big Burrito restaurants, there’s something good for vegetarians too, like the current Sheep’s Milk Gnudi (with pea puree, morels, braised endive, almonds and ramps). Throw in a top-notch wine list and Chef Eli Wahl’s nightly tasting menu, and it’s hard to think of reasons for Eleven to ever close.

Here’s a good example of how to age well in the restaurant business: Find your audience — in this case, including (but not limited to) lots of British ex-pats and soccer fans of every stripe — and give them what they want. Piper’s Pub took its time, building up a dedicated clientele with a yes-it’s-actually-good take on Scottish/British pub grub: Toad-in-the-Hole, Bangers & Mash, etc. Then, they took their time opening a spot next door, The Pub Chip Shop, serving takeout baked goods and street food: pasties, baps (sandwiches on soft, buttery rolls), steak and ale pies, irish potato boxties. Recently, they also started doing doughnuts. No matter how many times you’ve been, there’s always a reason to go back.

Tessaro’s American Bar and Hardwood Grille

4601 Liberty Ave., Bloomfield

Caribbean cuisine rarely seems to stick in Pittsburgh for reasons that remain unclear (we could really use a Cuban spot, for example). Maybe it’s just that Kaya has had it locked down for so long — since 1995 — that only the occasional out-of-the-way Jamaican joint has the juice to even try. Kaya manages to keep the menu fresh, with a few standard exceptions, like the Cuban sandwich, Conch Fritters, etc. When the whole Caribbean ocean is your oyster, you’ve got a lot to work with.

The undisputed champion. It’s been a bar or hotel for more than 100 years, taking its present form (which looks turn-of-the-19^th-century) in 1977. This is the opposite of cutting-edge cuisine, but can anything really top the immortal combination of German beer, cheese and tubular meats? Expect the best; order the wurst — weisswurst (mild veal sausage), knackwurst (beef), bratwurst (veal and pork sausage). Get the amazing deep-fried Bavarian stuffed pretzels and you can practically roll yourself home.

Update: closed as of 2024

In 2001, back when just about nobody outside the city took Pittsburgh dining seriously, cookbook author and famous TV chef Lidia Bastianich opened Lidia’s in the Strip. No, she’s not there most of the time, (though she does visit), but her affection for Northern Italian cooking is expressed amply through loving renditions of classic dishes like Frico, Osso Bucco and Zuppa di Pesce. They’ll also bring pastas to your table, so you can see and smell and pick out whatever looks best, which seems like a great (if labor-intensive) idea. They still have a great wine selection, arrayed attractively on a backlit wall. Recently, Lidia’s got a major remodel, enclosing the kitchen and emphasizing a white marble bar. It’s still got one of the best brunches in town and remains a great choice for a big group of people.

Lidia’s closed in September 2019.

Café Zinho (Closed)

238 Spahr St., Shadyside

There was a time when chef/owner Tony Pais was Pittsburgh’s main name-brand chef, when his Baum Vivant and Café Zao were getting universal acclaim. He’s back to just one small spot, Café Zinho, tucked away on a Shadyside side street since 1997. With a terrific patio and cozy little dining room, it’s one of the most easygoing (yet outstanding) dining experiences in town. The menu reflects both Pais’ Portuguese background and just about unmatched knowledge of local tastes.

Café Zinho closed in February 2023. Since then, local chefs Dianne DeStefano and Jamilka Borges opened Lilith in the space.

Since 1988, Josza Corner has served “Hungarian country-styled family cooking” made with passion and contagious joy by one man who’s doing pretty much exactly what he wants to do, all the time. (Seriously, call ahead — chef/owner Alex Bodnar opens only if he’s got diners.) Hearty, rustic-like Transylvanian Gulyas, stuffed cabbage, Palacsinta (thin Hungarian pancakes) and spicy kolbasz served gregariously in a gentrification-proof corner of Hazelwood. Anthony Bourdain was just there, so those reservations are going to get scarce fast.

Bodnar passed away on Feb. 26, 2022, which brought about Jozsa Corner’s closing.

Legume just celebrated its 10^th anniversary. Its first location was in Regent Square; now it has a bigger space in Oakland. Legume shares a bar with Butterjoint, one of the city’s most meticulously crafted bar programs. Soon, next door, they’ll open Pie for Breakfast, a made-from-scratch classic American diner focused on breakfast. Chef Trevett Hooper’s Craig Street mini-empire is perhaps the most delicious stretch of road anywhere in Pittsburgh. If it someday grows to devour Oakland entirely, that would be just fine.

Legume closed in February 2020, but it wasn’t completely gone. Butterjoint took over the entire space as one, full restaurant. In November 2023, Hooper sold Butterjoint to former head chef George Austin, leaving him to run the joint.

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