Jeremy

Jeremy is the co-owner of Discover the Burgh. His favorite Pittsburgh activities include discovering unusual attractions, trying new breweries, and seeking out the city's best happy hours. He also runs the long-term travel blog, Living the Dream.

South Side Neighborhood Guide – Attractions and Dining

Pittsburgh's South Side is often known as its bar crawl neighborhood, and you do not need to spend much time exploring this one to understand why that is- the bars are everywhere.

While this one is incredibly popular for college kids looking for a cheap drink and anyone in need of a night out with libations, there is actually quite a bit going on in the neighborhood beyond your typical bar. For us, while we visit this one for a periodic adult beverage ourselves, we often visit for other reasons, and wanted to highlight some of our favorite attractions, restaurants, and of course, bars in this neighborhood guide!

It is worth noting that the following is not a collection of every business in South Side. This article only features businesses that we personally visit when we explore the neighborhood. As such, it should only be taken as a starting point and is certainly not a list of every establishment. If you see an interesting business while exploring the South Side, do yourself a favor and go inside!

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10 Specialty Stores for Shopping Outside of the Strip

When it comes to boutique shopping in Pittsburgh, it is really easy for us to simply direct you to the Strip District and (almost) call it a day. This neighborhood has so many specialty stores that you can find a great number of products all within a ~10-block shopping district.

That being said, leaving the shopping discussion to purely the Strip District would be doing you a disservice as there are many other boutique and specialty stores in the Pittsburgh area. 

In this one, we wanted to share a few of our favorites all with one thing in common- none of these are located in the Strip District. So if you're looking for a store to go deep into a particular style or item, these are a few great places to start!

Note: We know that there are way more than the following in the metro area. As with everything on this site, we will add more great stores as we visit them!

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The Library Review – A South Side Gem for Cheap Eats and Drinks

Sometimes when we try and find a new bar to hit in South Side, we go numb at the sheer number of choices. In many cases when visiting this neighborhood we often pick a reason for going out (deals, cocktails, draft list, etc.) and then limit our options down from there in order to make a choice.

On a recent night out we wanted to keep our tab low while having good beer and settled on The Library. Known for a cheap craft beer list and happy hour food specials, an affordable outing was exactly what we got!

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Lumaze Offers an Indoor Christmas Light Display in Pittsburgh

At this time it does not appear that Lumaze is returning in 2020. However, we will look out to see if it is returning in 2021.

What do you get when you pack a large warehouse in Pittsburgh's Strip District with over 1,000,000 holiday lights, arranged in unique designs, and set to an overall theme? 

You get Lumaze Pittsburgh. This international holiday show made its local debut in 2019 with lights, music, and a whole lot of holiday cheer.

But is this one worth attending? For us, it really depends on how much you love Christmas lights!

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A Guide to Discover the Burgh’s Favorite Pittsburgh Spots

We started Discover the Burgh in 2015 as a means to get out and enjoy everything in Pittsburgh. Since then, we have been blown away by all the city has to offer, and are getting close to having personally experienced over 1,400 unique things to do in the city.

While this site is mainly an opinion blog sharing our personal views on all of these attractions, restaurants, bars/breweries, events, parks, and more, we haven't really called out any spots are our personal favorites. You can tell if you read our articles which ones we like more than others, sure, but we never had a dedicated feature to this effect.

For a while, we thought we'd unveil an awards series to highlight our favorite spots. But then we realized they are overplayed and clickbaity. Then we worried that perhaps it was always too soon to do this because we still have way more of the city to see. But as we explore more of the city, we realize that we will never, ever be “finished” and have to commit to it at some point.

So this guide to our favorite places in Pittsburgh was born.

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Mad Mex Review – Cal Mex in Pittsburgh with Seasonal Features

Mad Mex is a popular Cal Mex restaurant chain run in Pittsburgh by the Big Burrito restaurant group. They are known for, well, big burritos, and offer a number of different west coast-inspired creations amongst many other menu items.

While they are known for their Mexican inspired burritos, we have to say that we are not the biggest of fans. That being said, we find ourselves going to this one for their seasonal burrito creations as well as their margarita menu!

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Watch the Penguins Practice at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex

If you've ever driven on I-79 north of Pittsburgh, odds are good you've noticed the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry.

This massive facility is easily recognized with its numerous banners of Penguins Stanley Cup wins on the side, and on the inside features two ice skating rinks, a state-of-the-art training center, numerous exhibits, and a sports medicine facility run by UPMC.

But while all of this is interesting on its own right, perhaps what makes the Lemieux Complex the most exciting is that it is used by the Pittsburgh Penguins for practice, and some of them are open to the public to enjoy- for free!

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Mary’s Vine Review – A High-End Wine Bar in a Church

Mary's Vine closed in October 2025.

Mary's Vine is a high-end wine bar that opened in the Pittsburgh borough of Rankin in late 2019.

This one can be found in a converted church and provides an ambiance and wine selection that is truly unlike no other wine bar in the region.

So if strong attention to detail and an impressive (albeit expensive) wine selection is what you seek, a trip to Mary's Vine is a must.

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Boarding a Tench Class Submarine at the USS Requin

Not every city can boast that they have their own submarine, which makes the USS Requin at the Carnegie Science Center one of Pittsburgh's most unusual attractions (and a personal favorite).

Visitors to this one can explore the submarine as either part of the Carnegie Science Center ticket or with an a la carte ticket in order to learn more about what life was like on a mid-20th century submarine!

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