There are some restaurants that you know the meal is going to be good from the very beginning, and within moments of entering Bar Marco in the Strip District I knew that this would be one of them.
While I was right on my hunch that the food and drinks would be fantastic, the portion sizes gave us reason to pause.
If you feel like modern Asian fusion cuisine is overdone and usually mediocre, you should head to Soba in Shadyside for a change of perspective.
With unpretentious but solid service, sleek and stylish decor, and inventive dishes that combine traditional Asian flavors with unexpected but delicious modern touches, Soba is an excellent choice if you're looking for a place to spend a special night out.
In 2022, Subba moved around the block to East Ohio Street. We have not visited the new location yet and this is from the former iteration. When we return we will update our review accordingly.
Nepal isn't known as a culinary capital of the world, but during our travels we fell in love with the country's unique cuisine– specifically the momos (a local dumpling) and daal bhat (a common feature in traditional lunch sets).
We weren't expecting to find this cuisine in Pittsburgh, but to our surprise a local Nepali family opened Subba Asian in the North Side which features dishes from India, China, and their home country of Nepal.
Naturally, we had to try the Nepali food we fell in love with during our visit.
The grilled cheese trend has not been one we've been particularly excited about, so when a few friends asked us to meet up at The Yard for late night grilled cheese, our hopes were not high.
Luckily, The Yard came through with many unique offerings, an incredible dessert menu, and for those who aren't into grilled cheese as much, a fantastic bar.
Vietnamese cuisine is a culinary style that hasn't taken off in popularity yet in Pittsburgh, but is one of the best national cuisines in the world. During my travels in Vietnam I fell in love with the cuisine, but also came away with an understanding that it is also hard to do right as there is a fine line to make the sweet, spicy, and salty flavors work in many of the dishes.
There are several restaurants that do an incredible job at Vietnamese food in Pittsburgh, Tram's Kitchen and Lucy's Banh Mi cart being a few, and it was with great excitement that I visited Pho Van in the Strip District to try some more of one of my favorite cuisines.
Unfortunately, I left reminded why this cuisine is so hard to do right. Pho Van was a major let down.
In a neighborhood full of colleges and universities, you might not expect to find much more in the way of dining besides fast food and coffee shops.
However, there are several bright spots in the Oakland neighborhood serving up delicious, thoughtful cuisine- one being The Porch located in the beautiful Schenley Plaza in the heart of the neighborhood.
Note: Some of the Turkish pizzas and specialties mentioned below may no longer be offered at some Ephesus locations. At last check, the downtown Pittsburgh and Aspinwall location still offered some of the menu items discussed below but the Bellevue location did not.
When I first heard of Ephesus Pizza, I clung to the hope that they would actually serve some Turkish food and that the name wasn't just a pizza restaurant trying to sound exotic.
Specifically, I was hoping the restaurant would serve Turkish pide (basically a Turkish pizza), one of our favorite dishes from our travels in Turkey.
As I checked out the menu online I couldn't have been happier. Not only did they have our beloved pide complete with sujuk, a dry-cured meat sort of like pepperoni, but they also had lahmacun (another type of meat-topped flatbread), kebaps, and other gyro-esque wraps.
We just had to visit, and it only took us a few days in between hearing about this place and actually getting there. Since that first visit, we've found many reasons to return time and time again.
When we heard that Proper Brick Oven had a wood-fired oven for making their pizzas, we knew we had to check the place out. You pretty much can't go wrong with a pie baked in one of those.
On our recent visit the pizza didn't disappoint, but nearly everything else was uninspiring at best- even the service.
From the name alone, The Pub Chip Shop might not sound like anything other than a greasy fish and chips place for those who have imbibed a bit too much (after all, the restaurant is located in South Side).
However, the menu is rather extensive and offers some tasty surprises that are delicious even when perfectly sober, as we were on our recent visit.
In August 2025, Maggie's announced the closure of their South Hills location. The Strip District location appears to have re-opened in late September.
We are spoiled to have many great distilleries in Pittsburgh. Pick a spirit, and odds are good you can find it being made locally.
Some of our local distillers are highly specialized, and focus on one (or a small handful of products). One such distillery is Maggie's Farm Rum, producing all things, you guessed it, rum!
This one is proof that you don't have to fly to the Caribbean or Indian Ocean to find amazing rum, and their accolades speak for themselves. Maggie's has won numerous national awards including Pennsylvania Distillery of the Year at the NY International Spirits Competition and America's Best Rum by the American Craft Spirits Association to name a few.
Thirsty yet? You know we are, which is why we find ourselves returning to the distillery's two locations again and again.