This one should go without saying, but we love lamb. It is one of our favorite meats, and we are spoiled here in western Pennsylvania to have so many fantastic producers that raise lambs.
As such, it should be no surprise that there is a festival that celebrates all things lamb, and the Western PA Lamb Fest does that and then some at the annual event!
Cadence at the Strip closed in 2026.
Cadence Cellars in the Strip District is a restaurant and bar with a speakeasy theme offering up classics like steaks and pork chops served alongside Prohibition-era cocktails. With its basement location and good execution of both food and drink, Cadence is a great spot to check out if you’re in the neighborhood.
In the Strip District, we tend to think about drinking and dining options as an “either/or” situation – most spots either excel only at food or only at drinks. However, Cadence is a rare spot where both of these are in balance, making it equally great as a brunch stop while you’re shopping or a place to start a night out on the town.
Sly Fox at The Highline closed in February 2026. Their downtown location closed in August 2026.
When we first visited Sly Fox Brewing, it was for their downtown Pittsburgh location just steps away from Point State Park.
To put it bluntly, we were not fans.
While the beer was true-to-form for their traditional styles, we just generally thought the space was small, cramped even when the patio was closed, and wasn’t the kind of place we would make a dedicated trip downtown to enjoy. If you work nearby it is great for a quick round, but we just never found ourselves prioritizing a second visit.
Thankfully, Sly Fox Brewing has opened a second location in Pittsburgh, at the stunning Highline in South Side (close to Station Square right on the Great Allegheny Passage), and has quickly become one of our favorite spots for beer in Pittsburgh!
Goodlander closed their Larimer tap room in June 2026; however, we hope this one will return in a new location soon.
Pittsburgh has breweries. It also has cocktail bars. But did you hear that Pittsburgh is now home to a cocktail brewery?
Goodlander Cocktail Brewery in Larimer combines the best elements of both of these styles of bars for a unique concept that puts cocktails on draft while also being available in growlers to go!
Naturally, it sounded right up our alley.
At this time, we’re not sure if Kayak Pittsburgh is operating the Sharpsburg launch any longer. Check out Kayak Pittsburgh’s downtown dock by the convention center!
For many years, Kayak Pittsburgh operated a rental location right on the Allegheny River just below the Roberto Clemente Bridge on the North Side. We always tried to get a rental here, but the days we were free often were met with extreme heat or super high river levels (read: incredibly fast flow) such that we missed our chance before they closed.
So when the company moved upstream to a new location at the James Sharp Landing in Sharpsburg in 2022, we knew we had to go as soon as it opened.
Viva Los Tacos seemingly closed in 2026.
Many Pittsburgher’s were devastated when The Original Hot Dog Shop (also known as The O) closed in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood in early 2020. While many hoped someone would come along and purchase the restaurant to bring it back to life, sadly it was not in the cards.
Instead, the prime restaurant space was renovated, thoroughly cleaned, and opened up as a taco restaurant with a loaded bar with a name and style straight out of Las Vegas- Viva Los Tacos.
Naturally, I had to visit this one shortly after it opened to see what it was like.
African Cuisine appears to be closed.
African Cuisine is an aptly named restaurant in Squirrel Hill that serves up a huge menu of dishes from West Africa and, more specifically, the country of Nigeria.
While we could go on a long tangent about how the city needs a much better representation of international cuisine in our restaurant scene (it is a prominent theme in our things we want in Pittsburgh article), we’re just going to say that this particular spot checks a lot of boxes for us in this regard.
Delicious African food from countries and regions we haven’t explored much of in the past? Sign us up.
tako Torta closed in August 2026 and will be rebranded into a new concept by the Richard DeShantz Restaurant Group.
In the past, we’ve raved about the high-end taco restaurant, aptly named tako (Japanese for octopus), in Pittsburgh’s Cultural District. This restaurant features artisan tacos, a stellar tequila bar, and an ambiance that perfectly fits its location downtown.
One thing the restaurant is not, however, is approachable. Prime reservation slots are often booked up weeks in advance, and an order of their namesake tako tacos (yes- an octopus taco) clocks well over $20. A decent price for octopus, but an extreme one for tacos all the same.
So when we heard that the Richard DeShantz Restaurant Group was opening another tako in Bakery Square, we had a moment of pause. “A high-end restaurant there?!” was our immediate gut reaction. Thankfully, the restaurant, called tako Torta, takes a fast-casual approach to this restaurant’s delicious menu with tacos, torta sandwiches, and more!
Lawrenceville Distilling relocated their operations to Verona. This article was from a visit to their now-closed Lawrenceville location.
Lawrenceville Distilling started making craft spirits in their namesake neighborhood in 2018. Since then, their popularity increased quite a bit to the point that they were awarded the title of Pennsylvania’s Gin Distillery in 2019 and Absinthe Distillery in 2020 by the New York International Spirits Competition.
Unfortunately for us, we only made it into this gem of a distillery (tucked away off of the booming Butler Street) in late 2021. While we would still say that this one only has a few spirits available to purchase, their cocktail program and resident food pop-up make for a delightful night out all around.
40 North closed in July 2024.
40 North is the newest restaurant concept in the Alphabet City space located in the North Side. With James Beard Award-nominee Bethany Zozula at the helm, the restaurant features local and seasonal cuisine that both comforts and inspires.
When we heard Zozula was going to lead 40 North we had high hopes for this space that has seen its share of restaurants come and go over the past few years. Zozula was most recently the chef at the now-closed Whitfield, a standout spot for steaks and weekend brunch.
While the menu at 40 North is decidedly new, fans of the Whitfield will likely find much to love here. Entrees include simple but well-executed preparations of steaks, fish, and chicken, while the sides and appetizers make use of seasonal produce with middle eastern and Eastern European flavors sprinkled in.