Senza Review – Wine Bar and Restaurant in Etna

Senza Returns as a Wine Bar and Restaurant

The space has undergone a few renovations but maintains its intimate, cozy feel. The wine menu has expanded, and with the Bar Marco team's excellent curation, there is a lot for everyone to enjoy. Being wine nerds, we particularly loved the focus on obscure grapes and underappreciated regions. There are beer and cocktail options, too, although we focused on wine for our first visit.

The wine menu features a dozen or so wines by the glass and even more by the bottle. Don't be afraid to ask for recommendations from the staff or to branch out and try a new wine you've never heard of. On our visit we particularly loved an orange Tsitska from Kakheti, Georgia.

The food menu is built for ordering everything and sharing with the table – think elevated small plates with an Italian slant like whipped mortadella and meatball ragu, but larger plates as well like cod cheeks and duck frites. It's the perfect setup for drinking and grazing the night away with friends and family.

We started with the chickpea panisse, featuring caper leaf, lemon, and pickled onions. The cubes of chickpea flour batter fried to crispy perfection – think French fries, but if they were ultra creamy and rich on the inside. The pickled onions gave a contrasting brightness and acidity to balance.

We couldn't pass up the arancini, which were fried just right with a moist interior and a rich, creamy dipping sauce. The inside had flavors of cured meat and tomato sauce – basically, they tasted like pizza in all the best ways.

The roasted turnips were a sleeper hit with Asian pear, black sesame, and chili complementing the tender root veggies. The combination of earthy and spicy flavors with a hint of sweetness was an all around delight.

The Hokkaido scallops were cooked perfectly with apple, beet puree, and horseradish vinaigrette. The flavors matched well with the scallops – our only hesitation was that the price point was a bit high, especially since there were only two scallops in the dish.

The savoy cabbage with mustard fontina cream, chili oil, and brown butter bread crumbs was comfort food at its finest. The meltingly tender cabbage was punctuated with bright mustard flavors, and the buttery bread crumbs provided a nice contrasting crunchy texture.

One of our favorite dishes was the sourdough cavatelli, paired with apple, rosemary, caramelized shallot, fennel sausage, and brown butter bead crumbs. The pasta had the perfect chew, and the subtle sweetness from the apple and shallot worked well with the savory sausage.

We loved that despite not being slathered in a sauce, it was packed full of flavors and textures.

On the heartier side of dishes, the duck frites hit the spot with duck confit, a wine and peppercorn glaze, and fries. The skin on the duck was crispy while the meat was unctuous and rich, while the pungent peppercorn glaze provided some punchiness to contrast the richness.

Excellent crispy fries were a perfect complement.

We also tried the creme brulee which was served in an unconventional format as a dome of custard with the bruleed sugar on top of the dome. The shape of the custard was different from what we were used to, and it made for an uneven sort of sugar layer. However, the flavor was rich and creamy with just the right amount of sweetness.

It's worth noting that Bar Marco's no-tipping policy has carried over to the operations here. Personally we are fans of the concept, but keep this in mind when looking at the menu. If prices seem a touch high, just remember you won't have to tip on top of that.

We love the curated wine list here, the creative touches in the food, and that it's got a welcoming, neighborhood atmosphere. We could definitely use more wine bars in Pittsburgh, especially ones with elevated small plates for sharing, so we are pretty excited about this iteration of Senza and can't wait to get back.

Senza was located at 372 Butler Street in Etna, PA. The original Senza closed in 2025 but re-opened in 2026.