Willow closed to become an event space in 2019, but was acquired by new owners and re-opened later on. This review is from before the changes and may not reflect the current menu adequately.
Willow is one of those restaurants that consistently makes all the “best of” Pittsburgh lists year after year. We visited a few months ago to celebrate our anniversary and have to agree that if you're looking for a reliable nice dinner out, this spot fits the bill.
Located in the Fairmont, the restaurant fl.2 (Floor 2) is seeking to elevate hotel cuisine in downtown Pittsburgh. We recently went for Sunday brunch and while the space itself is beautifully designed and the food decent, the service left us wanting much more.
Pittsburgh Magazine is one of the city's largest local media outlets and features everything from news to event coverage to restaurant reviews.
Each May the magazine unveils their top restaurants for the year (generally 30-40 picks) as selected by an independent panel. This unveiling culminates in their annual Best Restaurant Party that takes place at Acrisure Stadium (formerly Heinz Field) in early June- with many of the top Pittsburgh restaurants participating!
I was invited out to the 2019 event as a media guest of Pittsburgh Magazine and wanted to share my thoughts of this annual event!
Mike & Tony's Gyros is a local restaurant chain with several locations in and around the city serving up what we believe to be the world's perfect food- the gyro!
Much to our delight, we found that this one goes all in on gyro and souvlaki meat and is exactly what we were looking for during our visit.
If you are seeking traditional barbecue in Pittsburgh that is as delicious as it is no frills, Showcase BBQ is the place for you.
You wouldn't think twice about this unassuming house in Homewood West if it wasn't for the modest sign out front and two massive smokers along the side. But as soon as we arrived, we knew we were in the right place for barbecue.
Bigham Tavern is one of those places that you may never come across when exploring Mount Washington unless you are expressly looking for it.
We would know- we lived on Mount Washington for two years and had no idea that Bigham street had a gastropub, and we lived just a few blocks away.
It wasn't until we published our neighborhood guide that we got a lot of feedback that we missed this hidden gem, and we made a return trip to the neighborhood to check it out.
We really were missing out.
Bull River Taco is a popular short order taco join that first opened in the South Hills. In 2017 they expanded to have their second location located right in the heart of Squirrel Hill, and their buzz continued to grow from there.
After many reader recommendations, we finally made it out to their Squirrel Hill location to see what they're all about.
Driftwood Oven was a popular Pittsburgh food truck until early 2018 when the owners decided to ditch the wagon and open a brick and mortar restaurant right in the heart of Lawrenceville.
We were always big fans of this particular pizza as, well, who could say no to mobile brick oven pizza? We were a bit bummed to find out they wouldn't be at our favorite breweries moving forward, but were also excited to see how they'd expand their pizza into a traditional restaurant concept.
They didn't disappoint.
Ki Pollo has now become Nanban by Chef Roger Li. The restaurant features favorites from this one plus Ki Ramen and new dishes.
Ki Pollo is the brainchild of Roger Li (Umami) and Domenic Branduzzi (Piccolo Forno), and it's located in Lawrenceville right next to another establishment of theirs, Ki Ramen.
This one serves up an interesting mix of Korean style fried chicken and Argentinian empanadas.
The restaurant focuses on making everything from scratch, right down to the dipping sauces for the fried chicken. This low key BYOB spot is a perfect place for a quick bite or a takeout meal.
La Tavola on Mount Washington is an acclaimed Italian/Sicilian restaurant that offers family cooked meals in a slow dining ambiance that we consider to be one of the best restaurants in Pittsburgh.
But while the restaurant may have a die hard following in local circles, their pizza shop located around the back of the restaurant is lesser known.
In this one, we take a trip back to one of our favorite spots solely to give their pizza menu a try!