City Winery has been taking the entertainment world by storm with its unique combination of being one part winery, one part entertainment complex.
While City Winery has been operating in several major cities in the USA for many years now, their first Pittsburgh location opened right in the heart of the Strip District in the Terminal building complex in 2023.
Wine, live entertainment, and late-night hours in the Strip? We're in for that!
We are big fans of all things mini golf, and when the indoor-themed mini golf course, Puttery, opened in the Strip District in 2023, we knew we had to go right away.
Themed mini golf courses seem to be a hot commodity as they combine uniquely designed courses with a restaurant and bar space to make for a place to spend an entire evening hanging out with friends.
Whether you want a drink and a meal before your course, a drink while playing, or a bit of everything, this 21+ establishment offers a ton of fun. That being said, this one comes at a price to match!
In early 2023, the Honduran coffee shop, Cafetano, rebranded as Soluna Coffee & Mezcal Bar. The coffee shop portion of the restaurant operates similarly to the former concept plus the addition of night time libations and food in the backroom Mezcal bar. We visited the coffee shop when it was Cafetano and revisited Soluna for the mezcal bar shortly after opening.
When we found out the Honduran coffee shop Soluna (formerly Cafetano) was opening in the former Gaucho space in the Strip District, we weren't entirely sure what to think of it. This had nothing to do with the coffee shop itself (we will never say no to more amazing coffee in Pittsburgh), but rather the use of the space outright.
By Strip District standards, Gaucho had one of the larger building footprints in the neighborhood and, when it comes to coffee shops, we're not used to seeing any of that size anywhere in the city. So hearing that a coffee shop was moving into this particular space was a bit of a surprise.
Thankfully, their wonderful coffee shop offered a hard reminder how much good space in coffee shops is sorely needed, and when this one rebranded as Soluna in 2023 to also incorporate a late-night mezcal bar in the back, we saw the perfect utilization of this space all around.
So whether you visit Soluna for their delicious coffee and small plates during the day, or for a Mezcal cocktail and more unique food in the evening, you really have several reasons to visit this gem in the Strip District!
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.
Cioppino Restaurant & Cigar Bar has been a staple in the Strip District for well over a decade with its seafood and chophouse-focused menu and prized cigar bar tucked away in a back room.
We were able to visit this one to check out the seasonal summer menu as guests of the restaurant for a media night, and have to admit we can see the allure of this gem on Railroad Street!
Note: Many of the appetizers we sampled were served family-style for the event. As such, our photos may not be representative of true portion size.
I remember when Wigle Whiskey opened their doors in Pittsburgh. I was so excited that the craft spirits scene was taking off, and eager to get my hands on any of the (limited) concoctions that the distillery was producing.
It is unfortunate to have to admit this, but at the time their namesake whiskeys were not to my liking. I have never been fond of white rye and wheat whiskeys and usually prefer my grain spirits to be aged for several years to get the flavors from the large oak barrels. In being a new distillery, their aging program simply did not exist at the time, so I knew I would have to wait longer for the styles I enjoy.
Although I wasn't fond of the whiskey when Wigle launched, I found myself oddly attached to the Ginever Gin they also produced- another spirit I never really got into the habit of drinking. Soon after I was consuming every cocktail in the city with this delicious spirit and couldn't get enough.
That was in 2012 when Wigle was founded. Fast-forward to the present day, and all that has changed.
Wholey's in the Strip District is a feast for the senses in every corner of the store. Whether you're in the seafood section, meat department, or simply checking out the produce this one certainly has a lot to look over. Naturally, we walk through this one just about every time we are in the neighborhood.
But one of our favorite parts of Wholey's is the very first thing you see when walking in- Andy's Sushi Bar.
This staple sushi bar not only serves up some of the finest sushi in Pittsburgh, but is manned by one of the nicest guys you'll meet. So while you'll be visiting this one because of its sushi, you'll be returning, in part, because of Andy himself.
When walking around the Strip District in early 2021, we noticed some changes in front of Reyna's grocery store. Their short-order taco stand was replaced by a Colombina arepa stand. As we are just as crazy about arepas as we are tacos, it didn't take long for us to place an order.
But, as it turns out, Colombino is not just an arepa stand, but rather a coffee and cacao bar that also serves arepas.
This one is truly the best of all worlds, and in the span of 36 hours, we visited this one twice. It is that good.
Coop de Ville is one of the newest concepts from the Richard DeShantz restaurant group and it's serving up fried chicken and other Southern classics. What's unique about this spot in the Strip District is that it's also an entertainment venue offering duckpin bowling, arcade games, a champagne vending machine, and more.
We recently ordered takeout and have to admit we were not overly enthused about the food, although we should note that we were one of the first orders of the day during opening week.
Little Bangkok in the Strip is a stalwart Thai restaurant that serves up a wide variety of noodles, curries, stir-fries, soups, and appetizers with classic Thai flavors executed perfectly. We recently ordered takeout from Little Bangkok and were pleasantly surprised with the high quality and well-balanced flavors.