5 of Pittsburgh’s best neighborhoods for dining out

Over the past decade, a host of homegrown innovators and culinary transplants have pushed Pittsburgh into the national spotlight, honoring the city’s rich food heritage while infusing traditional recipes with contemporary flavors and flair. Even though Pittsburghers still love to top even their salads with french fries, the Steel City has finally begun to cast aside its meat-and-potatoes reputation.

“Pittsburgh was built on glass and steel and that’s part of so many people’s stories here. They have those roots and that keeps things real,” says Sylvia Emmenegger-McCoy, founder of ’Burgh Bits & Bites, a local tour company that connects people to Pittsburgh’s historic neighborhoods through food. “We have all these local restaurants where people are really genuine and are going to sit down and talk with you. That’s who people are here.”

That sentiment was laid bare during a recent trip to the ’Burgh, where everyone I met, from Uber drivers to bartenders to the valets at my hotel, had plenty to say about where—and what—I should eat. I quickly decided that Pittsburgh is a town that takes its food seriously.

Pittsburgh is home to 90 distinct neighborhoods, many with their own culinary vibe. Here are 5 of the foodiest, to help you eat your way around town.

Home to Pittsburgh’s ebullient cultural district, the city’s downtown hub stepped onstage as a rising culinary area in 2011 when award-winning chef and restaurateur Richard DeShantz opened his flagship gastropub Meat and Potatoes. Since then, the Pittsburgh native has launched a handful of other area eateries, including täkō (Japanese for octopus), a well-loved Asian-Mexican taqueria where diners can tuck into small plates, tacos, and margaritas inspired by the bar’s impressive collection of tequila and mescal.

Waggish wall-art sets a funky tone and features a huge, comic book–esque octopus clutching a distressed damsel and a massive replica of The Last Supper by Pittsburgh’s very own king of pop, Andy Warhol. Menu standouts include papas bravas—fried potatoes with perfectly crisped skins dressed in oregano butter, spicy tomato sauce, and garlic mayo—and carnitas tacos, which are garnished with chicharrónes and spill with succulent braised pork shoulder, pickled red onion, and salsa verde.

Morning calls for buttery croissants and frothy cappuccino at La Gourmandine—the amande, filled with almond cream and topped with toasted almonds, is especially scrumptious. This chic little café on Forbes Avenue is the newest outpost of the classic French bakery opened in 2010 by pastry chef Fabien Moreau and his wife, Lisanne, in nearby Lawrenceville. For a more filling breakfast, opt for a savory slice of quiche or a Montagnard sandwich, a crusty baguette laden with prosciutto and cornichons.

Once a thriving center of industry and later the heart of Pittsburgh’s wholesale produce business, this 20-block concourse due east of downtown has a vibrant, multicultural backstory—and food plays a central role. Take a deep dive into that story on a morning walking tour with ’Burgh Bits & Bites. Throughout the tour, you’ll meet a handful of local characters while you sample a Strip District smorgasbord—from the legendary pepperoni rolls at Jimmy & Nino’s and paper-thin slices of lonzetta cotta at Parma Sausage to tangy hummus and warm pita at Labad’s Mediterranean Grocery & Cafe, classic potato pierogi at S&D Polish Deli, and delicious fruit-filled pastries called mele at Colangelo’s Bakery.

Still hungry? Lunch options abound. Tucked into the corner of 21st Street and Mulberry Way, Pamela’s Diner serves up classic fare in an equally classic setting. Although burgers, omelets, and salads hit the spot, Pamela’s buttery, lace-edged hotcakes—served plain or loaded with accoutrements like blueberries, chocolate chips, and plenty of whipped cream—are the restaurant’s true claim to fame.

Or bite into Pittsburgh’s most iconic sandwich about a block away at Primanti Brothers. Legend has it that the pile of grilled meat balanced between 2 thick slices of Italian bread and heaped with french fries and vinegary coleslaw provided the perfect meal to Depression-era truck drivers and produce workers.

Home to Pittsburgh’s “Bourbon Street,” the South Side tends to be associated with late-night bacchanalia. But this historic neighborhood has a lot more going for it than its bar scene. Throughout the 19th century, a proliferation of glass, iron, and steel works—and the German and eastern European immigrants who arrived to labor in them—defined the South Side’s blue-collar history. These days, the area hums with an energy that draws from the eclectic dining and drinking establishments that have taken up residence in the area’s trove of Victorian, neoclassical, and art deco buildings.

One not to miss is Dish Osteria and Bar, Michele and Cindy Savoia’s inviting neighborhood gathering place. The menu leans heavily on Michele’s Sicilian heritage and prominently features uber-fresh seafood. Standouts include grilled Spanish octopus with Sicilian potato salad and briny green olives; pan-seared scallops dusted with wild fennel pollen; and rigatoni alla Scamorze. This pasta—perfectly al dente rigatoni tossed with smoked scamorze cheese, prosciutto, peas, and pistachios and coated in a creamy sauce—practically has a cult following. If you can’t score a reservation, arrive on the later side and dine at the well-patinaed copper bar. Kick things off with one of Dish’s beautifully crafted cocktails: the Blissed Out, a rum drink served on the rocks with blood orange Campari syrup, spotlights 2 spirits by local distiller Kingfly. (Be sure to designate a driver if you plan to drink alcohol.)

For a nightcap, dip into Acacia, a speakeasy-style lounge that offers a chic alternative to the numerous watering holes in the neighborhood that cater to the collegiate crowd. Acacia’s team of veteran mixologists work from a menu of classic and seasonal cocktails using ingredients that range from the familiar to the truly obscure.

Steel City’s trendiest urban enclave—made up of lower, central, and upper Lawrenceville—begins just beyond the Strip District. It’s also eminently walkable. Set your sights on Butler Street, the neighborhood’s main thoroughfare, where you can explore a montage of galleries, independent shops, artists’ studios, and some of the ’Burgh’s most memorable restaurants.

Driftwood Oven, where James Beard semifinalist and self-taught baker Neil Blazin fires up his signature sourdough pizzas, should be your first stop. Blazin’s creative pies shine with locally sourced, seasonal ingredients, including pasture-raised meats from Goodness Grows Farm and cheeses from Caputo Brothers Creamery, and play off the flavors of fresh broccoli rabe, shiitake mushrooms, shallots, garlic, arugula, and peppers. Blazin recently decided to expand his pastry prowess and now offers dreamy brownies, cookies, cinnamon rolls, and fresh focaccia on weekends.

Pittsburgh and pierogi often go hand-in-hand, but the savory potato pockets get star treatment at Apteka, a central and eastern European–focused vegan restaurant on Penn Avenue between Lawrenceville and neighboring Bloomfield. Launched in 2016 by Kate Lasky and her partner, Tomasz Skowronski, Apteka showcases everything the pair finds unique and interesting about Skowronski’s—and Pittsburgh’s—culinary heritage, transforming pickled, roasted, and fermented vegetables, grains, and seeds into a gastronomic adventure. And those pierogi? Imagine crisp, thin-skinned dumplings filled with luscious seasonal veggies such as mushrooms, collard greens, caramelized onions, red cabbage, and, of course, potatoes.

On the city’s east side, Squirrel Hill has been the centerpiece of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community since the early 20th century. Back then, kosher butchers and Jewish grocers lined the Forbes-Murray commercial district. Today, spots like Pigeon Bagels on Hobart Street offer a fresh take on kosher eats. Owner Gab Taube started the business as a pop-up before opening her Squirrel Hill storefront in 2019, filling a much-needed gap in Pittsburgh’s food scene and wowing even the most discerning bagel aficionados. Try a warm, marble bagel topped with a schmear of fig and honey cream cheese. Or go for the classic: a plain bagel spread with herby cream cheese and piled with fresh lox, capers, and red onions. Taube and crew also spotlight traditional Jewish bakery goodies like rugelach, honey cake, and gorgeous challahs.

A jump in Squirrel Hill’s Asian population over the past decade has changed the face of the neighborhood’s culinary offerings, with restaurants showcasing a bounty of regional cooking. At local favorite Everyday Noodles, owner Mike Chen hosts a trio of Taiwanese chefs twice a year to work alongside his staff, who turn out delicate soup dumplings, savory pork buns, and perfectly hand-pulled noodles. Right around the corner on Shady Avenue, Taiwanese Bistro Café 33 serves up comforting dishes like crisp scallion pancakes, vegetable and pork wonton soup, and chicken with garlic and basil in a stone hotpot. But the star may just be Chengdu Gourmet, where 4-time James Beard semifinalist Wei Zhu pays delicious homage to his native Sichuan provincial cuisine.

New York–based journalist Gina DeCaprio Vercesi writes about food, drink, and travel with an emphasis on history and conservation.