Pittsburgh is full of restaurants, and luckily tons of local restaurants to try! That means that you have plenty of ordering options and could try new things for a long time! I haven’t had the ability to try every restaurant in town, but here are my favorites. I realized after looking at my list that my personal favorites are on the southside, but that’s where my favorite local joints are at! Below are my four must try restaurants, I hope you enjoy and if you have tried them or have your own Pittsburgh recommendations, leave them below in the comments!
First Pittsburgh Restaurant: My Thai
Website: Home (mythaipittsburgh.com)
This restaurant has some of the best Thai food around! They have an easy ordering system and their food always hit that Thai food craving. My husband and I’s personal favorite at this restaurant is the Thai Noodle Curry with beef at the level 3 spice. Literal perfection, not too hot and the beef was very well cooked. I’ve also tried the Duck Soup which was very very good. However, it comes in several containers if you get it to go. Make sure you SHAKE the containers and get all the spices out before you heat it up! In their regular entree section, the Garlic option was really good. Packed with veggies and your choice of meat and spice. We got it a couple different ways, but this was my favorite dish for my daughter. We got the lowest spice level, and it was easy for her to eat without any crazy heat! Also, a lot of times restaurants make accidental mistakes, My Thai was amazing at rectifying the mistake and also giving us a milk tea for our inconvenience. Ya’ll… that milk tea became a craving for me it’s so good. I don’t love the boba’s so mine came without it and I was so happy with it.
Second Pittsburgh Restaurant: Riley’s Poorhouse (Reubens)
Website: Riley’s Pour House – Irish Restaurant in Carnegie, PA (rileyspourhouse.com)
Let me be very upfront here, the entire reason we go to this restaurant are for the Reubens. We used to be avid fans of Penn Brewery, however they got rid of their classic Reuben, so we had to look elsewhere. After trying a few places, we were given the recommendation of Riley’s Poorhouse. Riley’s Poorhouse is definitely a hole in the wall location, which as you know tend to be the best. That is exactly how Riley’s is for their Reubens. The sandwich is huge, filled with meat and honestly gives me about 2 meals every time I order it. They do have limited sides, mainly fries or tater tots, which isn’t bad but nothing to write home about. While I haven’t tried any of their local brews, they do offer them, and their atmosphere would make for fun dinner with friends!
Third Pittsburgh Restaurant: Venice Pizzeria
Website: Venice Pizzeria (venicepizzeriaonline.com)
Okay so we have tried several different pizza places, usually based on what friends/locals have ordered for us when we were hanging out. But we found this Venice Pizzeria that was down the street from our house, and it instantly became a family favorite. Our go to pizza is the Meateaters Pie. We get a large/extra-large, so we have leftovers for the next day. It’s stacked full of meat and is on a thinner crust. It does make the crust a bit flimsy so be aware of that. However, the flavor paired with the Ranch dip they give you is perfection. We’ve had all of our family members try it, it’s that good. I’ve also tried their standard pizzas (cheese and pepperoni and was equally happy with both). Venice Pizzeria also offers food options outside of pizza, but just like any other restaurant, I tend to stick to the restaurant’s strengths, in this case their pizza.
Fourth Pittsburgh Restaurant: Mike and Tony’s Gyros/The Original Gyro
Websites: Mike & Tonys Gyros – Mike & Tony’s Gyros – Greek Restaurant in PA (mikeandtonysgyros.com)/The Original Gyro | 2 Locations | Greek Food, Pizza, and Hoagies (ogpgh.com)
My husband and I are big fans of Gyro’s and I have to say I have two favorites in Pittsburgh. They would be Mike and Tony’s Gyros and the Original Gyro. Mike and Tony’s are a sit-down restaurant that offers beer and TVs to watch the local game. They have a very nice restaurant, easy parking (which is rare in Pittsburgh) and really wonderful service. I opt to get their Original Gyro with coleslaw on the side and am never disappointed. They also have a great kid’s menu with a broken-down gyro which is perfect for young kids and also comes with a ton of meat. My husband also tried their steak gyro the other day and said it was tied with the original gyro in flavor!
As for The Original Gyro, they are more of a takeout location, which is completely ideal some days! They are very fast and their gyros are full of meat and flavor. They also come with fries and a drink as part of their combo which makes it a great deal. Now I’m not going to lie, the fries and not good. I’ve been many times and I could live without the fries every time. You may end up liking them, but in my opinion, you’d be better off getting some McDonald’s fries to pair with it if you really want fries!
Don’t just try through Pittsburgh, make sure you take the time to stop in try some local Pittsburgh restaurants and experience all that Pittsburgh has to offer!
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