Looking for somewhere different to dine in Pittsburgh and the surrounding area? Check us out! We get together once a month with a couple of rules...no repeats and no chain restaurants. We started in 2009 and are still going strong!

Friday, August 5, 2016

Green Forrest Churrascaria

July 2016
655 Rodi Road, Pittsburgh PA 15235
http://www.greenforestdining.com/home


I could not attend in July....I will leave the reviews up to those that were there!

Pasha Cafe

June 2016
808 Ivy St, Pittsburgh PA 15232


We were really excited to try out Pasha Café in Shady Side since it has a great outdoor area it is BYOB!  Unfortunately, they messed up our reservations and they ended up squeezing us in to a table in the back of the restaurant by the kitchen.  I had called to make the reservations 2 week in advance, but that did not matter.  Actually, just about every party that walked in the door that evening and said they had a reservation were given the same blank stare that we received....the hostess did not have their reservations noted in their system.

Our waitress seemed very confused the entire evening and was not very attentive to our party.  She poured wined into the water glasses and we had to get up to fetch cups and utensils ourselves a couple of times.  The vegetables side was red cabbage and it did not have much flavor.  Our party ordered crème puffs and baklava for dessert - the crème puffs were still frozen on the inside but the baklava was very good (it was the best part of the meal by far).  It is highly unlikely that I will be going back to Pasha Café anytime soon.   

Morcilla

May 2016
2519 Butler St, Pittsburgh PA 15201
http://www.morcillapittsburgh.com/


 

Morcilla is a quaint little restaurant in Lawrenceville that serves mostly tapas.  The portion sizes were on the small side but the wait staff was helpful with recommending the amount of dishes to share with our party.   



Saturday, April 30, 2016

Smoke

April 2016
4115 Butler St, Pittsburgh PA 15201
http://smokepgh.com/



Smoke's decor reminded me a lot of Cure...very unique and rustic.  The menu is on the small side, which is likely how they keep the prices down.  The menu consisted of a few appetizers and sides, but the main dishes were all tacos.  For appetizers, we shared the queso and the chorizo stuffed avocados as. which was delicious.  Everyone got 1 or 2 tacos, a side and a couple drinks and our bill came to around $40/person.  Not bad!  Smoke does not take reservations but we went around 6pm on a Thursday and did not have any problem getting a table for six people.  By 8:00, the line was out the door.


Sunday, April 10, 2016

Park Bruges

March 2016
5801 Bryant St
Pittsburgh PA 15206
pointbrugge.com

We are slacking on pictures :-(
I did not attend this one, so I will leave the reviews to those that went!

Pallantia

February 2016
810 Ivy Street
Pittsburgh PA 15232
http://www.pallantiapgh.com/

We forgot to take a picture of our food and a group picture again!
We had a lot of fun and good laughs at Pallantia.  I was surprised to see that we went on a Tuesday evening and I think only 1 other party came in the entire night.  The menu is mainly tapas and the waitress helped us order enough food, but kept us from over-ordering which was nice!  The drinks were good and we were all happy with our choices. 


Poros

January 2016
2 Market Square
Pittsburgh PA 15222
http://www.porospgh.com/

Poros has a great atmosphere.  The bar and outdoor area are great for after work drinks.  The kitchen was a bit slow on the night that we went, but the waiter was attentive and kept apologizing.  We shared a couple appetizers and each had a main course.  You are able to order your fish or meat by the ounce and the sides are a la carte.  I had Chilean sea bass and took the advice of the waiter on the prep style.  The fish itself was good, but the preparation was a bit bland.  We went in January when the outdoor area was obviously closed, but I would like to go back to Poros when we can sit outside in Market Square. 

Merrante's

December 2015
4723 Liberty Ave
Pittsburgh PA 15224
https://merante-gifts.com/private-dining/


Merrante's was our chosen place for our holiday Grub Club and it did not disappoint!If you are interested in visiting Merrante's, you have to plan months in advance as they are in high demand.  Everything is private dining of groups of 8 or more.  They give you options for the menu that you have to choose ahead of time and all you do is show up with your bottle(s) of wine and enjoy!  I felt like I was at Sunday dinner at my Grandmother's house as soon as I walked in the door.  We had a separate room set up for drinks and appetizers.  Our group had 9 people and we shared 6 appetizers including stuffed mushrooms, brie, meatballs, tomatoes and mozzarella, etc.  Once we had enough there, we went into the dining room where we could see and smell (!) all the goodness happening.  We were served soup, salad, a main dish, dessert and homemade limoncello.  The staff was very friendly and fun.  They interacted with us throughout the evening and joined in on the fun.  I have been meaning to get back here with my family....I will have to see if our schedules are clear around October.

Union Pig and Chicken

November 2015

220 N Highland Ave


http://unionpgh.com/

We forgot to take a group picture!