Lawrenceville
Updated August 2026 · 18 spots reviewed
Butler Street is the deepest restaurant row in the city, full stop. Two of our three perfect scores sit within four blocks of each other, and the supporting cast, from pan pizza to Thai courtyards to natural wine, would anchor most neighborhoods on its own. Book ahead; every table here knows what it's worth.
Every rating below is one critic's 1 to 5, scored on food, vibe, value and service. Morcilla leads at 5.0. Nobody paid to be here.
Lawrenceville tops these boards
Spanish, Tapas · $$$ · 3519 Butler St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201
A five, and a four-time James Beard nominee's best work. Spanish small plates and house charcuterie with a precision nobody else in town touches. Go hungry, over-order, don't rush it.
Order: House charcuterie & pintxos
Full review →On the map
French · $$$$ · 3517 Butler St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201
A French bistro firing on every cylinder. Flawless technique, a serious bar, a room that feels like an event. Expensive and hard to book; both are earned. One of the three perfect fives.
Order: Rotisserie chicken for two
Full review →On the map
Thai · $$$ · 5319 Butler St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201
Real Thai cooking in the prettiest garden in the city. Easily a top-tier date night; book ahead in summer.
Order: Beef tenderloin in the garden courtyard
Full review →On the map
Pizza · $$ · 3615 Butler St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201
Sourdough pizza from people who clearly obsess over dough. The menu and hours are limited. Quality over breadth.
Order: Soppressata & hot honey sourdough pie
Full review →On the map
New American · $$$ · 4306 Butler St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201
A small, sharp kitchen with a daily-changing menu and a cult following. Trust the specials; seating is limited.
Order: Whatever's on the chalkboard
Full review →On the map
Austro-Hungarian, European · $$$ · 4129 Butler St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201
Csilla Thackray took the old Merchant Oyster space and filled it with her Hungarian grandmother's cooking, langos, paprikash, tafelspitz, done with Vandal-level precision. The Central European wine list from the Allegheny Wine Mixer's Sean Rosenkrans is reason enough to go. Nobody else in the Burgh is cooking like this.
Order: Chicken paprikash with the Titusz torte to finish
Full review →On the map
Wine Bar, Small Plates · $$ · 5326 Butler St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201
A tiny Butler Street wine bar with a name that is a joke and a list that is not. Tell them what you like and let them ignore you productively.
Order: A glass you have never heard of and a cheese plate
Full review →On the map
Italian · $$ · 3801 Butler St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201
A warm, no-frills trattoria with honest handmade pasta. Tiny and beloved. Book ahead.
Order: Tuscan-style handmade pasta & gnocchi
Full review →On the map
Pizza · $$ · 5123 Butler St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201
Wood-fired pies and natural wine; the clam pie is a sleeper. A little pricey for pizza, but worth it.
Order: Vodka pie with hot honey
Full review →On the map
Coffee, Cafe · $ · 3623 Butler St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201
The coffee bar that trained half the baristas in this city. Small, exacting, no interest in selling you a sandwich.
Order: A cortado
Full review →On the map
Vietnamese, Cafe · $ · 4502 Butler St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201
A tiny Penn Ave counter cranking out some of the best bánh mì in the city for the price of a fancy latte. The grilled pork with pickled veg on a crackly baguette is the order, and the iced coffee will end your afternoon nicely. No frills, all flavor.
Order: Grilled pork bánh mì and a Vietnamese iced coffee
Full review →On the map
Japanese, Izakaya · $$$ · 202 38th St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201
Yakitori, ramen, and cocktails in a dark izakaya with a great patio. Solid date spot; portions run small.
Order: Yakitori, ramen & a hidden back garden
Full review →On the map
Japanese, Korean, Asian · $$ · 4407 Butler St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201
Roger Li folded the old Ki Ramen and Ki Pollo into one BYOB 'Asian soul food' joint, and the mashup just works. The gochujang fried chicken is shatter-crisp and the shoyu ramen broth is clearly made by someone who simmers it forever. Bring your own bottle, order too much, eat with your hands. No-frills, all flavor.
Order: Gochujang Korean fried chicken with biscuits
Full review →On the map
Wine Bar, Small Plates · $$ · 4839 Butler St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201
A sommelier-run corrective to Pennsylvania's soulless wine-buying experience. A tight, globally minded list built around character and farming, not points. Drink in or grab a bottle to go, with a few smart bites to keep you honest. The kind of small, opinionated room every neighborhood wishes it had.
Order: A glass of low-intervention something with a snacky plate
Full review →On the map
Cocktails, Bar · $$ · 4325 Butler St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201
The cocktail bar Lawrenceville actually needed. Artsy, plant-draped, half hippie cafe and half serious drinks den. The bartenders care, the seasonal cocktails are genuinely creative, and they'll bend over backwards for an allergy. It's a drinks-first spot, so set your expectations on the bites, but for a low-key Butler St nightcap it's a charmer.
Order: A creative seasonal cocktail in the plant-strewn room
Full review →On the map
Mexican, Tacos, Bar · $$ · 3720 Butler St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201
The Butler Street patio that started the block's whole second act. Tacos are solid rather than transcendent, the margaritas are the actual draw, and on a warm night it's the best seat in Lawrenceville.
Order: Tacos and a margarita on the patio
Full review →On the map
Belgian, Fries · $ · 4213 Butler St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201
A whole storefront on Butler & 43rd dedicated to doing one thing right: proper double-fried Belgian frites with a wall of fifteen-plus dipping sauces. Is it a one-note act? Sure. But it's open late, it's cheap, and it scratches an itch nothing else in the Burgh does. Get the andalouse and the samurai, thank me later.
Order: Double-fried Belgian fries with the sauce flight
Full review →On the map
Brewpub, American, Pizza · $$ · 3525 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15201
Yes, it is a brewery inside a deconsecrated church, and yes the copper kettles sit where the altar was. Tourist bait that happens to brew genuinely good beer. Go once for the room, stay for the pierogi pizza.
Order: A pierogi pizza under the altar
Full review →On the mapWhere Lawrenceville spills into next.
