18 ranked
The best American restaurants in Pittsburgh
18 American kitchens on the map, from cheap counters to the full sit-down. Downtown carries the most of them, and every one is ranked by the same 1-5 score as the rest of the site.
- 1
Bloomfield · $ · No. 13 of 157 overall
A genuine mom-and-pop, Katelyn Bako runs the kitchen, her dad Rick works the register, slinging snappy natural-casing dogs, crispy-edged smash burgers, onion rings, and shoestring fries on Liberty Ave. The chili comes from Brothmonger down the street, almost everything's under ten bucks, and there's a milkshake with your name on it. Cheap, charming, and exactly what a corner burger joint should be.
Order: Natural-casing hot dog and a smash burger, both under ten bucks
- 2
Wexford · $$$$ · No. 15 of 157 overall
The best steakhouse in the Pittsburgh orbit, full stop. Worth the drive north for a prime cut cooked exactly right, a deep wine list, and a cigar bar to close it out. A local favorite that earns it.
Order: Prime dry-aged ribeye
- 3
Bloomfield · $$ · No. 22 of 157 overall
The best burger in Pittsburgh and it has been for decades. Hardwood grill, butcher on site, no reinvention required. Cash flows, the bar is loud, and the char on that patty is the whole argument.
Order: The hardwood-grilled burger
- 4
North Side · $$$$ · No. 39 of 157 overall
A grown-up special-occasion steakhouse on the North Shore where the staff actually knows what they're doing and the beef shows up cooked exactly how you asked. Get the colossal shrimp cocktail, order a ribeye, and finish with the banana foster butter cake before you waddle out to the ballgame.
Order: Bone-in ribeye, ordered "Rooney" style with lobster and mushrooms piled on top
- 5
Oakland · $$ · No. 70 of 157 overall
Oakland's grown-up table, the one you take your parents to on move-in weekend. Nothing on the menu is trying to surprise you and that is precisely the point.
Order: The chicken sandwich
- 6Butterjoint3.7
Oakland · $$ · No. 74 of 157 overall
The bar half of a much-missed restaurant, and it outlived its parent for good reason. A serious burger, hand-pinched pierogi, and one of the better short cocktail lists in the city.
Order: The burger and a plate of pierogi
- 7
Strip District · $$ · No. 81 of 157 overall
Try it once for the history, not the food. The fries-and-slaw-inside is a novelty that's more fun to have done than to eat. Iconic, sure. Great, no.
Order: The Almost-Famous sandwich (fries & slaw inside)
- 8
Greenfield · $$ · No. 107 of 157 overall
A Run institution for huge plates at fair prices. Come hungry, leave with leftovers, and good luck finding parking.
Order: Enormous plates of comfort food
- 9
Strip District · $$ · No. 119 of 157 overall
The big Smallman warehouse where the beer is genuinely excellent and the kitchen refuses to coast. Loud, industrial, good for a group that can't agree on anything.
Order: A hazy pint and the fried chicken
- 10
Downtown · $$$ · No. 121 of 157 overall
Handsome room, proper martini, and a kitchen still finding its feet - plates have come out slow and heavier than they should. Worth it for the drink and the pre-theater walk; keep the expectations at the bar.
Order: A martini at the bar
- 11
Garfield · $ · No. 124 of 157 overall
Moved into the Primanti's that quit Penn Ave, which is its own kind of statement. Lacy-edged smash patties, zero ceremony, gone in ten minutes flat - the best cheap lunch in Garfield.
Order: The double smash
- 12
Downtown · $$$$ · No. 128 of 157 overall
A chain, yes, but a polished one. Dry-aged steaks, a serious bar, and a room built to close a deal. Reliable when you need to impress and do not want surprises.
Order: Dry-aged bone-in ribeye
- 13
East Liberty · $$ · No. 132 of 157 overall
A retro bar with great mac-and-cheese and a stiff drink. Charm over ambition. And that's the whole point.
Order: Mac & cheese + a stiff Manhattan
- 14
Downtown · $$$ · No. 140 of 157 overall
Hotel-restaurant American cooking on Sixth, better than it needs to be and useful before a show at the Benedum.
Order: Whatever is on the seasonal menu
- 15
Lawrenceville · $$ · No. 146 of 157 overall
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
- 16
Mt. Washington · $$ · No. 147 of 157 overall
The unfussy way to eat the same view Le Mont charges four figures for. Food is bar food, the deck is the point, and in summer there is nowhere better to hand somebody a beer.
Order: A burger on the deck
- 17
South Side · $$$ · No. 152 of 157 overall
The most beautiful dining room in Pittsburgh, full stop. A restored 1901 railroad station with a vaulted stained-glass ceiling. The seafood is solid, the brunch is a Pittsburgh institution, and honestly you're paying for the room. Worth it once for the jaw-drop.
Order: Sunday brunch buffet under the stained glass
- 18
Downtown · $$$$ · No. 154 of 157 overall
An old-guard steakhouse still charging old-guard prices for a room that feels tired. The steak is fine, the vibe is the weak link. Go if someone else is paying and wants a classic.
Order: Center-cut filet
By neighborhood
Every list on this site is cut from the same board: 157 restaurants scored 1-5 by one critic, where nothing can be bought. How the ratings work →