What is the best Cafe restaurant in Pittsburgh?

La Prima Espresso Company - Strip District in Strip District leads this board at 3.9/5. Old men arguing in Italian over tiny cups at seven in the morning. No laptops, no oat milk theatre, just the best espresso in the city served the way it should be.

How is this list ranked?

Every spot on Pittsburgh Food Map is scored 1-5 by one local critic across food, vibe, value and service. This board is cut mechanically from those ratings. No restaurant can pay to appear or to move up.

8 ranked

The best Cafe restaurants in Pittsburgh

8 Cafe kitchens on the map, from cheap counters to the full sit-down. Strip District carries the most of them, and every one is ranked by the same 1-5 score as the rest of the site.

1
La Prima Espresso Company - Strip District3.9
Strip District · $ · No. 50 of 157 overall
Old men arguing in Italian over tiny cups at seven in the morning. No laptops, no oat milk theatre, just the best espresso in the city served the way it should be.
Order: Espresso, standing up
Full review →See on the map →
2
Enrico Biscotti3.8
Strip District · $ · No. 57 of 157 overall
Old-world biscotti and a charming courtyard cafe. A lovely Strip detour. Simple and good.
Order: Biscotti & espresso in the courtyard
Full review →See on the map →
3
Espresso A Mano3.8
Lawrenceville · $ · No. 58 of 157 overall
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 →See on the map →
4
Bánh Mì & Ti3.7
Lawrenceville · $ · No. 71 of 157 overall
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 →See on the map →
5
De Fer Coffee & Tea3.6
Strip District · $ · No. 86 of 157 overall
The modern counterpoint to La Prima two blocks away: bright, careful, laptop-friendly. Both are right.
Order: A pour-over and a pastry
Full review →See on the map →
6
Everyday Cafe3.6
Homewood · $ · No. 87 of 157 overall
A community coffee shop that functions as Homewood's living room. Good coffee, better purpose, and worth going out of your way to support.
Order: A latte and whatever is baked
Full review →See on the map →
7
Trace Brewing3.5
Bloomfield · $ · No. 104 of 157 overall
Half coffee shop, half brewery, wholly Bloomfield. Works as a laptop morning and a loud evening, which is a harder trick than it looks.
Order: A coffee at ten, a beer at four
Full review →See on the map →
8
Sally Ann's3.3
Downtown · $$ · No. 126 of 157 overall
Richard DeShantz's veggie-forward daytime spot in the Cultural District, with patio seating on 6th Street and a menu that makes eating healthy downtown feel like a treat instead of a chore. Everything's well-seasoned and sharply executed. The smoky beets are a sleeper. A little pricey for lunch, but it never disappoints, n'at.
Order: Veggie-forward grain bowl & smoky roasted beets
Full review →See on the map →

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 →

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