Pittsburgh's 2018 Award-Winning Restaurants And Bars

Patch
There was no shortage of accolades bestowed upon local eateries and taverns this year.

PITTSBURGH, PA - Pittsburgh has developed an international reputation as having first-class restaurants and taverns over the past several years, so it’s no surprise that the honors kept rolling in for eateries around the city in 2018.

Here are some of the highlights:

Braddock isn’t just known for being the home of John Fetterman, Pennsylvania’s incoming lieutenant governor. In April, the borough’s Superior Motors was named one of Food & Wine’s best restaurants in April. In August, Time named it one of the world’s greatest places to eat and drink. Owner Kevin Sousa also had to have been proud when Pittsburgh Magazine named it the city’s best new restaurant.

Two Pittsburgh restaurants have been ranked among the most 100 scenic restaurants in the country. In August, online reservation provider OpenTable named recognized two Grandview Avenue staples, Altius and Monterey Bay Fish Grotto, for their spectacular views.

OpenTable also named Altius one of the nation’s 100 best restaurants for wine lovers.
The list of honorees was based on an analysis of more than 12 million reviews of more than 28,000 restaurants across the country—all submitted by verified diners.

Altius and Monterey Bay also showed up on Wine Spectator’s list of winners of its 2018 Restaurant Awards. Other local establishments among the 3,759 winners: The Carlton, Downtown; Eddie V's, Downtown; The Capital Grille, Downtown; Morton's, Downtown; Vallozzi's Downtown; Eleven, Strip District, Ruth's Chris, Downtown; Hyde Park, North Shore; LeMont Restaurant, Mt. Washington; Andrew's Steak & Seafood, North Shore; Casbah, Shadyside; Mediterranean Kitchen & Wine Bar, Shadyside; Ditka’s, North Fayette; Ditka’s, Wexford; Off The Hook, Warrenedale and Alla Familia, Allentown.

A Lawrenceville restaurant won a prestigious national award for one of its burgers. Burgh'ers was one of five winners in the James Beard Foundation’s fourth annual Blended Burger Project competition, which features chefs from all restaurant categories developing their take on a mushroom and meat blended burger.

Legume in Oakland was an outstanding restaurant semifinalist for a Beard Foundation Award, which are widely considered to be the culinary arts version of the Oscars or Grammys. Other local Beard semifinalists were for:

  • Outstanding restaurateur: Richard DeShantz, DeShantz Restaurant Group (Butcher and the Rye, Meat & Potatoes, Tako, Pork & Beans, all Downtown)

  • Rising wine, spirits or beer professionals: Meredith Meyer, Wigle Whiskey, Strip District.

  • Best chef, Mid-Atlantic Division: Wei Zhu, Chengdu Gourmet, Squirrel Hill; Bethany Zozula, Whitfield, East Liberty.

  • Best pastry chef: Casey Renee, Whitfield, East Liberty.

Thrillist, the website specializing in food, drink, travel and entertainment topics, wasn’t shy about recognizing the great drinking establishments around town.

Thrillist named Brew Gentlemen in Braddock, just down the road from Superior Motors, as the state’s best craft brewery. Thrillist liked Brew Gentlemen's rotating annual barrel-aged releases and Mise en Rose blended farmhouse ale series, saying they ”elevated the program without an ounce of pretentiousness.”

In August, it lauded Butcher and the Rye on Sixth Street, Downtown, as one of the nation’s best cocktail bars. With three custom and locally-sourced beers on tap, 12 cocktails on draft, more than 30 wines and more than 15 featured cocktails, it’s easy to understand why.

Equally understandable is how Gooski’s in Polish Hill was recognized as one of the nation’s top 33 dive bars. Thrillist considered the venerable Polish Hill hole-in-the wall "the best dive in a city blessed with more of them than most towns twice its size."

Did we miss any bar or restaurant honors? If so, drop us a line and we’ll add them.

Image via Shutterstock.