The Golden Triangle where the rivers meet. Gi-Jin sushi, Meat & Potatoes, Gaucho on 6th Street and the Cultural District theatre crowd fill Penn and the Market Square blocks.
Meat & Potatoes on Penn Avenue downtown serves a chef-driven American gastropub menu in Pittsburgh. Richard DeShantz's first room and a brunch staple.
Signature: Bone marrow, Brunch poutine
Order: Bone marrow to start, a serious steak or the brunch poutine at weekends.
Tip: Handy before a show in the Cultural District. Reserve for weekend brunch and pre-theatre dinner.
Gaucho Parrilla Argentina on 6th Street downtown grills Argentine meats over a wood fire in Pittsburgh. A counter-order room with a citywide following.
Signature: Wood-grilled meats, Chimichurri
Order: A grilled cut with chimichurri, plus the grilled provoleta cheese.
Tip: Order at the counter; lines form at lunch. The room moved to 6th Street downtown from the Strip.
Gi-Jin on 6th Street downtown serves sushi, hand-rolls and an omakase counter in Pittsburgh. A DeShantz raw bar pairing gin, sake and Japanese whisky.
Order: Sit at the counter for the omakase, and order a flight off the gin list.
Tip: Tuesday to Saturday from 17:00. Reserve ahead; the counter seats fill on weekends.
Hyeholde near the airport in Coraopolis has served fine American cooking in a storybook stone manor since 1937. A 20-minute drive from downtown Pittsburgh.
Order: A composed seasonal main in the great hall, with a bottle off the long list.
Tip: Worth the drive for a celebration. The garden and the medieval-style room are the draws.
Bridges & Bourbon on Penn Avenue downtown pairs a high-end cocktail program with New American plates in Pittsburgh. A room for a dressed-up night.
Order: A cocktail off the long bourbon list, then share New American plates.
Tip: Handy before a Cultural District show. The cocktail program is the headline draw.
Talia Cucina on Sixth Avenue downtown serves modern Italian in a film-noir room in Pittsburgh. Handmade pasta and rotisserie meats in the Cultural District.
Order: A fresh pasta and whatever is turning on the rotisserie, with an Italian red.
Tip: Dark and dressy downtown. Reserve for pre-theatre dinner in the Cultural District.
The Original Oyster House on Market Square has served fried fish and oysters in Pittsburgh since 1870. The city's oldest bar and seafood counter.
Signature: Fish sandwich, Oysters
Order: The giant fried fish sandwich and a plate of oysters at the old bar.
Tip: Cash-friendly old-school counter. The fish sandwich is famously bigger than the bun.
Sienna Mercato on Penn Avenue downtown is a three-floor Italian marketplace in Pittsburgh. Meatballs at Emporio and a rooftop beer garden up top.
Signature: Meatballs, Rooftop pizza
Order: Build-your-own meatballs at Emporio, then a beer on the Il Tetto rooftop.
Tip: Each of the three floors is a different concept. The rooftop fills before shows.
Gasoline Street Coffee on First Avenue downtown is a small cafe in Pittsburgh. Espresso and pastries near the river end of the Golden Triangle.
Signature drink: Espresso
Nicholas Coffee & Tea on Market Square downtown is a coffee counter in Pittsburgh since 1919. A classic Golden Triangle stop for a cup and a bag of beans.
Signature drink: Drip coffee
Nicholas Coffee & Tea Co. on Market Square downtown has roasted coffee and built tea in Pittsburgh since 1919. A shop in the Golden Triangle.
Sources from: Central America, Africa, Indonesia
How they serve: Whole bean retail, Filter
Barcelona Wine Bar on Penn Avenue downtown pours Spanish and Mediterranean wines in Pittsburgh. Tapas and a deep Iberian list in the Cultural District.
Signature pour: A Spanish red by the glass
Wine focus: Spanish and Mediterranean wines
Food: Tapas
The Aperitivo Club on Market Street downtown is an Italian wine and aperitivo bar in Pittsburgh. Spritzes, Italian wines and small plates in the city centre.
Signature pour: A glass of Italian white at aperitivo hour
Wine focus: Italian wines and aperitivo
Food: Italian small plates
Bridges & Bourbon on Penn Avenue downtown is a high-end cocktail bar in Pittsburgh. A long bourbon list and serious cocktails in the Cultural District.
Signature drink: Bourbon cocktails
Food: New American plates
Tip: One of downtown's best cocktail programs. Handy before a Cultural District show.
Space Bar on Market Square downtown is a small cocktail bar in Pittsburgh. A tight, design-forward room mixing seasonal drinks in the Golden Triangle.
Signature drink: Seasonal cocktails
Food: Snacks
Tip: Small and intimate; get there early on weekends. A reliable downtown cocktail stop.
The Speakeasy inside the Omni William Penn Hotel downtown is a Prohibition-style bar in Pittsburgh. Classic cocktails and live piano in the grand old hotel.
Signature drink: Classic cocktails
Food: Snacks
Tip: Tucked inside the historic Omni William Penn. Go for the old-hotel grandeur and a classic drink.
Whisper on Penn Avenue downtown is a cocktail bar in the Cultural District in Pittsburgh. Drinks beside Bridges & Bourbon, handy before and after a show.
Signature drink: Cocktails
Food: Snacks
Tip: Sits next to Bridges & Bourbon on Penn. A solid pre-theatre cocktail stop downtown.
The Warren Bar & Burrow on 7th Street downtown is a cocktail bar in Pittsburgh. Cocktails, wine and sushi in a hidden-feeling room in the Cultural District.
Signature drink: Cocktails
Food: Sushi and small plates
Tip: Easy to walk past; look for the entrance off the alley. Sushi pairs with the cocktails.
Gaucho Parrilla Argentina on 6th Street downtown grills Argentine meats over wood in Pittsburgh. A counter-order spot for grilled sandwiches.
Try: Wood-grilled Argentine sandwiches and plates
The Original Oyster House on Market Square downtown has fried fish sandwiches and oysters in Pittsburgh since 1870. The city's oldest counter.
Try: Giant fried fish sandwich
tako on 6th Street downtown serves creative tacos from the Richard DeShantz group in Pittsburgh. Inventive fillings and margaritas in a loud room.
Try: Creative tacos
Picklesburgh takes over Pittsburgh's Sister Bridges each July, a free festival built around pickles. A giant flying Heinz pickle balloon, vendors and pickled.
Tip: Free; takes over two bridges downtown. Go early before the lunchtime crowd peaks.
Pittsburgh Restaurant Week runs each January and August across the city. More than 50 restaurants offer three-course, fixed-price menus to spotlight.
Tip: Two editions a year, winter and summer. Book the bigger rooms early; tables go fast.
The Original Oyster House on Market Square has cheap fried fish since 1870 in Pittsburgh. The giant fish sandwich is famously bigger than the bun.
Try: Giant fried fish sandwich
Meat & Potatoes on Penn Avenue downtown runs a chef-driven gastropub brunch in Pittsburgh. Brunch poutine and cocktails in the Cultural District at weekends.
Order: The brunch poutine and a Bloody Mary off the cocktail list.
The Yard on 5th Avenue downtown runs a weekend gastropub brunch in Pittsburgh. Grilled-cheese-forward plates and brunch cocktails near Market Square.
Order: A grilled-cheese-led brunch plate and a brunch cocktail.
Gaucho Parrilla Argentina on 6th Street downtown grills Argentine meats from late morning in Pittsburgh. A counter-order spot for a grilled brunch.
Order: A grilled cut with chimichurri and grilled provoleta at the counter.
The Original Oyster House on Market Square serves fried fish into the evening downtown in Pittsburgh. The 1870 counter and a giant fish sandwich for a late.
Try: Fried fish sandwich
Il Tetto, the rooftop atop Sienna Mercato on Penn Avenue downtown, is a beer-garden terrace in Pittsburgh. Drinks and pizza above the Cultural District.
Tip: The rooftop beer garden fills before Cultural District shows; go early for a table.
The Speakeasy inside the Omni William Penn Hotel downtown is a Prohibition-style bar in Pittsburgh. Classic cocktails and live piano in the grand old hotel.
Tip: Tucked inside the historic hotel. Go for the old-world grandeur and a classic cocktail.
The Warren Bar & Burrow on 7th Street downtown is a late cocktail bar in Pittsburgh. A hidden-feeling room with cocktails, wine and sushi in the Cultural.
Tip: Easy to walk past; look for the alley entrance. Sushi and cocktails run late downtown.