Where to Drink in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Cocktail culture in the Steel City developed in its own time and on its own terms, says Sean Enright, owner of Poetry Lounge in the city’s Millvale neighborhood and author of Pittsburgh Drinks. “In New York City, you have a bar on every block. Here in Pittsburgh, we needed to create the scene for our guests, so the guests would appreciate it and seek it out, and then more bars would open and more of the scene could come along.” In recent years, longtime residents and new arrivals to this city of more than 300,000 have been reaping the benefits of this slow build. Career bartenders have honed their skills, and up-and-comers debut independent concepts with far-flung influences. A new bartenders’ collective, MixBurgh, aims to share intel and advance cocktail culture citywide. “There’s something very unique about the Pittsburgh style of cocktails,” says Enright. “It’s hospitality first—always.”

Acacia

This speakeasy-style South Side institution opened more than a decade ago and still draws nightly crowds. “This is the number-one place for cocktails,” says Enright. “It’s got a classic feel to it, with a nice, relaxed vibe, and the team is dedicated to perfecting every drink.” The rotating menu includes house creations like London Callin’s (gin, yuzu curaçao, mint, grapefruit, simple syrup, and bitters) and Caffè Correcto (Fernet, coffee liqueur, crème de cacao, house-made cold brew, Angostura, and mint) plus an array of boilermakers, pre-Prohibition classics, and seasonal punches on the weekends. The team specializes in “what I call quintessential Pittsburgh hospitality,” says Enright. “You walk in and you’re greeted with a warm smile.”

Bar Marco

Opened in 2011 by four childhood friends who grew up in Pittsburgh, Bar Marco “has a great wine and cocktail program,” says Enright, “and a welcoming, neighborhood feel.” Located in a refurbished 1860s firehouse in the Strip District, the space has exposed brick walls, rustic wooden tables, and an elegant marble bar. The Mediterranean-accented menu includes market-driven fare like squid-ink spaghetti in arrabbiata sauce, risotto with beef cheeks, and chicken cacciatore. Seasonal cocktails might include the Best Intentions (bourbon, sake, matcha, strawberry vermouth, and lemon) and the cheekily named Sani Water (a clarified cocktail with tequila, grapefruit, lime, Italicus, and blue curaçao), as well as an olive oil–infused Martini and classic Negroni. The wine list has unexpected gems like skin-contact Rkatsiteli from Georgia and a crunchy red from Italy’s Alto Adige as well as crowd-pleasing bubbles starting at $14 a glass.

Bottlerocket

The kitschy, ’70s-themed decor is just part of the allure at this fun-loving Allentown bar and performance venue. Previously, the space housed a 20th-century social club connected to St. George Church; Bottlerocket retains its retro woodpaneling, velvet wallpaper, 1976 Rock-Ola jukebox, and homespun charm. In addition to local and touring musicians and stand-up comedians, the bar hosts movie screenings, Mario Kart tournaments, Elvis-focused bingo nights, dating games, and more. A menu of hot dogs and chips complements an impressive bar program, with rotating craft beers plus cocktails like seasonal punches and That’s Tea Spritz (gin, Earl Grey, lemon, and soda). “There’s no reason you can’t make a good cocktail at a dive bar,” Enright says. “You just have to have the ingredients and the people who want them.”

Brew Gentlemen

With more than 40 breweries within Pittsburgh city limits, “the beer scene in this town is crazy,” says Enright. This brewery located in the borough of Braddock, about 10 miles east of downtown, is one of Enright’s favorites. “They have a great IPA, but they also have this chai wheat beer called White Sky that I absolutely love. We have it on the menu at Poetry Lounge.” While the brick-walled taproom is currently only open for private events, locals place orders online and drop into the Braddock Public House a few blocks south to pick up fresh cans and refill their growlers with Brew Gentlemen’s latest. The brewery’s rotating range includes coffee milk stouts, hazy IPAs, pale ales, foeder-aged ales, and Brew Gentlemen’s flagship beer, General Braddock’s, an American IPA with a pleasantly balanced hoppy bite.

Poetry Lounge

“I love a place where I can shoot pool, but you can’t always get a good cocktail at a dive,” says Enright. Poetry Lounge, his casual neighborhood bar and performance venue in Millvale, aims “to bridge the gap between the dive bar and the cocktail bar.” True to its name, the space hosts open mic nights with local literary group PGH Poetry Collective as well as DJ sets, Monday night karaoke, and more. “Poetry is the only bar I know of in the world that publishes local poets’ chapbooks, and we even do a biannual anthology of art and literature,” Enright says. The drinks program includes classic cocktails plus house creations like the Spork House Punch (rum, Cognac, lemon oleo saccharum, and pear) and Pink Pony Club (ginjo sake, white Port, Cocchi Americano Rosso, and quince liqueur) plus eight house shots, including a Snaquiri and the Spaghett (Aperol and Miller High Life with a lemon twist on ice).

Left to right: Vick Townes at Poetry Lounge (photo by Mars Johnson/Pittsburgh City Paper); a Lion’s Tale at The Warren (photo courtesy of The Warren & Creatives Drink)

The Warren

Thanks to its approachable vibe and 1,000-plus bottles in its spirits library—including an array of globe-trotting cult whiskies—this downtown cocktail bar is equally popular among off-duty bar professionals, hardcore collectors, and longtime neighborhood residents. Craft beers, a short but smart wine list, and nonalcoholic options join house cocktails like the Squirrel Hill Sling (gin, apple brandy, yellow Chartreuse, and fresh citrus), a nationally revered Old Fashioned with winter spices, and three highballs made with Hoshizaki soda water. The bar shares its name with owner Spencer Warren, who founded what many consider Pittsburgh’s first craft cocktail bar, Embury, in 2008. Even though Embury shuttered more than a decade ago, its legacy and Warren’s influence endures, Enright says. “We wouldn’t have the craft cocktail scene we have right now if it weren’t for him.”

Hidden Harbor

Rum is the word at this tiki bar in the city’s quirky Squirrel Hill neighborhood. The expansive back bar includes boldfaced rums like Zacapa, Barbancourt, and Wray & Nephew alongside deep cuts from Guyana, Belize, Ecuador, and beyond. Cocktails range from traditional tropical favorites like Mai Tais and Jungle Birds to inventive house creations, such as the Lost Lagoon (gin, kiwi, basil, pandan, citrus, ginger) and Odyssey (cachaca, coconut, cardamom, vanilla). Reserve in advance to secure a booth or turquoise barstool in the dimly lit, brick-walled space.

Space Bar

If the only thing missing from your last cocktail experience was a meditation on the cosmos, make this downtown watering hole your next stop. Founded by a science fiction author and retired trauma healer-slash-space enthusiast, the self-proclaimed “Geek chic” space has moon-shaped light fixtures, luminescent nebula adorning the tables, and 20-foot windows overlooking Market Square. Cocktails are creative and cerebral, with coconut-fat-washed 12-year El Dorado rum in the Espresso Mars-tini and a Kaiju Negroni made with gin, pandan-infused white aperitivo, vermouth, Suze, and Vietnamese coconut liqueur.

The Kalamansi Comet at Space Bar | Photo by Eva Kobylar

Tina’s 

Classic cocktails headline the menu at this welcoming Bloomfield spot. In addition to a deep amari list, the bar serves modern drinks like Dave Arnold’s Shake Drake (bison grass vodka, cumin liqueur, grapefruit, and maple syrup), multiple Martini and Manhattan riffs, seasonal milk punches, and an inflation-proof collection of seven-for-$7 standbys including the Paloma, Old Fashioned, and Negroni. There’s also an array of organic and biodynamic wines, many of which are sold in an online bottle shop. As of 2020, the kitchen has been 90 percent waste free, thanks to devoted composting, foraging and local sourcing efforts. 

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