New Pittsburgh Restaurants for 2016 we can’t wait to try
It’s no secret Pittsburgh is becoming a top destination for dining. With the new title of Zagat’s Top Food City of 2015, Pittsburgh can only go up from here in the foodie industry. The food scene in our city will continue to explode in 2016 with a variety of new restaurant openings all over town. Diners, cafes, high-end restaurants, and even ice cream shops will be the talk of the town this coming year. We’ve got all the info to keep you in the know! Which restaurant are you most excited to try?
Umami Pgh 
Umami is already set to be a unique addition to the food scene here in Pittsburgh. According to owner and chef Roger Li, Umami Pgh is a “izakaya” meaning Japanese pub. The restaurant will serve traditional Japanese street food and sushi, but will add a unique edge with Sake, Japanese beers, Japanese whiskey and sake cocktails. Li describes Umami Pgh as a “casual and fun dining experience with superior food and drinks that will make you crave more.” What’s unique about Umami is that it will be the first Japanese restaurant to use bincho charcoal for the robatayaki, and the first true izakaya in Pittsburgh. When asked what items on the menu will be instant hits with the Pittsburgh crowd, Li mentioned Robatayaki (grilled meats and vegetables ), gyoza (pork dumplings), and chirashi (sashimi rice bowl). Run, don’t walk to this grand opening (in Lawrenceville)! Learn more about Umami Pgh.
Apteka
Think Eastern Europe meets Pittsburgh. Apteka will feature cuisines and cocktails that are on high demand in the Eastern Europe region, but with a classic Pittsburgh twist. Intrigued? Come check it out in November when they open along Penn Ave between Lawrenceville and Bloomfield! Learn more about Apteka.
Pork & Beans
I’m going to take a wild guess and say Meat and Potatoes and Root 174 are probably already on your go-to list of restaurants in Pittsburgh. Well now you are about to get the best of both worlds! Keith Fuller of Root 174 and Richard DeShantz of Meat and Potatoes have partnered up to create a meat and beer focused restaurant in the heart of the Cultural District. Pork and Beans will serve all the different kinds of meat and draft beers your little meat-loving heart desires! Learn more about Pork & Beans.
Millie’s Scoop Shop
Truth: you can never have enough ice cream. Just from their Instagram, you can tell that this shop will be on everyones list as the weather gets warmer. If Millie’s sounds familiar, you’ve probably seen (or bought) their ice cream from several grocery stores in the area. But this Spring, husband-and-wife-duo Chad and Lauren Townsend will be opening up their very own scoop shop in Shadyside! Millie’s mission is simple: to make ice cream taste real again. The company is named after Chad’s late grandmother and their first retail location will be an extension of her – bright and elegant, yet warm and inviting. So what makes Millie’s standout amongst other ice cream shops in Pittsburgh?
Millie’s not only makes their own ice cream and uses all natural ingredients, but it is also hyper-focused on local sourcing and seasonality (thanks to their two ice cream makers and former chefs, Chad and Adam), “so you won’t find strawberry ice cream on our menu in the winter,” Lauren says, “but when it’s available for a few weeks in the summer, you can bet we are using the best local strawberries we can find!” A sure to be crowd favorite on the menu is the brioche ice cream sandwich. “It’s a warm brioche on the outside, completely sealing cold ice cream and a gooey topping in the center. It’s our take on the famous ‘brioche con gelato’ breakfast in Sicily.” Lauren said it best: “At the end of the day, Millie’s is just trying to make everyone’s day a little brighter with local, all natural ice cream and sorbet.” Learn more about Millie’s Scoop Shop.
There’s nothing more that we love than a creative, yet sensible restaurant name. This cafe and bakery is appropriately named based off it’s location (Butler and 52d street). B52 will attract vegan and Middle Eastern cuisine enthusiasts alike with it’s array of vegan chocolate, espresso, desserts AND breakfast, lunch, and dinner. One things for sure, there is something for everyone at B52! The best part? It had its soft grand opening a couple weeks ago, so you can go check it out today! Learn more about B52.
I am very excited about this one. Bakersfield is an already established Mexican fiesta restaurant that has locations in Charlotte, Cincinnati, Columbus, Nashville and Indianapolis. Pittsburgh must have been blessed by the food gods because Penn Avenue is going to be home to the next Bakersfield! They are already getting everything ready for their opening. According to their website, Bakersfield serves up “authentic, Mexican street fare, and a selection of over 100 tequilas and American whiskeys. Bakersfield is a spot where the food is simple, the service is warm and the atmosphere is alive.” My friends and I will definitely be having our next GNO here! Learn more about Bakersfield Penn Ave.
Pizzuvio
Ron Molinaro, the man who brought us Il Pizzaiolo, is opening an Italian casual-dining restaurant called Pizzuvio. According to an interview with Pittsburgh Business Times, Molinaro says Pizzuvio “will take a street-food approach to classic Italian cuisine, making all the dough, mozzarella and other ingredients in-house, but with a simplified menu and lower prices than his original restaurant.” This is right down our alley. Can’t wait to feast on some Italian cuisine here soon! Picture courtesy of Urbanist Pittsburgh Facebook.
Revel + Roost
This restaurant will sure to be a show-stopper. According to their official Facebook page, “Revel + Roost will be located on floors one and two of Tower-Two Sixty on Market Square and will feature fine rustic food from across North America, a deep wine selection, signature cocktails and an amazing interior space.” They even will have a private dining that seats more than 100 people for events and meetings. This place will be the perfection combination of modern elegance and delicious cuisine. The countdown to this grand opening is on!
Get ready to eat your hearts out, Pittsburgh!
