Bloomfield Bridge Tavern

We could really write an epic tale of our relationship with BBT over the years. There have been ups, there have been downs. There has been anger and there has been heartache. There have been good beers and there have been skunked beers. There have been good bands, bad bands and even an Emmett Otter Jug Band cover band.

In the mid to late 90's, the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern (BBT) was one of the only places in town to get good beer. They had several coolers full of hard to find microbrews. Bands played there frequently and toys were occasionally given out from behind the bar. J actually filled out her first voter registration in the apartments above the BBT. Good times were had.  Then things changed.

 As with many old Pittsburgh bars, an owner dies and someone new takes over. The beer gets skunky, the staff gets argumentative, and the coolers full of great beer disappear one by one. The bartender tries to charge you for a glass of water to go with your expensive whiskey. Bad times were had. We stopped going there.

During all this time, other people have apparently continued to go to the BBT, as they remain in business. They have built a really nice enclosed deck overlooking their parking lot, which is another feature of the BBT: parking. They have had a Drum and Bass night on Wednesdays for more than ten years. This is an odd niche to fill, but kind of cool of them.  

To say that we had some trepidation going back to the BBT is an understatement. The words "ugh" and "blah" were used in discussion leading up to it. But, you know what, it wasn't that bad.

The bartender was really nice and personable. The food was actually good. The beers were, well, they were cheap. Don't get us wrong, weird stuff still happened there and it was not entirely pleasant. The cops were called on a family that was there to eat dinner. They seemed like a shitty family that was trying to be shitty, but it was still all very weird and uncalled for. There was a guitar jam group thing going on in the back room that happens every Tuesday night.  They apparently get upset when the bar gets loud, which seems counter-intuitive, but jam on you crazy hippies!


So, what's the takeaway on the BBT? It’s hard to say. For us it’s like running into an ex. You remember the good times and the bad times, but they’re just not a part of your life anymore. 

Address:	4412 Liberty Ave, 15224 http://bloomfieldbridgetavern.com/	Games:	None
Façade:	Not Scary	Scene:	Polish
Parking:	Easy!	Patio/Outdoor:	Yes
Kitchen:	Come Hungry	Cleanliness:	Normal
Smoking:	None	Jukebox:	Internet Crap
Hours:	Closed Sun-Mon Tues-Sat 5pm-2am	Cig Machine:	No
Drink Prices:	Average	# taps:	9
Bathrooms:	Sit	Specials:	Daily
Live music:	Sometimes	Riley Factor:	$9.35
ATM:	No	Cash Only	No
TVs:	2	Size:	Normal