Speakeasy

As a rule, we've been avoiding hotel bars. They're generally places of necessity, not places you seek out. However, we made an exception for Speakeasy and we're glad we did.

Speakeasy is on the lower level of the Omni William Penn. It's a Prohibition-style cocktail bar and it's appropriately dark and cozy. The pressed tin ceilings are low and the walls are papered in dark flocked wallpaper. There are nooks with overstuffed chairs, long banquet seating, and a small bar. The cocktail menu is full of traditional cocktails and also Pittsburgh specific iterations of the same.

What really stood out was the service. Our bartender, Mike, was a really great bartender. He was busy, but kept coming back to us to make recommendations, give us samples, and make sure we were happy. He kept us especially happy by keeping the whiskey flowing freely. Our intention had been to have one drink there and move on, but Mike and his whiskey drinks kept us there round after round.

It's quite likely that we'll be back. It's pricey and it's in a hotel, but it managed to transcend that for us. It’s one of those bars that we almost don’t want to tell people about so we can keep it all to ourselves. Alas, our job is to drink and tell.  Keep it to yourself though.

Address:	530 William Penn Place, 15219	Games:	None
Façade:	Not Scary	Scene:	Fancy Cocktails
Parking:	Easy	Patio/Outdoor:	No
Kitchen:	Limited Bar Food	Cleanliness:	Nice
Smoking:	None	Jukebox:	N/A
Hours:	Tues-Thurs 5pm-11:30pm Fri-Sat 5pm-1:30am	Cig Machine:	No
Drink Prices:	Richie Rich	# taps:	0
Bathrooms:	Sit	Specials:	None
Live music:	Never	Riley Factor:	N/A
ATM:	No	Cash Only	No
TVs:	0	Size:	Normal

Acacia

One of the fancy new cocktails bars that have sprung up in Pittsburgh over the past couple of years, Acacia is fashioned on the concept of an old speakeasy. No signage, boarded up windows; it is a secret little place. It is where Zythos used to be if you are looking for instructions on how to get there in Pittsburghese.

However, don't go out of your way to get here. It is a nice concept in the wrong place. Few people want to go to the South Side for a swanky cocktail experience and we are pretty certain that few South Side regulars want to wait 8 minutes for one drink to be made. In an area where massive volumes of drunken college kids drive high real-estate prices, a cocktail joint seems off target.

Don't get us wrong, we had a nice visit here and the drinks were very good. J especially was thankful for her hot buttered rum, as it was very cold that night. The service was good, but most likely because there were only 6 of us in the bar.

If you are looking for an upscale cocktail experience, then you probably aren’t in the South Side. If you are looking to drink crazy amounts of booze on a weekend night in the South Side, don’t go to Acacia. If you are in the rare group of people looking for a great whiskey list and a fancy cocktail on the South Side, you are in luck!

Address:	2108 E Carson St, 15203 http://acaciacocktails.com/	Games:	None
Façade:	Scary	Scene:	Cocktail Hideaway
Parking:	Wear Walking Shoes	Patio/Outdoor:	No
Kitchen:	None	Cleanliness:	Nice
Smoking:	None	Jukebox:	Internet Crap
Hours:	5pm-2am closed Sun	Cig Machine:	No
Drink Prices:	Richie Rich	# taps:	20
Bathrooms:	Sit	Specials:	Featured Drinks
Live music:	Never	Riley Factor:	N/A
ATM:	No	Cash Only	No
TVs:	0	Size:	Hole in the Wall

Meat & Potatoes

Alright, we have to admit it: this place is pretty amazing. The space is beautiful, the service is well dressed and snappy, the lighting is ideal, the drinks are fantastic and the food is delicious. Is it expensive? Yes. Is it often super crowded? Yes. Is it worth it? Yes.

It is attached to the CLO Cabaret Theater, and when you enter you immediately get a sense that this is a special space. There is a huge round bar in the middle of the room surrounded by New York style tables on one side, and normal tables around the rest. There is also a great patio space outside for when it is warm, which it is definitely not at the moment. The bar is beautiful and well-tended.  They make amazing drinks and have one of the best Manhattans A has had in the entire city (A recommends a Buffalo Trace Manhattan Up.) We were pretty hungry when we got there and had some sort of magical poutine. It really hit the spot! The food is obviously heavy on the meat and the menu is full of fancied up comfort foods.

Make reservations if you’re planning on going during peak hours for dinner. This is an upscale place for special occasions or if you are seeing a show. Or if you are feeling like have a swanky night out. Or if you are just loaded, this is the kind of place you can blow through your huge pile of cash. We certainly recommend it. We also wish we had more cash to blow here, but alas, the life of a bar blogger is a simple and poor one.

Address:	649 Penn Ave, 15222 http://meatandpotatoespgh.com/	Games:	None
Façade:	Not Scary	Scene:	Hip rich people who like food
Parking:	Wear Walking Shoes	Patio/Outdoor:	Yes
Kitchen:	Come Hungry	Cleanliness:	Nice
Smoking:	None	Jukebox:	N/A
Hours:	M-T 5pm-11pm F-S 5pm-12am Sun 4pm-9pm	Cig Machine:	No
Drink Prices:	Richie Rich	# taps:	0
Bathrooms:	Sit	Specials:	Late night food specials
Live music:	DJs	Riley Factor:	$16.00
ATM:	No	Cash Only	No
TVs:	0	Size:	Normal

The Summit

The Summit was a pleasant surprise on our latest trip to Mt. Washington. They only opened two months ago and we had no idea they were there. It's always fun to stumble on an unexpected bar and it’s even better when it’s a place we end up liking.

The Summit was very inviting on a warm late-summer evening. The garage doors fronting both sides of the building were up and a soft light and murmur of conversation spilled out. Once inside, you can see they're still slightly in transition, but it's a lovely space already. The walls behind the bar are exposed brick and the bar itself is much wider than normal, something we never thought we needed but really liked. There are some high-top tables around the room and against the open garage doors, but the bar is the main draw.

There's no kitchen right now, but they seem to have kitchen space so we'll have to check back later. They've got a nice list of specialty cocktails, and, here's a shocker, they're almost all under $10! We were really starting to get sick of those $13 cocktail places. They've got a good selection of beer and The Riley is only $7 so they've won us over already. The friendly and attentive bar staff and the plethora of board games were just icing on the cake.

Address:	200 Shiloh St, 15211	Games:	Board Games
Façade:	Not Scary	Scene:	Chill
Parking:	Easy	Patio/Outdoor:	No
Kitchen:	None	Cleanliness:	Nice
Smoking:	None	Jukebox:	N/A
Hours:	5pm-2am	Cig Machine:	No
Drink Prices:	Average	# taps:	12
Bathrooms:	Sit	Specials:	Happy Hour
Live music:	Never	Riley Factor:	$7
ATM:	No	Cash Only	No
TVs:	1	Size:	Normal

Andys Wine Bar

A: If there was ever a bar in Pittsburgh that was choking on its own pretentiousness, it would be Andy’s at the Fairmont Hotel.

J: Eff this place.

A: To be fair, this was bar 5 of 6 for the night so we were well into tipsy, and all J wanted was a good old fashioned PBR.

J: Eff this place in the A. Also, I was maybe effing with them at this point. And I was most definitely drunk.

A: To which the bartender very condescendingly said, “We don’t have PBR.”

J: Eff it.

A: Also, if you ever want a glass of bourbon on the rocks here, get ready for an $18 bar tab. One drink, $18. You can almost buy a whole bottle of Jim Beam for that price.

J: Seriously. Eff this place.

A: We are not sure what the bar’s namesake would think of this place. We’d like to think he would hate it, and most everyone in there. We just can’t see Andy Warhol getting down to smooth jazz.

J: Ugh. Eff this place and its stupid effing piano.

A: We did run into a friendly face, and had a lot of fun mocking the shit out of this place.

J: That part didn’t suck.

A: I think our review can be best summed up by the last picture we took as we left.

Address:	510 Market St, 15219 http://www.fairmont.com/pittsburgh/dining/andys/	Games:	No
Façade:	Not Scary	Scene:	"Smart casual" per their website.
Parking:	Easy	Patio/Outdoor:	Yes
Kitchen:	Fancy Bar Food	Cleanliness:	Nice
Smoking:	None	Jukebox:	Effing piano
Hours:	3pm-12am	Cig Machine:	No
Drink Prices:	Richie Rich	# taps:	5
Bathrooms:	Sit	Specials:	Happy Hour
Live music:	Effing piano	Riley Factor:	$11.00
ATM:	No	Cash Only	No
TVs:	0	Size:	Normal

Up

This is one fancy place. J's notes read, "all cloth napkins and shit." So it is definitely fancy for a bar and for hill people such as J & A.

The space is crisp, fresh and new. High contrast black and white photos of objects and people are plastered on the walls. Everything is clean and modern. It's not exactly a welcoming space, but it is very sleek.

As for the bar, it's what you would expect from such fancy digs. They've got the now requisite expensive fancy cocktail menu and a small selection of beers. Their bread and butter seems to be wine. It was half-off bottle night when we were there, and while we declined, it was still tempting. However, given that most of their selection is in the $40-$60 range, half-off bottle night might be a must for most people.

Still, it's a very pretty space. The menu looked interesting, the one small plate we had was very good, and the service was snappy. If you're in Shadyside and looking to impress someone, this is a good bet. Cloth napkins and shit, yo.

Address:	5500 Walnut St, 15232 http://upkitchen.com/	Games:	None
Façade:	Not Scary	Scene:	Rich People
Parking:	Wear Walking Shoes	Patio/Outdoor:	No
Kitchen:	Come Hungry	Cleanliness:	Nice
Smoking:	None	Jukebox:	None
Hours:	Tues-Sun 5pm-2am	Cig Machine:	No
Drink Prices:	Richie Rich	# taps:	8
Bathrooms:	Sit	Specials:	Happy Hour
Live music:	Never	Riley Factor:	$12.00
ATM:	No	Cash Only	No
TVs:	2	Size:	Normal