Great food on its own is one thing, but enjoying mouth-watering cuisine while overlooking the water makes the experience all the richer. Whether it’s for your upcoming vacation or just during a weekend night out, finding the best restaurants with a view of the river can be tricky.
When it comes to the best waterfront restaurants in Pittsburgh, we’ve got you covered. The food scene in Pittsburgh is unique and exciting, ranging from seafood to cigar bars. Expect to find both modern and experimental menus as well as familiar and comforting dishes done to perfection.
Those who are looking for both elevated and fast-casual dining experiences will find them here, where the city of Pittsburgh overlooks both the Allegheny and the Monongahela Rivers, offering a rich variety of seafood, Italian-inspired, and even German comfort-food cuisine.
Regardless of your culinary preferences, there’s a little bit of something for everyone in Pittsburgh. Here are all the best restaurants with a water view in Pittsburgh to enjoy top-notch cuisine.
Redfin Blues
100 Waterfront Dr, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Phone: (412) 322-5837
Visit Website
Located on Waterfront Drive overlooking the Allegheny River, Redfin Blues offers a homey, coastal experience for ocean lovers in a land-locked city. As the only waterfront grill in North Shore, Redfin Blues’ outdoor dining deck and open-air bar provide a great environment to enjoy a warm breeze and great food.
Speaking of food, you won’t find better seafood and Italian street-food infusion anywhere else. Try out their tantalizing lobster roll with garlic aioli, or go for the sausage and peppers flatbread, complete with spicy banana peppers and provolone cheese.
Luke Wholey’s Wild Alaskan Grille
2106 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Phone: (412) 904-4509
Visit Website
This seafood-specializing restaurant on Penn Ave in the historic Strip District is a cut above the rest. The founder, Luke Wholey, developed his love of seafood early when he chose a fish-delivery route as a childhood job.
Now, Wholey’s passion and expertise are clear to see from his masterful dishes, such as chimichurri sea bass, fillet mignon, and lobster, shrimp, and crab mac n’ cheese. In addition to seasonally rotating menus, the grill offers sushi and bar menus as well.
Just make sure to stop by later in the week, as this restaurant is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Cioppino Restaurant & Cigar Bar
2350 Railroad St, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Phone: (412) 281-6593
Visit Website
Combining the masterful menu of a seafood restaurant and chophouse with the classy and cool atmosphere of a cigar bar, this destination in the historic Strip District on Railroad Street is an unmissable experience.
Choose from a selection of over 300 whiskeys, over 200 wines, and over 50 cigars to satiate your finest and most luxurious tastes. Their seasonal menu is full of rich food to match the atmosphere, like Chilean sea bass Oscar and the restaurant’s namesake seafood stew dish, cioppino.
If you’re in the area for brunch, browse a decadent menu including a cheese and charcuterie board and Grand Marnier French toast. Browse from the restaurant’s cigar offerings or bring your own to enjoy, free of charge.
Altius
1230 Grandview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15211
Phone: (412) 904-4442
Visit Website
For another elevated dining experience, try Altius. From its address on Grandview Ave, the restaurant is named for its high overlook of the city that matches its approach to dining.
Local, sustainable cuisine practices along with creativity and a modern edge make the Altius atmosphere chic and addictive.
The seasonal menu celebrates honest, simple cuisine inspired from all around the world. You’ll find dishes like Australian lamb rack and vegan, organic wild mushroom en papillote.
Altius’s selection of cocktails is equally as tantalizing, with offerings that only use the freshest, cleanest, most natural ingredients.
Terrene
224 W Station Square Dr, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Phone: (412) 709-6433
Visit Website
What started as a food truck became an environmentally conscious, fast-casual dining experience located on West Station Square Drive, the brainchild of a husband and wife duo.
The name means “from the earth,” and all of the food is fresh, honestly sourced, and made homemade in small batches like food should be.
With all-day breakfast, market, and regular menus, Terrene accommodates all time constraints and schedules.
Try a variety of superfood-powered smoothies, breakfast bowls, or avocado toast, or satisfy a bigger craving with an orange-sesame bowl, Terrene’s signature Vegan Impossible™ burger, or build your own rice bowl or salad to your specifications.
Hofbräuhaus Pittsburgh
2705 S Water St, Pittsburgh, PA 15203
Phone: (412) 224-2328
Visit Website
Looking for a stateside taste of Oktoberfest? Look no further than Hofbräuhaus Pittsburgh. Specializing in German and Bavarian food and beers, they offer comfort food at its finest.
With frequent entertainment in the form of traditional German music, you’ll get an authentic atmosphere along with an authentic menu.
Swing by the S. Water Street location to sample a menu with vegetarian, gluten-free, brunch, and kids options.
Some house specialties and favorites include Grillhendl, or Oktoberfest-style chicken, Knusprige Schweinehaxen, or pork shank, and Hofbräuhaus Hot Brown, a German-style turkey and ham sandwich like you’ve never had before.
Grand Concourse
100 W Station Square Dr, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Phone: (412) 261-1717
Visit Website
House in the historic Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad Station, built in 1901, this elegant and refined dining destination with its overlook onto the Monongahela River will wow you.
Its stain-glass vaulted ceilings, a beautiful and antique staircase, and marble columns are straight out of a historical movie.
Its menu is no less glamorous and refined. With world-class chef-recommended seafood dishes and succulent steak and pastas, you can’t go wrong.
Try out the steak and lobster tail, the parmesan snapper, and shrimp, or order the catch of the day.
Burgatory
300 McHolme Dr, Pittsburgh, PA 15275
Phone: (412) 809-9400
Visit Website
Don’t let the name scare you. This all-natural, fresh burger and shake joint is more like heaven for your tastebuds.
They source local ingredients at their nine locations, with their North Shore spot overlooking the convergence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers.
These aren’t your grandpa’s burgers. Choose from creations like Phat Patti’s veggie burger, the elk gone wild burger, or the cha-cha chicken burger.
If you need to satisfy your sweet tooth, grab a shake: campfire s’mores, salted Nutella crunch, or vegan peanut butter. And spike them with flavored vodka.
Monterey Bay Fish Grotto
1411 Grandview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15211
Phone: (412) 481-4414
Visit Website
On Grandview Ave, this business casual seafood restaurant is guest-driven and features beautiful river views from their glass-walled, two-story space.
The restaurant prides itself on offering a delicious, sustainable menu in a luxurious and minimalistic setting that lets the city and the seafood shine.
The chef’s specialties are the vegetable dashi, the lobster romano, and the blackened shrimp and scallop etouffee, but the menu offers a range of eight different fish options and crabcakes done multiple ways to satisfy any discerning taste.
LeMont Restaurant
1114 Grandview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15211
Phone: (412) 431-3100
Visit Website
Also located on Grandview Ave with spectacular views of the city and the Monongahela River, LeMont is an upscale, prestigious dining destination specializing in elevated seafood and Italian fare. With a connecting lounge and live entertainment, LeMont is truly a luxury experience.
Its menu features elevated appetizers like lobster and crab martini and blackberry brie, while dinner options include fettuccine seafood mozzarella, salmon Rockefeller, rack of New Zealand lamb, and raspberry duck. There are also vegetarian and salad offerings.
Joe’s Crab Shack
226 W Station Square Dr, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Phone: (412) 690-2404
Visit Website
Joe’s offers loads of fun and a great family experience through its retail store as well as its extensive traditional seafood and land-fairing options.
It has locations throughout the country, but its West Station Drive location overlooks the Monongahela River, complementing its old-school diner-like atmosphere.
You’ll find a menu full of a variety of soups and sandwiches and mainstays, but it shines in its steam pots and crab buckets.
Choose from a range of flavors and cooking methods, or try one of Joe’s platters, like the pirate platter or the captain’s plate. And, of course, don’t miss their kid’s menu.