Dinner & desert suggestions near the Incline

[jwheely]

Hello, Will be visiting this weekend (2/15 & 2/16)
On Friday night we're planning on riding the Duquesne Incline up and then would like to walk to dinner from there. No real preference for the type of food, would like casual to slightly upscale.

Of course riding the incline down after dinner could be cause for an excuse to find desert within walking distance of the lower parking.

So the short request is; recommend dinner up on top and desert at the base.

Thank you in advance for any help provided.

[Owtahear]

It is great to have drinks up there. And Isabela is a great choice. However.....if you really want great food...well you know what they say, the better the view, the worse the food.

Go explore restaurants in other areas of town.

[Effort]

Isabela on Grandview or Monterey Bay Fish Grotto. Are a little more expensive but good.

[MonMauler]

True. These are the best restaurants on the mount. Isabela is one of my favorite restaurants in Pittaburgh. I've only ever ordered the prix fixe menu, but I think they do have a la carte service on Fridays. Most everything I've had there has been exceptional.

Monterey Bay is my favorite seafood restaurant in Pittsburgh. They serve more traditional food as compared to the slightly more adventurous Isabela, but I always have a great time there. I usually go with ahi tuna or a swordfish preparation, which are always very good.

Shiloh Grill is a decent place for some drinks and apps. They have a nice selection of beer on tap. But none of the food there is much better than average - the apps and sandwiches are decent.

Packs & Dogs, also on the mount, has a good selection of bottled beer at reasonable prices, and they allow you to form your own 6-packs. The dogs are also pretty good, but I doubt a hot dog and fry dinner on the stainless steel counter is what the OP is searching for.

Otherwise, I don't think I'd waste my time with anywhere else up on the mount.

[Effort]

Shilol and Packs are a long walk from the Duq. Incline, they are near the Mon Incline. If looking for a beer you can go to the Grandview Saloon.

[jwheely]

Thank you for the input. I was not specific enough on the cost of dinner price range. Both places are more than we would like to spend, we favor "neighborhood joints" where the locals would far out number visitors. We're not drinkers. We'll have dinner else where and work in a trip on the incline.
Again, based on the info I provided your suggestions were good.

[MonMauler]

Well, you aren't gonna find anywhere like that at the top of the mount. Up there, at least in walking distance of the incline you "pay for the view" as they say.

Otherwise, the problem you may have is that all of the places that you will find "locals" in that area are "bars & grills," emphasis on bars (this is a drinking town).

Grandview Saloon (Coal Hill Steakhouse) may fit the bill, as Effort mentions. It is close to the incline and will be busy at regular dining hours tonight and tomorrow. I've enjoyed some of their apps and sandwiches, but most of the entrees have been underwhelming to me.

I really don't think Shiloh is too much of a walk, weather permitting (wind will be a factor). It's a nice walk I've made hundreds of times, mostly on the top of the mount with a nice view onto the city. You'll find locals there. The other option, just down the street from Shiloh, and in your prospective price range, is Redbeards, they have some decent bar food, but it is exactly that, mostly a bar. You'll find locals there, but on a Friday or Saturday night it will probably be loud and packed with primarily drinkers.

Your options aren't much better in Station Square, at the bottom of the incline, near where you'd park. I've had good sushi at Kiku, and Sesame Inn is an OK local Chinese-American chain. Otherwise, Station Square is national chain hell: Buca di Beppo, Joe's Crab Shack, The Melting Pot, Hard Rock Cafe, Houlihan's, etc.

The true taste and flavor of this great city is not within walking distance of the Duquesne Incline, but the incline is definitely worth riding for any visitors and non-visitors that have never had the experience.

[Effort]

As MonM. states, you can go to Station Square and take the Mon Incline. From there the Shilol and/or Red Beards are an easy walk. Or eat at Station Sq.

[jwheely]

OK. We figured any place with a view would charge for it. We thought perhaps there was something "local" a block or two away.
We walked through the Station Sq. area on a previous visit.

Changing the OP, forget eating on top or at the Sq.

Where would you send a family of 4 that will try any type of food so long as it is quality food, to a "cheap eats" sort of place for lunch or a dinner anywhere in the general Pittsburgh area?

Cheers

[Jay F]

I was about to post a link to today's other "cheap eats in Pgh" thread, but you're the OP.