Itamae Thai and Sushi Bar — Restaurant in Mt. Lebanon

The 5 star review(at time of posting this) is no exaggeration.

I was recently in Pittsburgh to help my brother move and had asked for a few suggestions of where to eat. He had recommended this place not only because it was close but because the food was amazing.

I placed our order over the phone and walked down the street to pick it up and was met with a very humble sized restaurant. The staff were very kind and had the lunch order(Sushi, Crab Rangoon, Thai Coffee, and Thai Tea) ready for us. Now I'm no food critic but I like to eat. I've been across the US a few times and have had more than my fair share of oriental food as it's one of my favorites.

The Crab Rangoon with curry powder in it? Amazing. They made that with love.

The Sushi? Super fresh and well put together. I don't like avocado but ordered a roll with some on accident, and it was so well made I marked it as the first time in my life I actually enjoyed avocado(and yes I've tried it plenty of times before to give it a good chance).

The Thai tea and coffee? 12/10. Especially during that heatwave.

I ended up going here for almost every meal over the 3 days I was there.

We went again for dinner and got the Tonkotsu Ramen, which was still perfect after I finally made it home and was able to eat it. Broth was well balanced, and all of the components were handled with care and a talented hand.

We even tried desert, Crème brûlée and lava cake. I don't know how but the lava cake redefined what a lava cake is to me. The chocolate was an experience of itself, that kept changing into another level of flavor. It started off as a kind chocolate, moved to a deep "smokey" and then to a complimentary flavory with the cake itself. Eating that lava cake was like tasting a wine, the way the flavors kept emerging but never out of place.

If you are reading this, please give them your business. Please give it a try. This is a safe place to order from, with a variety that doesn't take from each food's...

First, let me say we have been here before and loved it. Today was not a good experience. I made a phone call and made a reservation for 6:45 pm. We arrived at that time and were told there was no reservation in my name, nor any other. Where did it go? We stood around for 15 minutes, all the while staring at an empty table right next to us, after being told there were no tables. Eventually, one of the servers rudely pointed to that table and asked us to sit. We finally ordered about 10 minutes later and then sat for 35 minutes with nothing other than water while others who came in after us were served their appetizers and then their main entrees. When I finally asked a waiter where our food was, he said we are very busy. I had ordered shrimp tempura and ramen. My wife ordered sushi. Eventually, her sushi came. My tempura came about 8 minutes later, and the ramen was brought almost immediately after. It’s pretty clear that our order had never been entered into the kitchen, and they playing catchup. As far as the food, the sushi was good. The tempura was nowhere as good as the last time - heavy batter. By the time I had eaten the tempura, so it did not get cold, my Ramen was lukewarm. The original waiter that sat us down, pretty much dropped us, while running back and forth with takeout orders. He never came back to us. The other waiter attempted to apologize for the service and took our payment. I will not plan on going back at a busy dinner time (this was a Friday night), again. They are obviously popular, but this service will be their downfall if they don’t...

I wish I could give Itamae six stars, it's that good!! The sushi is delicious, so fresh and tasty, beautifully and lovingly presented. The maki rolls are thoughtfully created, with interesting combos; there is something for everyone on the menu! As much as I love sushi, I've started ordering other items because the menu is so tantalizing. My goal is to work my way through all of it. For now, I can say the poke bowls are amazing, and the Tum Kha soup is just soooo delicious! I want to try all their soups, but I don't know how I'm going to move off the Tum Kha. The ginger salad dressing is perfect - not overpowering, not watered down (it's their own recipe). If you avoid ginger dressing because you think it's too strong, do yourself a favor and try this one. For drinks, I'm really into the hot Jasmine tea, but intend to try the other authentic drinks on the menu. On our last visit, we had matcha ice cream for dessert and it was excellent, in both taste and presentation, with some red bean, juicy strawberries, and cream on top. We shared it because their portions are generous, so we're always full at the end of the meal, but we really wanted to try a dessert. The prices are appropriate. As for the place itself, it is very clean and cute. The ambiance is convivial, with diners who are happy to be there and owners who are genuinely nice, hardworking people who deserve to succeed. And we hope they do because we LOVE...