Commerce Bar — Restaurant in Pittsburgh

This is a super cute little hideaway bar, posing as a 'speakeasy'. While prohibition is long past, the idea of a secret bar still has a certain cache to it. It feels special. And they get it right here. The atmosphere is amazing. It's a beautiful room, with a skylight and a chandelier. It's stunning. A real 'Wow' moment when you arrive.

Food and beverage are certainly good, but pricey. It looked like there was an upcharge to order off menu. A gin and tonic (with Beefeaters?!) should not cost that I was charged.

The other issue? Service was really slow. Painfully slow. The bar was not at all busy. It was a Thursday. It took easily ten minutes for drinks to be delivered. I watched them sit at the server pickup for 5 minutes, easily.

Also, the bartender was wearing shorts and a ball cap. Looked newly 21. Come on. Class it up already. It's supposed to be a sort of Prohibition era theme park, right? How about a tie? A nice crisp shirt, sleeves rolled up? Maybe a vest?

Great space. Good offerings. Indifferent service. They could try harder, but the service industry has been suffering since the pandemic. It makes me sad. We went to Kelly's afterwards, and had a much better time for...

My boyfriend and I had a bit of difficulty finding the entrance, but when we did we were greeted and led inside while being given the option of table or bar seating. The bartender Rachel made a phenomenally balanced cocktail called the Bellhop from their Commerce Classics section of the menu. My boyfriend had their Monty Python cocktail (their take on a modern manhattan) that was also delicious! Sitting at the bar, we could see the care and skill being put into the drinks as they were mixed well and double strained to avoid any ice chips. For food we got the spinach artichoke dip and the Gateau Opera (a gluten free dessert with almond flour, espresso, and chocolate). Both were sooo good! We will definitely be coming back and bringing...

Everytime we travel to a new city we get recommendations from locals where the best places are.

Commerce Bar was mentioned more than once, and from servers at other bars / restaurants, which is huge in my book.

Commerce Bar is a great speak easy, that was fun trying to figure out where it is once in, we knew we were in the right spot. We sat and the bar, and chatted with the bartenders, since we asked about where we should go next to maximize our time in Pittsburgh.

Cocktails here are phenomenal, and masterfully crafted, and completely unique.

While they offer food, we had just eaten so we didn't get to try anything, but if their cocktails were a sign, they food offerings would be delicious. (And looked delicious as they...