Gandy Dancer Saloon — Restaurant in Pittsburgh

I am hesitant to write this review but feel that I have to because of how downhill this pub has slid. The Gandy Dancer Pub at the Grand Concourse restaurant at Station Square was really one of "the places" to stop and have a comfortable time because the atmosphere, the food, and pub-like ambiance. Not having visited the Pub for quite some time, I was very surprised when my wife and I stopped there on Sunday for a quick dinner. So many inviting restaurants have set up shop in Station Square, but we decided on "habit" and "past memories." My first impression was using the restroom when we first arrived. The men's restroom was absolutely filthy (this should have been a sign to get out) - used hand towels cluttering the floor, dirty toilets, and very dirty sinks reminded me of a gas station restroom that hadn't been cleaned for some time. I questioned whether we should stay or visit another restaurant. We decided to stay (because at least, as I remember, the food would be good) only to see that the Pub also was also in similar condition. The dirty floors and "clammy" table were other signs for us to leave. We were seated next to the old, filthy and unused metal serving station. I couldn't help but notice this abandoned station, with empty wine and champaign boxes sitting on the area in plain view hadn't been cleaned for quite some time because there was a thick layer of dust and grease covering the station. From where I was seated, I noticed that behind this area was a broom and piles of trash obviously swept out of sight and "under the carpet" and not placed in a proper garbage dispenser. And the sad thing was that the management would leave that in plain view of the customers. We had ordered our drinks (I admit our server was very nice and attentive) and felt committed to staying and eating because at least the food would be good. Not true. I ordered my usual Charlie's Chowder (very salty and not of the same quality I remembered. It didn't even seem like the same recipe) and a fish sandwich. The usually tasty fish (as I remember) was dry and bland. As salty as Charlie's Chowder was, the fish actually had no taste at all. My wife had a salad (can't argue with that) and her linguini w/clam sauce was tasty. I decided not to complain to the manager because I didn't want to seem like we were looking for any "discounts" on our dining experience. To me, it is what it is. If management was on the premises, he or she clearly would have noticed all of this and had the pub cleaned - ar least presentable. A once cherished dining experience was not that at all. From where we were seated, I had to stare at the filth behind the metal serving area and dirty floors made me want to get out of this pub as quickly as possible - which we did. I feel bad that this once cherished pub has gone so far down hill. Needless to say, we won't be returning. Too many dining options exist that we would be foolish to want to return to this restaurant. The management should step up and present the unique dining experience that once was a...

It is a story as old as America itself. A young Lithuanian basketball prodigy with a sweet crossover and NBA 3 point range gets drafted in the 2nd round by the Milwaukee Bucks, only to discover the existence of instant rice pudding when he moves to the states. He balloons up to 300 pounds in a matter of months and is cut by the Bucks. With no marketable skills he turns to a life of crime. And that is where this story begins with my friend Gustav "Suger Free" Loperov in Pittsburgh running the legendary long con the East Mississippi Reach Around. I had came to Pittsburgh because he needed a getaway driver who is fluent in Latin. The night before the big score was going down I stopped into the Gandy Dancer Saloon for the traditional pre heist meal of oysters and unsweetened marmalade. They did not serve unsweetened marmalade strangely enough but the Oysters Rockafella rivaled the best I ever had. They reminded me of a simpler time when I was an orphan in the monastery in Gibraltar stealing bread from the nuns. Oh how I would run when they threw rocks at me and called me a fatherless blight. But after tasting how the chef at the Gandy Dancer raised a lowly mollusks to such heights, I decided I too could rise above my humble beginnings. I decided then and there to leave my life of crime behind. Unfortunately I forgot to tell Gustav and he ended up getting 24 years when there was no getaway driver, Omelets and eggs though. I am now happy and living that strait edge life all thanks to the brilliant food an service a the...

Don't have high expectations when you come here haha. It was my first time here, my boyfriend wanted to come here for his birthday for the pasta and clam sauce. We had to ask if we can sit anywhere and the bartender said yes. So we waited at least ten minutes before my bf asked if it was ok that we were in the booth. Finally we got menus and the bartender apologized. We ordered the calamari and dynamite scallops to start and my bowl of clam chowder came out with the starters. The calamari tasted like hollow rubber.... Doesn't make sense right and there was like two squirts of sauce. Don't know why my bf didn't send them back, I think he just ate them out of boredom at this point. I wasn't brave enough to try the scallops because I'm pregnant and I wasn't impressed with the quality of the calamari but my bf said they were good. My clam chowder was oddly darker than normal New England clam chowder and didn't have a great flavor. Both my bf and his dad said the linguine and clam sauce use to be so much better. My bf ate 2/4 mussels from the dish because the second one tasted off. The only good thing I had was the pull apart bread that they brought back. It was super fluffy and yummy. 1 star for the bread. 1 star for the bartender dealing with bad dad jokes and compensating 2 beverages...