Lorelei — Restaurant in Pittsburgh

My partner and I went here right before Memorial Day Weekend. We were on a pretty tight budget having just put down a deposit on our new apartment. However I wanted to celebrate and so I decided to treat us to some drinks and a pizza at Lorelei’s. When we got there we were told it’d be an hour and half wait for a pizza. Which was fine because having both worked in the service industry we understood it was a busy night. So we got a glass of the orange wine and a glass of white wine and the smallest starter to tide us over. About two hours later is when our buzzer for our pizza rang. Ravenous we devoured it and it was alright! My partner then went to close us out. We’d had a tab open but they couldn’t find us. The server said “oh Alexandra here you are!” And pulled up a ticket for Four glasses of wine, Multiple starters and Two pizzas. My partner clarified that we hadn’t ordered that. After a while the server waived us away and said it was on the house since they couldn’t resolve the issue. We were surprised and said “Are you sure?” and were told not to worry about it. However later that night there was a charge on my card. I figured they’d been able to find our tab and just closed out. I was a little shocked at the amount though and thought maybe whoever rang us out had added a tip which would be fine but even at a 20% tip the amount still wasn’t making sense. Then it occurred to me that maybe they’d had the right tab all along but someone ALSO named Alexandra had been adding their drinks/food to it. An easy enough mistake to make on a busy night when you’re not clarifying last names. So we reached out the next day and spoke to someone. They said they were closed until Tuesday and that a manager would have to get back to us around then. We said oh okay that’s fine. We waited and a manager called us back. My partner spoke to them and the manager said they’d look into it and call us back. Time passed and so we ended up deciding to call them back. This time the manager said that the owner would have to be told what had happened and that the owner was traveling so he wouldn’t be back for at least a week? It’s now been a month. I think maybe not knowing the context of the situation they thought “why go out if you’re not ready to spend money?” But I don’t think not wanting to spend money on food you didn’t receive or eat is that insane a sentiment lol.

So fair warning if you don’t want to pay for another persons meal maybe steer clear and...

This review is based solely on the beer hall, which is blessedly open at noon on Saturdays. After a good 6+ mile walk during Open Streets, spouse and I stopped here to rest our feet and imbibe fortifying libations.

The beer hall has a focus on lagers. I'm more of an ale guy; indeed, I am often outright derisive of lagers. I'm not even mad, though. These are distinctive lagers, most of them German, and none that I tasted were insipid (i.e. my dismissive impression of most lagers). After a long walk in the sun, they were perfect. Yes, this five-star review is tainted by context, like any other. Take it for what you will.

The staff were attentive and knowledgeable about their menu. I started with the Andechs Vollbier Hell, an easy-drinking, crisp affair, with a bit more body than a pilsner, but along those lines. It had some toast and honey going on, maybe a hint of citrus. Very refreshing.

Spouse started with the friesling, a blended, frozen cocktail with Riesling, elderflower, and some other stuff. It was delicious, not overly sweet, and easy to suck down in short order. It did manage to play on the aromatic qualities of the Riesling alongside the elderflower, but it was still a frozen cocktail on a hot day and thus quaffed without prolonged contemplation of its nose and palate.

We moved on to the next round: a Hofstetten Granitbock for me, and an Alpine Spritz for spouse. The granitbock was interesting, full of complex, caramelized malt character, but with a dry finish. The spritz had Lillet, Braulio Alpine amaro, and sparkling wine (and maybe some other stuff in forgetting); it sported lots of herbaceous, floral flavors, unsurprisingly. Both were tasty drinks and worth the coin.

The takeaway: Lorelei's beer hall has a well edited beer list and thoughtfully concocted cocktails. We'll be sure to return when the adjoining, main restaurant is open (i.e. after 5 p.m. sometime) to check out the food, their full list of cocktails, and their selection of German and...

Place is pretty new, so menu is probably just ramping up. Portions and prices are somewhat disproportionate. In particular, I have no idea why the pretzel dish is so small and priced like an airport, but that's just a stay thought.

I went here with my team on the misguided assumption that there would be genuine dining options available. If you're looking for a bar with snacks, this is a great place to be. As someone looking for dinner and a soft drink, I was pretty disappointed, and personally don't plan on going back. We wouldn't have gone in the first place except there was no actual information about this place online.

The plus side of this is that we ordered literally every dish on the menu, and all of it was pretty good. I enjoyed everything I tried, although I think the crust of the mushroom tart may actually be the soil the mushrooms were grown in. None of the dishes were really mind-blowing, but I ultimately ate a good meal, so mission accomplished.

In summary, this place is okay. It just isn't for me. I'd give three stars, but I take a little of the blame for expecting a restaurant based on their underdeveloped website,...