Square Cafe — Restaurant in Pittsburgh

I have been a longtime customer of Square Cafe since they were located in Regent Square. I was a pescatarian then but always appreciated still being able to go since becoming vegan.

My sister decided we go there with our mom today since we could all eat there (they are not vegan). We were all coming from different sides of town so my sister arrived shortly after noon to get us on the list as we all anticipated a wait time of at least one hour. At 12:12pm they told my sister 25 minutes. She called me at 12:17 to tell me. We were surprised but happy. We sat in the car for a while, then at 12:30 we went and waited in the corridor.

At 12:40 my husband went and asked how much longer for Chastity party of 4. It took him awhile to come back but when he did he said he was told there were 2 parties ahead of us. I asked him was everything ok because it seemed he was in there awhile. He went on to say that the host acted as if she didn’t see him and after he asked her “Am I am invisible, do you not see me standing here” she told him about the 2 parties.

As we continued waiting in the corridor we were conversing with 2 other parties about Square needing a better system for waiting customers. We joked about it but emphasized how much we all enjoyed the place. The one party (of 4) was a group of older white people. They were super friendly. We realized in conversation about the wait time that we had been waiting 40 minutes and that the host had already called 4 other parties since telling us there were 2 ahead of us. Next thing we knew the white party of 4 was called in (who had arrived 15 minutes after we were already waiting in the corridor).

At that point we went in to ask about the wait for our table. My sisters name was at the top of the list with the time she arrived and several parties under hers were crossed out. The host apologized to my sister for “accidentally” skipping over her name. I asked to speak to the manager. One of the people from the party of 4 that was seated overheard and said to me “that’s not right, we don’t feel comfortable taking the table we’d like you all to be seated first”. The manager arrives and tells the white woman to be seated and that we would be seated in a few minutes. I asked how much longer and how it was that the party who arrived at 12:30 something per their list and us at 12:12 are being seated before us. The other party refused the table also exclaiming that what they did was not right. We were seated. The manager appeared visibly frustrated though so we asked to speak to someone else.

The owner came to address us and approached the table and said “listen kids”. I lost it but professionally. I cut her off and said, no one at this table is a child. She yelled over me that she didn’t want to fight. I explained to her the problem. She went on to say that they seated the party before us as a discretion to not send the 90yo patron to the third floor. I let her know that had she asked us, after waiting so long, if we were ok with that I may have said yes because as a person with a disability, I get it. The problem is that the host had already told us she “accidentally” skipped us which felt more intentional because she was upset my husband checked her for ignoring him when he first inquired about our place in line. The owner then said that we could leave. I expressed my disappointment exclaiming that I did really enjoy the place but that we would never return after the way we were treated with our mother on Mother’s Day!

In short, I wouldn’t recommend anyone but specifically black families continue patronizing them after the way were treated. My suggestion for them is a text system for waiting customers and a reality check on how to fairly treat non...

Been here so many times that I'm pretty much obliged to post a review. Like many other East End residents, I'm kind of obsessed with Square Cafe. Sherree and her crew are friendly, patient, and attentive, and the dining area has a colorful, chatty ambiance. The specialty coffee drinks are amazing, and oh my goodness.... such FABULOUS, inventive local food! I live within reasonable walking distance, so every time someone visits from out of town I feel obliged to bring them here.

My favorite dishes are the brussels sprout grits and the white bean skillet, although because I go so often, I normally order one of the delicious seasonal/rotating menu recipes. Recently I tried their blood orange pancakes, which were equal parts weird and dreamy. The meals are generously portioned, and since I rarely have room for a milkshake or smoothie at the end of the meal, I usually take a Zesty Knitter (raspberry and chocolate) milkshake to go.

The restaurant does get very crowded on Saturday, Sunday, and holiday mornings... but even when I've arrived late (11:30~12:30) or brought a large party, I've never waited more than 15-20 minutes. The only time I've had a bad experience at Square Cafe was on an unusually crowded weekday afternoon, when my friend tried to custom-order something they didn't even have, and our server got really flustered. But even last time I went, when the barista made me the wrong milkshake, he just said "d'oh!" and apologized, then immediately whipped up a replacement, even though the restaurant was hella busy.

Basically, if you're looking for an inexpensive "greasy-spoon" breakfast/brunch, this won't be your best choice... but Square Cafe is perfect for the adventurous brunch enthusiast! It's also a very...

My boyfriend and I stopped at Square Cafe for brunch this morning. We arrived and waited about 10 minutes for a table to become available; however, there were two heaters outside to stand by to keep warm in the meantime. We got there just before a large rush of people arrived and were lucky to only have waited as long as we did.

Upon being seated, we felt a little crammed into the center of the cafe between two other tables. Im not a large person, but I really felt like i had to suck it in to get between the tables to my seat and try not to hover over our neighboring tables' food. Also, I felt the cafe as a whole was incredibly loud and it was hard to carry our own conversation because we were so close to two other sets of louder people talking over us to each other.

The coffee was tasty and our server was great with refills. My boyfriend had the breakfast burrito, which we both thought was average.. I had the French toast special which featured a banana cream cheese filling. We both thought this special was delicious (and not too sweet, like some other French toast fillings around the city). 👌 The host and waitress were very friendly and efficient.

For 2 coffees, a burrito, French toast and an apple sauce, I thought $45.00 was a little steep, but we would both certainly return if nearby and it happened to be an off time. Overall, I would recommend stopping into this establishment at least once. I feel like this concept would be better executed in a little bit of a larger location so guests could feel a little more comfortable...