The Eagle - Pittsburgh — Restaurant in Pittsburgh

Due to the host & kitchen...Disappointing Experience at The Eagle – But Thank You to the Manager for Making It Right. I have been a consistent customer at The Eagle for over two years, regularly ordering the same dish—whether dining in or ordering takeout. Recently, my husband and I placed our same to-go order including three orders of fried cutlets, something we’ve done countless times before. When I picked up the order, I noticed right away that something was off.

The portions came in very small white boxes instead of the usual larger aluminum containers, and the amount of food was clearly less—basically half of what we normally receive. It looked like a half order being passed off as a full one but the same price. I went back inside to speak with the host (a young white person with curly hair and black-painted fingernails, for identifying purposes), and the explanation I got was honestly baffling. Host told me that what I’ve been getting for the last two years was the WRONG size and that this smaller portion was actually the correct one. Host went on to say that when they “run out” of cutlets, they have to source more and a different machine cutter is used—so the portion ends up smaller. NO exaggeration!!

According to host, this message came from the manager. It was such a ridiculous explanation that I was honestly stunned. What bothered me even more was that host said it with a straight face, as if I wouldn’t notice or question it. I don’t appreciate being talked to like I’m dumb and don't know what I’ve been consistently ordering for years. And of course, I requested to speak to the manager directly, host says OK fine, goes to search for her. She happens to walk in the door  and the host dips off of course and  never came back over— Like, what? Thankfully, the manager (short blonde curly hair) came in, listened to my concerns, and immediately offered to fix the issue. She apologized, replaced the items with the correct portions in the proper containers, and I think she even had them add a little extra to make up for the inconvenience.  I appreciated that. To the manager: Thank you for doing the right thing and making it right without any hassle.

To the host: Next time, just be honest. Trying to pass off a ridiculous explanation and assuming a customer won’t know better is not only insulting—it’s bad service.

The Eagle is usually consistent, and I hope this was just a one-off situation. But experiences like this shouldn’t happen in the first place. I wish I'd taken a picture for...

I really struggled with the overall rating, as this was a very mixed experience for our table. Starting with the good: -The food was delicious. Maybe the best mac n cheese and biscuits I've had in my life. The hush puppies were great. The candied bacon was also fantastic, though served cold, which we found a little odd. And the bad: -The staff was unable to confidently tell us what type of oil is used in the kitchen, only that it is not peanut based. This answer is not particularly helpful when someone has a soy allergy . -Our food took over an hour to come out of the kitchen after we put in our order. During this time our waiter checked in on us only once, about 45 minutes in, and was shocked that our food hadn't come out yet. After he said he would check with the kitchen, it still took another 15-20 minutes for our appetizer to make its way to our table. -When the entrees finally arrived, I was highly disappointed by the chicken sandwich. While the flavoring of the breading was delicious, the chicken itself was incredibly chewy. There were several bites my teeth could not physically break through, and those I could tear off were rubbery . For a restaurant with such a limited menu of almost exclusively fried chicken, and such pride in their brining and frying process, I felt the chicken left a lot to be desired. -Lastly, one bite of my sandwich included an unlisted ingredient - a MASSIVE (18") dark hair in it. Absolutely revolting. Our waiter was once again not around, so I could not even mention it to him. I decided to eat here after I heard rave reviews, but unfortunately I will not be returning and cannot recommend based on my experience. Update 1/25/23 Emailed restaurant manager, as requested, on 1/16. Still awaiting response. Update 10/6/23 Still awaiting response from...

Feb 26, 2023 around 5 pm.

The service was poor. I sat at the bar, it was busy but not crazy busy not a full bar and not a full restaurant. 3 ( 2 x bartenders and a bar back) people were behind the bar working but not any particular section. Once in a while you would see the floor manager help out restocking and expediting the orders out. It took about 7 to 10 minutes to get recognized but only after another couple sat next to me. The male bartender saw them sit and presented menus to them but did not present a menu to me until I asked. He took all 3 of our drink orders. 5 minutes later he took the couples food order but never took mine.

At this point I was about to leave as I felt the male bartender was ignoring me. I decided to stay for the food as it was well reviewed and it would at least take 30 min for me to walk somewhere else, be seated, and order. It took at least another 10 minutes to get the male bartenders attention as he would never look up. I had to hold my menu in the air for several minutes to get his attention. By the time I ordered the couple next to me recieved their food. I did not recieve my food for another 20 minutes from the kitchen and the couple next to me was done and out the door.

Food The food was great! I would give the food 4 starts . I ordered the chicken sandwich and the fries! No complaints. The chicken was crispy and the bread had a great toast to it. The kitchen did a great job.

Ambiance The place was nice. Nice wooden tables. Clean and very friendly patrons. TVs to watch any of the sporting event.

Female bartender! I do want to say THANK YOU to the female bartender as she could see my frustration with the male bartender as I was attempting to get a refill of my drink. She graciously refilled my drink, apologized and thanked me for my patience.

Overall the the food was great, the atmosphere was good but the male bartender had his own agenda and worked ethic.

Good southern style food but not the southern...