The Urban Tap - Shadyside — Restaurant in Pittsburgh

I'm a bit split on my opinion with the food. The white mussels were overall, not very good. They were chewy, tasted fishy, and I don't think they were washed properly as there was always something hard and crunchy inside every mussel. Now the dish also came with toasted slices of baguette. Dipping the bread in the white sauce was quite tasty. The sauce did have a lot of nearly raw red onions in it and I don't get that at all. Why aren't the onions cooked more? Anyway, the sauce was good, but definitely a big problem with the mussels. Overall, I was disappointed.

Now the poutine. What is the right way to make poutine? Is there a right way? It's not done Canadian style with thick gravy and small, unmelted cheese curds. It's got a very thin gravy and it's primarily from the meat, which by the way, is absolutely excellent pulled beef. The fries are crunchy and delicious. Overall, great comfort food and it's a large portion. The poutine would have been perfect except for one thing: it has a fried egg on top. Why? WHY? Why is there an egg? Is it to dress up the unappealing look of the pulled beef? Without the egg, it really does look unappetizing. I mean, it still tastes great, but it doesn't look good for the 'Gram without the egg. But the egg adds nothing except aesthetics. Either the egg walks or I do. Just mix the pulled beef into the fresh and sprinkle cheese on top. Ditch. The. Egg.

The beer selection is... large. Huge, in fact. You can only find more beer options at a distributor. Southern Teir White Chocolate Stout, thank me later.

The service was great, but maybe a bit too high energy for me on that night. Still, if you're partying and getting blitz, I'm sure that energy is a big plus.

I like the mood inside but I don't get the style. It's just disjointed...

I don’t usually leave reviews, but I felt compelled to share my experience. I visited for the Summerween brunch to celebrate my birthday and drove an hour and a half to get there. Unfortunately, the experience didn’t live up to the hype.

When I was first seated, it took about 10–15 minutes before anyone came over. While the delay wasn’t ideal, our server was friendly and informative once they arrived, and the restaurant seemed moderately busy — so I tried to be understanding.

I ordered the featured cocktail flight, which took quite a while to arrive. The drinks were okay, but I was disappointed that the dry ice effect, which had been advertised, was missing. Not a huge deal, but a letdown considering the theme.

For food, I ordered two of the Halloween-themed specials. I wish I had taken a photo of the Ghost Toni — the presentation was surprisingly messy. It didn’t resemble what was advertised and looked like it had fallen apart and been hastily put back together. The other dish (which I did take a photo of) also lacked visual appeal and seemed sloppily assembled. I expected fun, themed items, but the execution felt more like an afterthought. The excessive food dye also made the dish unappetizing, both visually and taste-wise.

I ordered another drink, which took another 15 minutes to arrive. After a nearly $100 tab and a three-hour round trip, I left feeling disappointed. I was genuinely excited for the Summerween event, but the reality didn’t match the presentation shown online — not in taste, timing, or appearance.

I rarely write reviews, especially negative ones, but this experience missed the mark on too many levels. Sadly, I wouldn’t make...

Been here many times. Went down on this Sunday (it was busy) and sat at the bar. At my spot people had just left so there was a mess. One of the bartenders came immediately and was about to drop menus and a water on the food from the past customers. I asked if he could wipe up the mess and thanked him. He wiped it up and shook the rag on the floor and left. After that he walked by me about 8 times over the next 12 minutes or so. I left.

I was under the impression the bartender was not happy I asked him to not make me drink on a pile of someone else's food. At one point he was snappy with a waitress in front of me. I've been here many times on Sundays and there's usually another bartender (blonde woman) who is much better than this one. The bartender this evening always seems like he's a wank, that has been the impression multiple times I've been there.

In any case, Pittsburgh has many bars. I don't need to go to Urban Tap and I won't return. I was told by a friend that they've had similar issues with feeling like they aren't welcome at the bar (they mentioned a male(s), maybe the same one, I wouldn't be surprised). If you get pissed off because you are asked to do something so simple as clean a counter, the reason is because your employer isn't on the ball with properly staffing, that is obviously not my problem.

Get pissy with your boss instead. I considered the place a good spot to drink and welcomed mentioning it to my friends.

I haven't had any food here, so I can't speak on that. Learn customer service skills. If the job is too much for you,...