Restaurants in Bethel Park

As Steelers fans cheer and jeer the Hofbrau's flickering TVs, frothy mugs of Miller Lite gush from foam-flecked taps and glide across a burnished wood bar. These sudsy drafts chase chews on a trim menu of traditional bar fare, from half-pound burgers to slices of square pizza, and cool palates scorched from signature hot wings drenched in lemon pepper, Cajun, or teriyaki sauces. Clacking pool balls and clinking glasses add makeshift percussion to the occasional live band, who can underscore meals with original tunes and recollections of that one time they smashed their guitars.

The scent of freshly baked bread greets visitors as they enter Szmidt's Old World Deli, where cooks slow roast and brine meat in-house for high-stacked european sandwiches. Through the years, owner Darren Smith has experimented with reckless abandon in the kitchen, fine-tuning more than a dozen sandwich varieties and infrequently spilling mustard onto his lab coat. The signature Szmidt sandwich layers homemade pastrami with provolone cheese, caramelized onion, and crunchy dill pickles, while the Annie grilled cheese blends slices of cheddar, american, and provolone. The culinary master blends the new world with the old world as he fills the dough from his grandmother's pierogi recipe with buffalo chicken or melty chocolate-peanut-butter cups.

Taste of Dahntahn revels in its Pittsburgh heritage—its name represents the Pittsburghese pronunciation of “downtown,” and its menu presents a local twist on international dishes. Executive chef Lee Corbett, who trained in the culinary arts in Baltimore, joins forces with bar manager and Pennsylvania native Eric Lynch to curate the cocktail and food menus where Asian-style chicken, French steaks, and Italian pastas coexist peacefully alongside East Coast seafood dishes. Their bar space brings culinary wanderers back to home turf with Pittsburgh-themed décor, which is highlighted by nine TVs screening local baseball, hockey, and football games, as well as a jukebox that plays the mayor’s high-school mix-tapes.

Katana’s chefs draw inspiration from Thai, Chinese, and Japanese culinary traditions, creating faithful renditions of iconic dishes from each culture. Teppanyaki chefs thrill diners by searing cuts of lobster or filet mignon amid the towering flames of hibachi grills that adorn the tabletops of select seating areas. In contrast, sushi chefs studiously avoid open flames as they roll more than 15 kinds of specialty maki, which can include smoked salmon, mango, or piquant chili sauce within a cylinder of individually peeled grains of rice. The rest of the menu spotlights the seemingly disparate flavors of Thailand and China, listing aromatic curries along with meat-laden orders of lo mein or fried rice.

Kaleidoscopic Egyptian tapestries hang on the stone walls of both Sphinx Cafe locations, while tendrils of jasmine- and mango-scented smoke drift up to high, vaulted ceilings. Though it was once a church, the space now exudes an aura of opulence and leisure that matches the warmth of the coffee houses in Egyptian owner Remy and Syrian Amera's native homes. “Hookah bars are different from the norm [in the U.S.], which is either a restaurant or a bar. It slows you down. You just relax here.”

Plush cushions help patrons relax at both of Sphinx Pittsburgh locations, as do more than 30 imported tobacco flavors that servers can enhance with creative add-ons such as wine, fruit syrups, and talking caterpillars. On some nights, belly dancers, fire eaters, and live musicians wind their way between hookahs. On quieter nights, Ms. Andrawes says you can find people playing card games, chatting, and sampling platters of homemade hummus and kibbeh.

Chef Jim Brown whimsically incorporates new ingredients into traditional recipes, creating innovative flavor combinations that manage to make familiar dishes feel surprising. The chili-soy-marinated flank steak sizzles in Korean barbecue sauce, and the mahi mahi amandine melds with amaretto glaze as seamlessly as a cotton-candy-wrapped jalapeño. To accompany the eclectically inspired menu, Luma features an extensive list of internationally sourced wines that highlights the food-friendly vinos of California. A special section of Twenty-Five Wines for Twenty-Five Dollars directs diners toward select bottles while still leaving room in the budget to order toffee made with endangered raisins.