Restaurants in Penn Hills

Blue Water Tavern resurrects the spirit of the classic neighborhood watering hole with a dinner menu that tastily tiptoes the line between casual and fine dining. Fire up feasting with tapas—small, passable plates that include calamari ($9), hummus ($8), and wings ($9), with the Tavern Trio ($18) collecting your choice of any three tapas. Crop-circle enthusiasts can take a break from extraterrestrial extracurriculars and opt for a veggie pizza topped with artichoke hearts, red peppers, red onions, basil, black olives, and goat cheese ($8), or its pepperoni-topped cousin ($9). Bite into the Pittsburgher burger accompanied by fresh-cut fries ($9), or salute a mermaid mother with the Surf and Turf—a six-ounce filet mignon and a Maine lobster tail ($29). For diurnal diners, Blue Water Tavern offers a lunch menu, while those on a liquid diet can feast upon a few hearty libations from the bar.

Waltz past Woodside Manor's wall of stained glass dating back to 1594, hand-carved oak staircase, and 20-foot pink-sandstone fireplace to take a seat in one of the manor's nine private dining rooms before examining the menu of seafood, sandwiches, pasta, and creative American classics. Woodside's chef Robert Courser turns French fries into elegant pomme frittes, served with thyme, salt, and spicy ketchup ($5), and replaces corndogs' dogs with shrimp and serves the cornshrimps with mustard cream ($12). Bite into a classically prepared Reuben's peppery corned beef and spicy sauerkraut ($9), or invite new flavors to mingle at your tongue's soirée with a chicken diablo sandwich: mushroom, onion, bacon, barbecue sauce, and cheddar cheese ($9). Marsala and piccata are available with veal or chicken ($14–$18), while more seaworthy plates include Chilean sea bass ($30), lake perch ($18), and lobster mac 'n' cheese, crafted with cognac, sherry, a Mornay sauce, Old Bay Seasoning, cheddar, and gruyere ($18).

Visitors to Common Plea find their culinary desires sated by elegant fare in a quiet, conversation-friendly setting. At tables swathed in starched whites, guests can sample delectable appetizers off the dinner menu, such as the clams maison with grilled lemon, which glide across palates like a citrusy hovercraft ($8), and prosciutto-wrapped scallops that tempt mouths through a seductive veil of brandy gastrique ($13). More urgent stomach pangs with reservations in hand can take the fast track towards entrees, including Roman-American regalements such as the house-made cheese ravioli crowned with tangy roasted-garlic aioli, parmesan and bomboloni ($19), or the house-made gnocchi, where pine-nut-adorned shrimp and roasted tomatoes debate neoclassicism in a bath of herbed garlic butter ($20). Fishy dishes, including the Humbolt Fog crusted fillet, which sails a pappardelle raft over an ocean of porcini mushroom demi cream ($38), and the asparagus-paired rainbow trout crab almondine ($25) round out the school of seafaring succulence.

At Elements Contemporary Cuisine, executive chef Robert Courser champions the Japanese concept of kappo, which emphasizes capturing fare at its freshest, purest state. In this spirit, Courser forged partnerships with local farms to save fresh produce from dull careers as still-life models.

He tweaks his menu of upscale international cuisine to showcase seasonal ingredients, earning the restaurant a nod from the New York Times. At the Spanish marble bar, chefs arrange trays of cheese hailing from Lancaster and the Delaware River Valley, as well as morsels of cured venison and pork. The rest of the dining room proves as elegant, with chocolate-brown tablecloths and steel-gray chairs.

The Ibiza menu showcases more tapas options—over 45—than the total number of US presidents. To keep their food as fresh as the most recent Internet content, the staff uses seasonal ingredients. Their elegant South American and European cuisine isn't the only fresh thing available to guests—fresh air can be imbibed on the outdoor patio, where candlelit tables present a romantic setting or extra work for off-duty firefighters holding a glass of water. Two stories of windows permit peeks at the interior, which conjures a Mediterranean ambience with pastel paintings of sailboats. Elegant stone walls backdrop large-leafed green plants, and a well-stocked bar quenches thirsts.

Celebrated in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review for its more than 600 hoppy brews, Beer Nutz Bottle Shoppe & Grille pours 35 rotating drafts to complement a menu of delicious—and sometimes intimidating—pub fare. Their featured burger, the aptly named Ruination, challenges bold visitors with its jaw-dropping combination of fried eggs, bacon, and a bun that consists of two texas-toast grilled cheese sandwiches. Lobster rolls and hefty one-pound fish sandwiches round out the menu alongside wings triple flavored by Yuengling marinades, spicy rubs, and tangy sauces. Opened on the same day the Pittsburgh Penguins won the 2009 Stanley Cup, the restaurant hosts game-watching nights as well as regular wine tastings, live music performances, and games of pin the tail on the keg.