413 S Craig St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
412.681.8620
website
Just steps from Carnegie Mellon University, Union Grill in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood is a hang-out for the college kids but attracts a wide range of patrons nonetheless. Lively into the evenings for its spirits, it’s got a sturdy menu of bar grub that’s definitely geared toward the comfortable and familiar favorites. Pittsburgh’s a city with a ravenous appetite for those greasy favorites, and in that way this bar delivers on the goods. Make sure to grab a beer while you’re at it.
Pub favorites die hard. It’s the simple ones that are best here. What to try:
- Pierogies: The Pittsburgh favorite comes three to a plate for an appetizer, naturally served with a giant dollop of cream cheese and chives. Topped with ample cheese, filled with potatoes and hot off the skillet with a wonderful sheen, they’re an example of what people love in Pittsburgh – meat and potatoes.
- Chophouse Burger: The signature and most popular dish on the menu is a massive burger cooked how you like it and with a wide choice of upgrades that come free, from roasted veggies to barbecue sauce, cheeses and more. Order it medium rare for best effect, of course. The whole patty just falls apart when you chomp into it, and that nice charbroiled outside – it’s like eating a backyard burger. Just great.
- French Onion Soup Burger: Take the same giant burger and toss it in a vat of French Onion Soup, topped with some cheese and crunchy crust. The real joy in the soup is the glistening, cheese covered onions.
The ambiance of the place feels kind of like a classic bar – dark and low-lit, save for a few enormous television sets always turned to the Pittsburgh sports scene, plus a giant bar with a ton of beers to serve up and plenty of specials to make sure these two interests overlap. So if you know when to come in you’ll have little problem with finding a way to save on the eats. And that matters to the college crowd, of course.
Union Bar is a dive if you ever saw one. But good dives typically always have good comfortable food and this one succeeds in that world. It’s a cozy place to spend a little time.
Recommendations
- The burger comes with the basic ingredients – lettuce, tomato and onions. But for free, you can tack on any number of extra ingredients. A rare and wonderful plus.
- The bar itself is pretty low key into the early evening but game time will fill it up.
- While there’s an outdoor patio, it’s very modest. Only count on that kind of space in the slow hours.
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