From Oakland to the Strip District to Cranberry Township, January brought a wide spread of new restaurants across Pittsburgh and its suburbs. Thank goodness for that, because the endless stretch of January is exactly when a new takeout spot can change your mood, and a good dinner reservation can rescue your week.
This month’s openings reveal a food scene in motion, especially when it comes to rethinking what “nightlife” looks like. A nonalcoholic pop-up in Oakland tests what going out can mean without booze. A Korean bakery café finally fills a long-empty Shadyside storefront. Smashburgers, sushi-tacos, poke and Mediterranean bowls fill daily routines, while a late-night supper club and a Strip District lounge push dining back into after-hours territory.
Openings
SAD BAR is not a sobriety sermon. It’s a winter hangout spot, created to give Pittsburghers somewhere warm, colorful and social to be during the coldest stretch of the year.
The idea grew out of planning for Oakland Winter Lights, a season-long neighborhood festival aimed at brightening “some of the city’s darkest months.” Bethany Paola, marketing and storytelling lead with the Pittsburgh Innovation District, says the team wanted to “add a new third space to the mix while giving people a place to sip on something tasty, build community and soak in some vitamin D.”…