The holidays are here again, bringing friends and family to town to share in festivities and food. The season also carries a reverence for tradition, and, when it comes to dining out, there’s something to be said for eschewing Pittsburgh’s ever-changing foodie scene and instead heading to tried-and-true institutions where your grandparents gathered around a table. For the holiday season, Pittsburgh City Paper visited some of the city’s oldest restaurants, all of which have operated for more than a century. They span Gilded Age fine dining, family-owned pubs, and a beloved historic brewery — and promise to get guests in the spirit.
The Original Oyster House
20 Market Sq., Downtown.
originaloysterhousepittsburgh.com
At 154 years old, the Original Oyster House in Market Square claims the title for oldest bar and restaurant in Pittsburgh. One of few city commercial buildings designated as a historic landmark, the site was originally home to Bear Tavern, dating back to 1827. In true Pittsburgh small-town fashion, the late Judy O’Connor — mother of Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor — once told Oyster House owner Jen Grippo that her grandfather constructed the three-story building.
The Oyster House moved into the space in 1870, and not much has changed since. The restaurant kept the original black-and-white tile — hexagonal floor tiles were laid by hand, then pounded in using a boxing glove — the mahogany bar, and tin ceiling. A hand-cranked dumbwaiter still raises and lowers plates.
Lining the walls are panoramic photos from Miss America pageants courtesy of former owner “Silver Dollar Louie” Americus, who used to flick a coin at the contestant he thought should win. Posters and framed images show 154 years of patrons with a cross-section of notable visitors including President Jimmy Carter, Bruce Springsteen, wrestler Bruno Sammartino, and horror legend Tom Savini, who’s apparently still a regular. Playwright August Wilson also frequented the Oyster House, mentioning it by name in his autobiographical How I Learned What I Learned.
Grippo inherited the business in 2017 from her late father, Lou Grippo, part of only five families who have owned the restaurant. In its 154 years, Jen Grippo points out, the Oyster House has seen “the highs and lows of Pittsburgh, [and] in general, the Great Depression, Spanish flu, floods, fires, folks having to leave the city because there weren’t jobs available.”
A relatively recent improvement, she tells City Paper, was adding a women’s bathroom to the bar’s ground floor, since it was originally a men’s-only establishment.
“This is some funny karma,” Grippo says. “Now women own [the bar] … Patience, ladies, patience!”
People often tell her that coming to the Oyster House is like stepping into another time, and even the concept of an oyster house is from a bygone era. In the 19th century, oysters were a cheap and abundant source of protein for Americans, commonly raised and eaten in cities.
Grippo says it’s strange to think of the Oyster House in landlocked Pittsburgh — though at one time, there were nine locations — saying, “We get that a lot, for sure.”
Sticking to its origins, the menu still offers a raw oyster option. But these days, Grippo says, “we are predominantly fried foods.”
Today’s Oyster House is known for its “original” breaded oyster and “Famous” Jumbo Fish sandwich, served traditionally with only salt and pepper, and lettuce, tomato, and cheese available as 21st century add-ons.
Preserving what past generations have done, Grippo believes, is key to the restaurant’s longevity.
“Every year we come up on another anniversary and people [ask], ‘How is it that you’ve done this?’ And it’s because of the tradition,” she says. “It’s because we continue to stay tied to our roots.”
The community bonds are especially evident during the holidays, when out-of-towners return to the Oyster House.
“There’s been a lot of change that has happened in Pittsburgh, and I believe that progress and change [are] good,” Grippo tells CP. “Especially for Pittsburghers who are so ride-or-die for their city, [but] who still want to always honor their traditions and their past, I just hope that the Oyster House is one of those places that really makes them feel like they are back home for real.”
Mitchell’s Pub
304 Ross St., Downtown.
originalmitchells.com
At 119 years old, Mitchell’s Pub has also seen its fair share of history.
Inside the pub, Jim Mitchell, its third-generation owner, maintains a “history wall” chronicling his grandfather’s (Papou’s) immigrant journey to the United States from Vlachokerassia, Greece in 1902. Photos and documents show the boat where Constantinos Michalopoulos made the 25-day crossing to New York City, and the manifest from Ellis Island where he entered the country, Jim Mitchell says, with $12 to his name.
After working at a Station Square restaurant for four years, Michalopoulos opened his own business near Pittsburgh’s former Civic Arena in 1906. Jim Mitchell says the legend goes that a sign painter couldn’t fit the name “Michalopoulos Dining Room” above the storefront, so his grandfather chose the surname Mitchell out of a city directory (the precursor to the phonebook).
Mitchell’s weathered Prohibition by operating as a butcher shop — giving meat away during the Great Depression — saw World War II and the destruction of Court Place (part of redevelopment during Renaissance II), and moved to its current location at Third Ave. and Ross St. in 1977. Jim Mitchell realized his father Jim Mitchell Sr.’s longtime dream of buying the building in 1998, only two months before his death.
“I got a picture of my dad holding the deed,” Mitchell tells CP. “So [my father] knew Mitchell’s would never have to move again.”
Today, the pub is billed as “Downtown Pittsburgh’s original neighborhood bar,” and according to Jim Mitchell, its openhearted philosophy remains unchanged. Mitchell’s holds the distinction of being the oldest continuously operating family-owned restaurant within city limits.
“My dad always taught me, you have good food [and] good service at a reasonable price. You take care of everybody … whether you’re someone working [at] the county, or you’re a judge, an attorney … construction worker, people from all walks of life … we treat everybody the same,” he says. “So it’s a neighborhood bar in the city, and there are not too many left. People feel at home when they come to our place.”
The restaurant is known for its “comfort foods” including the Mitchburgher Burger, scratch-made hot turkey and meatloaf, and tuna and patty melts. Twenty-four draft beers are kept on rotation, and 40-year veteran bartender Joe Bullsak, now 80 years old, was voted Best Bartender in CP’s Best Of PGH Readers’ Poll last year.
Mitchell says you can still catch Bullsak behind the bar on Thursdays and Fridays. For the holidays, they’ve rolled out specialty cocktails and martinis, in addition to reopening for dinner and extending their happy hour in light of a new state law. It’s heartening to see the place bustling again after COVID shutdowns, Mitchell tells CP, which prompted him to retool the bar, add new lighting, and “almost start from scratch.”
“And when COVID was over, we were one of the last places standing,” Mitchell reflects. At 66, he says he still works 70-hour weeks to maintain the bar and its legacy.
“Sometimes you get in the woods, you can’t see the trees,” he says. “And then people say, that’s something [that] you’ve been around that long, and they love seeing the history … Makes it worth the while, you know?”
The Terrace Room at the Omni William Penn Hotel
530 William Penn Pl., Downtown
omnihotels.com/hotels/pittsburgh-william-penn/dining/terrace-room
If Henry Clay Frick were to walk into the Omni William Penn on a recent afternoon, the hotel’s notorious owner would’ve found influencers at a Christmas-themed pop-up bar, the annual cleaning of the lobby’s Bohemian crystal chandeliers, and dining at The Terrace Room, nearly unchanged after 108 years.
One of the city’s oldest dining spots, the restaurant originally opened as The Italian Terrace alongside the hotel in 1916. It was immediately a huge draw, says Bob Page, the hotel’s area director of sales and marketing. The name and cuisine were meant to evoke the luxury of the Mediterranean country and highlight the space’s frescoes.
Today, The Terrace Room is billed as offering “an incomparable ambiance,” retaining its original molded plaster ceiling, decorative woodwork with griffins, and mahogany arches. Historic photos also hang in the “bespoke room” showing earlier eras, including when a 1970s trend brought a floor-to-ceiling petrified palm tree. Perhaps the room’s most famous feature is the enormous mural across its back wall, “The Taking of Fort Pitt,” depicting the historic siege at the Point.
“It’s just such a beautiful room, right? … This hotel has been here so long, and it’s a staple in the community,” Page tells CP. “People love the nostalgia of it.”
The feeling is only magnified during the holidays, when diners seek out The Terrace Room, now decorated with Christmas trees and hanging ornaments.
Page says, as much as they make of the hotel’s grandeur, staff still want The Terrace Room to feel approachable for a holiday meal. Once a white-tablecloth establishment, the linens are now gone, showcasing the room’s marble-topped tables.
The Terrace Room hosts The Twelve Days of Tea which started Dec. 3, offering a special afternoon tea service “steeped in the magical flavors of the holiday season.” Guests can also book a reservation for breakfast, lunch, or weekend brunch.
Penn Brewery
800 Vinial St., North Side.
pennbrew.com
With its deep German heritage, no one welcomes the yuletide quite like Penn Brewery.
Pittsburgh’s oldest and largest brewery, the North Side institution was originally founded by Germans immigrants, including the Eberhardt and Ober families, in the 19th century. Three breweries dating back to 1848 originally operated on the site with the goal, head brewer Chris Rudolph says, to “bring German traditional beers to America.”
Largely, Rudolph tells CP, that mission remains. He leads a history tour on the third Saturday of every month.
Before refrigeration, brewers kept barrels of beer cool by storing them in caves carved hundreds of feet into the hillside. Inside these “lagering” caves (lager comes from the German word for storage) the simple “geothermals of the Earth” chilled the beer, maintaining a constant 55-degree temperature. Penn Brewery preserves what it describes as “a labyrinth” of the site’s original stone lagering caves and tunnels — among few left in the United States, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Visitors can view the caves and other remnants: the original cornerstone building still stands in the brewery’s beer garden; a stone “Eberhardt & Ober Brewing Co.” sign is still visible near today’s Penn Brewery archway; and there are pieces of the cooper department, where barrels were made.
Though the four-story brewing complex is 176 years old, the Penn Brewery that Pittsburghers know was created in 1986. Tom Pastorius and his wife Mary Beth fixed up what was then a decaying building, and insisted on serving German food and making beer the traditional German way. In the brewhouse, Rudolph uses copper kettles, an anachronism, and flips a switchboard with German commands to mash, boil, and pump grain.
Penn Brewery’s owner, Austrian-born Stefan Nitsch, who bought the business in 2021, takes things to a new level for the holidays. This year, the brewery hosts Krampusnacht on Dec. 5, bringing the horned, goat-like legend to its cityview terrace. Nitsch hints that Krampus — who haunted his childhood dreams — might hide in the lagering caves, stalking the wicked amidst a full parade and craft market, complete with a tarot card reader. The same night, the brewery will also tap its Sleigher Krampus Band Black IPA, along with a live performance by the band.
For those less keen on spooky Christmas, the brewpub celebrates its seasonal St. Nikolaus Bock Brewer’s Reserve with a firkin-tapping party on Dec. 6. Diners can also brunch with Santa on Dec. 8 over prime rib and an omelet bar.
All month long, Nitsch says, you can still enjoy traditional German fare like pork schnitzel and sausage in the brewery’s main dining room, now decked out for Christmas.
“It’s just a warm, inviting, cozy atmosphere,” Nitsch tells CP. “A lot of families coming together and probably reminiscing … There’s so much history here. People have been coming here for such a long time. There’s a lot of nostalgia. And I think that’s [a] big part of the Christmas spirit, is getting together with your loved ones, [having] a nice, cozy time, and enjoying some good food and beer — always beer.”
Max’s Allegheny Tavern
537 Suismon St., North Side.
maxsalleghenytavern.com
Another living testament to the North Side’s German roots, Max’s Allegheny Tavern began as a grocery store nearly 175 years ago. CP recently spotlighted it as one of Pittsburgh’s most haunted restaurants — unsurprisingly, there’s a lot of overlap with the city’s oldest — and the storied building was also once home to the Farmers and Drovers Hotel (later the Hotel Rahn in 1903).
Max’s current incarnation opened in 1977, and the traditional tavern has always been family-run and served Old World German food and beer. Hearty, no-frills dishes include sausage and an entire menu section dedicated to “the great schnitzels of Europe” with assorted German sides like spätzle (noodles), potato pancakes, and house-made sauerkraut.
Stepping inside, visitors get a glimpse of centuries past with a hand-carved bar, solid heavy wood furnishings, and Tiffany-style lamps. Two antique five-door wooden ice boxes no longer chill beer, but are still used for storage behind the bar.
Stop by for a cozy happy hour or a wintry holiday meal to get the full charm.
This article appears in Dec 4-10, 2024.
