Harris Grill

Harris GrillHarris Grill
Harris GrillHarris Grill
Bar, Eatery

5747 Ellsworth Ave
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15232-1740
United States

(412) 363-0833 | map
harrisgrill.com
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.05
Reviews:
8
Ratings:
16
pDev:
7.65%
View: Place Reviews
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Ratings by Saxboy10:
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Rated by Saxboy10 from Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -1.2%

Feb 25, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of brother_rebus
Reviewed by brother_rebus from Maine

4.08/5  rDev +0.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.75
Cool place. Mixed vibe; almost like a gothic log cabin space-martian bowling alley feel. Pretty cool overall. Decent draft list. Kinda trying to get rid of some old stock from winter. Good service. Dude was apathetically quickwitted, but knew his stuff and was good at timing. Big varying bottle list. Awesome food. Really good. Regular to slightly high prices, but depends what you get. Menue was awful though. Will be back.
Feb 23, 2016
 
Rated: 4.29 by ArtAttackEd from Pennsylvania

Feb 17, 2016
 
Rated: 4.19 by AndrewTobias from Pennsylvania

Jan 22, 2016
 
Rated: 4.14 by greg4579 from Pennsylvania

Jan 11, 2015
 
Rated: 4.56 by McMatt7 from Pennsylvania

Dec 24, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by StevensBrewing from Pennsylvania

Oct 14, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by epyon396 from Pennsylvania

Aug 11, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by ejimhof from Pennsylvania

Oct 09, 2013
Photo of slander
Reviewed by slander from New York

4.18/5  rDev +3.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
A recommendation from Sly Fox Corey (which was hard to get from him ‘cause Phil just would not shut the fuck up; talking his shop when I’m trying to obtain some crucial Pittsburgh skinny). Thankfully, my head landfill paper picker Jake navigated it up ‘cause with detours galore, I never would have found it. Parked and walked some, this cool little strip of some city scene...

A whole lot of people out front on what seems like it would be their front lawn, and this, like an old converted house. No, it’s definitely an old converted house. I know this because there’s an identical dwelling next door that is still a house. And up and in. From the entranceway, there’s an “L” shaped, wood top bar seating 14 on attached stools sits in a room off to the left. Tiered booze to both sides below mirror backing with glow pillars lining. Logo flame piece above center (foreshadowing for what’s to come) and glassware below. Crappy drop ceiling, tiled floorings, and a single flatscreen up front. Around the bend lies a small side room with a handful of tables amongst muralage or through the rear to a tight backyard space holding 5 tables fenced, strung lighting and vine lining, brewery neons and the like. And the aforementioned seating area out front umbrella’d 3 tables wide.

No wait on a table inside and we’re led immediately upstairs to a space divided into smaller rooms and sectioned otherwise. 2 booths facing the wall of large vertical windows up front; the tables bellying up to the windows or nearly so, 2 tables behind them sharing common benches, 2 tables adjacent against the wall with the same shared set up, a small raised area with a table for a bunch and the other corner holding cushy couch & chairs around an oval coffee table. Red & brown walls with framed mirrorings and light artwork (including a cool stained glass triptych piece), and floral carpeting throughout. Cool cylinder candles on the tables, colorful coneish wall mounted lamps and baby spots.

15 taps on a tower behind the bar. A mix of PA offerings (East End Fat Gary Nut Brown, Victory All Malt Lager, Yuengling), regional (Brooklyn Main Engine Start, DogFishHead 90 Minute IPA, Magic Hat Blind Faith IPA), craft from afar (Bells Kalamazoo & Oberon, Boulder Sweaty Betty Blonde, Founders Porter, Dark Horse Scotty Karate, Anderson Valley Imperial IPA), a single meh import (Dos Equis Amber), macro (Miller Lite Triple Hopped Pilsner), and cider (Woodchuck Summer Cider). I started with an East End Fat Gary Nut Brown and moved onto the Founders Porter. Jake drank the Betty as it was most approachable for him, although he’s been branching out some.

They’ve also got 4 dozen bottles, the menu broken out by style. Craft, macros, imports, N/A’s, ciders; some of everything from Stone to Sol, but I’d say nearly 2/3 of it is craft, and of those, there were 9 PA offerings (Penn, Iron City, Yuengling, Straub,Troegs, Stoudts, Victory). 8 cellar dweller & big bottles available, as well (Brooklyn Black Ops for $30, Founders KBS for $12, DogFishHead World Wide Stout & Red & White, Stone Belgo & Old Guardian, Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary, Troegs Nugget Nectar, La Fin Du Monde). And they make offensive beer cocktails, mostly done with Miller Lite but there’s one made with Strongbow and another with, gasp, Oberon (someone should be beaten for that). And classic and signature cocktails (Manhattans, Martinis, Lemonades), and wines; 8 red and 8 white.

Tuesday is bacon night, meaning they serve baskets with a few strips of bacon. Free at the bar or a buck if you’re tabled (I may have had 2 of those). Moved to the dry rub bacon wings (‘cause I had to know, and meh) and then the Henny Penny sandwich (Blackened chicken, melted cheddar, lettuce, tomato, onion, and a cruel spicy chipotle mayonnaise on a local ciabatta). It was the hottest goddamn sandwich I’ve ever ‘et. Seriously, it was as hot as actual fuck, definitely the most evil thing from ever. At first bite, my whole head went abuzz and started sweating, like instantly. I was breathing through my ears and didn’t know what the hell was going on. Oddly, unlike other hot things I’ve eaten, my mouth didn’t go numb leaving me talking all Mushmouth from Fat Albert, but rather cooled quickly and then let me experience the pain anew with each next bite again and again and again. Jake was laughing at me, but he was struggling with his, too (so shut up Jake). It was very difficult to eat, but I did take it down and it was important that I did so, or I would have had to listen to Jake’s smack talk at work. In retrospect, I could have had the turkey lurky wrap, but it was my first time there and I didn’t know shit.

Server Natasha was pleasant and attentive, and claimed to be a New Haven girl (she knew that Modern is the best pizza joint, must be on the up and up). Solid taps, clean beer, crazytown food, good crowd, comfortable house, and the tunes being played were not over the top. I did dig.
Nov 23, 2011
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Reviewed by IronCitySteve from Pennsylvania

4.13/5  rDev +2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4
Stopped in for the Victory Brewing Dinner.

A nice play for some quality craft beers and some decent food at relatively cheap prices.

They have about 50 bottles of craft/macro brews and 15 craft beers. On tap the night I was there were 5 Victory Beers (Pils, HopDevil, Yakima, Headwater Pale Ale, Golden Monkey) along with 10 other micro brews. Beers were half off during happy hour.

Not overly crowded on the Thursday night despite the fact Pitt was playing WVU. A nice amount of seating indoors and when the weather is nicer, there is an outdoor patio.

The food at the dinner was really good and paired up nicely with the beer selection.

Definitely a place I would return to again!
Feb 27, 2011
Photo of Hojaminbag
Reviewed by Hojaminbag from Colorado

4/5  rDev -1.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
Harris Grill has a nice outside patio area, but it was raining when I visited, so we headed inside.

There is a bar on one side and a few tables on the other. I would guess this place thrives on the outside seating because the inside is a bit small. I stopped in on a Tuesday night and there was a decent crowd though, so I would guess that this place gets packed during weekends.

The atmosphere is a little bit trendy, but the service is friendly and laid-back.

I ordered gazpacho to start, and it was very good. Then I got a blackened chicken sandwich with mac n cheese, both of which were also very good. My buddy really liked his burger also. Excellent bar food at decent prices.

As for the beer, there were about a dozen taps that included East End Snow Melt, Green Flash Hop Head Red, Ballast Point Yellowtail Pale Ale, Sierra Nevada Celebration, Hopslam, Founders Porter and about five others. The tap list was solid, and I would guess that it rotates on a fairly regular basis. Anywhere that I can find East End and Hopslam on tap makes me happy.

There are two sections to the bottle menu, one of normal bottles, which has about 30 selections divided into styles, and the other section called "Big Bottles." The Big Bottles included Bell's Batch 9000 (5 bucks), Brooklyn Black OPS (30), Founders Nemesis (10) and a few others. I couldn't pull the trigger on the 10 dollar Nemesis, but I was pretty happy to try the Batch 9000.

Food prices were fair, and beer prices were about what they should be (maybe a touch higher). I was impressed to get the Batch 9000 for only 5 bucks.

Overall I really liked the Harris Grill. The next time I'm in Shady Side I will probably drop in again.
Mar 25, 2010
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Reviewed by OneDropSoup from Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
Harris is a lot of fun. The vibe is on the verge of yuppie, but with enough chilled-out-WTF sense of humor to make it enjoyable. The patio is one of the most coveted locations in southwestern PA when weather's nice, & it can get pretty crowded on the weekends. This is a place that really likes its customers, & many regulars are featured on the meny & website.

I can't complain about the food, at reasonable prices. Lately I've been into the prix fixe brunch (it's one of the few times my wife gives the OK on a pre-noon brew). Service is good too, even when the place is packed.

I like the selection here. They have a beer menu divided into sections based on style, with tasting tips & notes on what to look for. Their list of regular bottles is a good but fairly standard selection of quality crafts, & their rotating menu of taps, big bottles, & seasonals is what keeps me coming back. Rare is a place that serves Cuvee Rene, they frequently have East End on tap, & though I've never ordered a Utopias, it's always fun to see it on the list.

If you can stand the crowds on weekends or come during off-peak hours, I recommend it. One more thing: when I still ate red meat, the words "Bacon Night" were music to my ears.
Feb 10, 2009
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Reviewed by Kolsch from Pennsylvania

4.03/5  rDev -0.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4
Visited here on a Saturday afternoon, there were about 6 people at the bar. First review of this place since re-opening after the recent fire.

Atmosphere: nice decor inside, nothing fancy. Some areas were remodeled after the fire and others were not. The outside patio is what sells this place during the summer, especially for the trendy OR the people who think they are trendy.

Selection is good to very good. Around 12 beers on tap. This particular day I had a chance to try Weyerbacher's Fireside Ale. Absolutely loved it! Malty with Smokey overtones.

Service has always been good, no complaint's.

Food: we did try the hummus appetizer. Very good and highly recommend especially with the warm tortilla bread.

Quality of beers is top notch. Tap lines are kept clean and freshness is never an issue as beer turns over quickly.

Overall, I really like the place but parking is a hassle and non-existent unless you live in the neighborhood.
Jan 25, 2009
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Reviewed by veggiemafia from Pennsylvania

3.86/5  rDev -4.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4
Went to the Harris Grill for the first time last night even though I've lived less than a mile from it since August. Good beer selection, although they didn't have an up to date list of their bottled beers, and I was kind of disappointed that they didn't have the Midas Touch I originally ordered. Another thing was that the woman behind the bar kind of looked at me like I had two heads when I asked for a snifter or chalice or something besides a pint glass for my bottle of Expedition Stout.

The outdoor seating is very nice, and I got there around 11:30 and it was fairly busy, but not overwhelming, when we left at 1:35 or so, it was just us and one other table. It was loud-ish outside, but not overwhelming. Inside seemed like typical bar noise kind of crowd.

It doesn't seem like there's a really good system for seating, and we were kind of left to our own devices and then a server approached us and was a little confused that we were sitting outside with just beer and didn't require her services, but she was very friendly and polite, so I can't fault her, it just seems like their seating system needs to be further worked out.

Decent selection of draft beers, Arrogant Bastard, some locals, mostly bigger craft beers, with the obligatory couple of taps reserved for BMC.

Overall a nice place, and Expedition Stout was only $5, so I can't complain. I'll go there again, I'm sure. I also hear they own a DFH Randall.
Jun 10, 2006
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Reviewed by grainger5 from Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -1.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 3
As I was driving home from work, I noticed a big white banner outseide informing the public of the reopening of the Harris Grill. That sign invited me in for a few beers. The intrerior was remodeled to give the establishment a warm and relaxing feel. The bar is of decent size and the downstair eating area is modest. The upstairs has more seating but it also has a couch and 2 chairs. Overall, they did a great job on making the establishment feel cozy.
I was quite impressed by the service because they were knowledgable about the beer and friendly. They were very willing to take time to talk the customers. The beer selection was avg but that is to be expected since they just reopened. They went the correct route in making the joint "cool" so I can only expect that their beer selection will soon follow that trend.
Jan 12, 2005
Harris Grill in Pittsburgh, PA
Place rating: 4.05 out of 5 with 16 ratings