Piper's Pub

Piper's used to be THE place in Pittsburgh for draught beer. They had probably 30 taps and a Real Ale program and the taps were all very well curated. Now they have about half of the taps usually with nothing special on and no Real Ale. Food is, and always has been, solid. Service really depends upon who you get. Again, used to be much more consistent. Another Pittsburgh mainstay that has, very unfortunately, fallen off.

Went for the last day of premier league soccer so if you don't like soccer or being in a soccer bar then avoid on premier league days. Anyway, I do like both so enjoyed my time there and had a couple cheap Fuller's Ales and will go back another time to get something to eat and see what else they have to drink.

 

This is probably the best overall pub in Pittsburgh. The decor has a warm, old-fashioned feel, the taplist is fantastic, the whisky selection is superb, the food is good, and the staff is always friendly.

What I had: Over the course of two visits - Tröegs Sunshine Pils, Yards Extra Special Ale, Tröegs The Mad Elf Holiday Ale, Fat Heads Gudenhoppy Pils, Elysian The Immortal IPA (all on tap), Grilled Apricot Salmon, Scottish Shortbread Ice Cream Sandwich, entree and white wine for the lady.

What I liked: Really cool English-style pub with an awesome low key ambiance, quick and inviting servers, killer beer selection, outstanding food (way more than just pub grub), glad to hear The Shins on rotation.

What I disliked: On the second visit we were seated in the dining area and felt a bit cramped, but that’s a minor quibble.

Would I go back? For sure. This authentic UK pub does the "sports and ales" thing very well. A true gem in Pittsburgh.

Overall Rating: 88

Visited over the holidays with my adult kids and husband/girlfriend. Small divi joint focusing on English, Scotland and Irish food and libations. Big place for football (soccer). Decent craft/import beer selection and fantastic whiskey/scotch selections. Had toad in the hole and scotch eggs. A few crafts and flight of scotch. Food was hearty and good. Great atmosphere.

 

 

 

 

Went back. Way better recently. British. Their draft and bottle list was pretty comprehensive. and had a lot of local and nat'l beers. The older waitress we had was very nice and accomidating. But the bartender was just really understaffed. The place is a good bfast place with good beer list. Wish they had some cask though. Next time.

 

 

 

 

At a recommendation from Chip Walton of Chop & Brew and Brewing TV fame, we headed right from the airport to get lunch at the Piper's Pub. This was a little old fashioned pub, filled with soccer fans eagerly watching "football" and putting back full British sized pints of beer. The bar area is small and somewhat loud, but gives a better view of the taps than the 1950's era restaurant seating in the back. They always have at least two cask beers (I had Duck Rabbit Milk Stout) and a very good selection of local and British ales. Lots of traditional English, Irish, Scottish fare are present in the menu and we both ended up with the tasty and incredibly mouth-scorchingly hot lamb stew. A nice way to ease into the beer culture of Pennsylvania!

 

great pub with beers on cask year round. hand pumped . Good stuff!!!!

 

Venison Sheppard's Pie, always something great on Cask, best on the south side

 

 

 

As you may have heard, this is a premier spot for futbol viewing in the city, which helps to make it a very English style pub. Lots of different beers available. 20 taps at least, from what my memory tells me. Service is attentive and mature. Huge bourbon selection here also, from what I saw.

I hate the Southside (mostly during the weekend insanity), but this is a very good reason to make the trek down, despite the neighborhood being a real hassle sometimes. Not too far away from Fathead's if you want to make the two-fer.

Very friendly staff with a great whiskey/local beer selection. Had dinner last night and was blown away by the food. Amazing! A great place to sit down and have a few pints without dealing with the 21-25 year old southside hooligans. Price is a little higher but reasonable when looking at the beer selections and they come in 20oz. glasses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stopped by for the first time yesterday. It definitely won't be my last visit here...

As others have noted, Piper's pub is something of a English/Irish style pub, with 4 large screen TV's (that I saw), apparently playing almost non-stop English soccer (the bartender mentioned that on occasion they'll show soccer games from the rest of Europe and S. America, but for the most part, English league soccer is what's going to be on the telee here). Otherwise, the place has high ceilings in the bar area up front, but with a fair size dining room in the back as well. If one is into soccer (which I enjoy, but I'm not nearly as crazy about it as most of the crowd on this Saturday afternoon), this is a great place to hang out, shoot the breeze with your mates, and just enjoy the day. The vibe is very friendly and laid back here, and the bartender was quick and likewise pretty friendly. So I thought this a great place to hang out with a beer or three.

As for the beer selection, they had roughly 35 offerrings, including two beers on cask from Flying Dog and Slyfox (the pearl necklace oyster stout and a pale ale). Of course Piper's pub has all the usual euro macros (guinness, bass, belhaven, etc.), but they also had a very nice selection of craft beer as well (mostly PA stuff, but also SN celebration, Stone IPA, Bells cream stout and 2 hearted, some flying dog and heavy seas stuff). I think they had at least 5 or 6 IPA's, and as that's what I was in the mood for (got a pint of headhunter and a glass of 2 hearted), I was quite happy. Given the quality of the tap list, I didn't ask about bottles, though I did see some folks down by the end of the bar with a couple bottles of macro swill.

Didn't try the food, but what I saw looked pretty good. I'll definitely order something from the kitchen next time I stop by (I suspect stopping in is going to become a habit for me). Prices were OK. Almost everything on tap was $5.75 a glass. In most cases that was for an imperial pint, but some beers (like the headhunter I ordered) came in a 16 ounce glass. Considering that the pub is located in the heart of Carson St. (within easy walking distance of Smokin Joe's and Fatheads), the prices here didn't seem too bad (though I should add that the $5.75 price does not include tax, which is added on when you get your bill).

One other thing here that I appreciated (especially after stopping by Smokin Joe's afterwards), is that the draft list on the bar was up to date. Unlike the menu at Smokin Joe's (which was completely out of date - close to half the beers listed were long gone), everything on the tap list menu was actually available. So extra marks for that as well. (if only the same were true with the online draft list. Today is 2/19/13, but the online draft list is from 1/27/13!)

Really enjoyed my time here...

Edit from 1/4/12. Stoppped in this past Saturday. Beer selection was as good as ever (they had sculpin today, as well as SN celebration on cask - had never seen that before), and this time I ordered the lamb and chestnut shepard's pie. The latter was pretty tasty, and I'm encouraged to see what else the kitchen can do. They even had college and NFL football on the TV. There's no doubt I'll soon be back.

Well Fat Head's sucked, so we came to this place. It's a relatively small place, a British pub knock-off, featuring Brit cuisine, cask ale, and a diverse beer list that leans towards more mild and sessionable beers, but still has lots of other stuff to offer. There is a smallish but comfy bar, and a fairly small dining area, simple decor, and a couple TVs for you sports fans.

The beer selection really dragged me to this place. While it's not the hugest selection in the world (or even on the street), they had lots of local options from places I'd didn't see anywhere else in the city, with a collection from Rivertowne, Lavery, and even a couple East End brews that weren't even on at their brewery. So extra points for that. Having four casks is a good option, and many of the beers, as I said, were British in nature, with still enough selections overall to keep everyone happy.

There were a lot of good food options, and I had to throw around a few options before settling on the toad in the hole, similar to my wife's bangers n mash, both of which were very tasty and in great portions. Prices were decent all around, though some of the entrees were a bit on the pricey side.

The bartender was great, and never kept us waiting for anything. He was busy so we didn't get to chat, but from his recommendations to other nearby patrons, it seemed his beer scene knowledge was pretty spot on.

The Carson Street area kind of really sucked crowd-wise, but at least the bars were ample, and in the unlikely case I ever find myself back there, Piper's is most likely where I'll be.

Wow i love this place. The place is always very clean, well lighted and loaded with tv's, usually playing football, both nfl and soccer. Great selction of craft beers on tap, around 12-15 and plenty of bottles. The bartenders have always been great, really friendly, down to earth and will suggest a beer for you. The prices of tabs are right on with everyone else, and some beers are 16-20 oz pours! What really makes this place great is the food! This is usually my last stop in south side cause this is were i eat my sober up lunch/dinner. Food is always top notch, fresh and plenty of amount for your dollar. Anytime im in south side, i stop here without even checking the tab list. Love it, for sure stop in for a beer and a bite to eat.

This is not only a great place to find some good and interesting beers on tab but one of the best places in the US to watch Football (soccer). I have been to Pitt twice in the last six months and both times made sure I spent time here.

I went to watch the football but loved the beer. Each time they had 2 very interesting beers for the cask and a good selection of beer on draft. The selection is reasonably priced and varied.

This is a bar during the day time for footy fans. It is open early with lots of people there for the games. It is a Scottish pub .

I have had breakfast there twice everything my family and I ate was excellent. I had the lamb shepherds pie ... Wow. My wife loved the bread pudding. Food is reasonably priced

Football beer and food this the place

The staff was friendly, helpful and knowledgeable

I have visited Piper's quite a few times for drinks and occiasionally food.

Piper's pub is a thin place, with the bar on the left when you walk in and seating in the back.

20 oz Imperial Pints for 5.37 including tax. Pretty good price if you ask me.

About 20 taps and a cask at all times. Extensive bottle selection. All of this can be found on the website. The cask is always well-cared for, and normally it is something hard to find and tasty. The taps include beers of both typical and more interesting varities. There is almost always something from East End on-tap, which I love. There is also a huge selection of whiskey.

The service is pretty friendly and prompt. Even when the place is packed, I have never waited too long for a beer.

The vibe that Piper's is going for is a UK/Irish pub-type feel. If you come in during a soccer (football) match, the place will be packed.

The food is Irish pub food, and it is done pretty well. I like the Reuben.

Overall, I really like Piper's, and for the area it has the best prices. Definitely worth a stop.