Bars are Back
During this wave of re-openings, grab a glass of wine at one of these city bars!
About halfway through 2020, it hit me: I missed bars. Cozying up to a sleek, polished countertop staffed with cocktail experts ready to slide frosty glasses filled with uncopyable concoctions of spirits, liquors, and bitters just wasn’t the same as drinking bourbon on the rocks at my kitchen table.
But as of April 4, bar seats are back open for business. Local restaurants and cocktail joints across the city are dusting off their stools and cushioned-back chairs, expanding menus, and bringing back happy hours.
acaciacocktails.com
This tiny, sophisticated Southside cocktail bar will delight you with interesting, creative drinks. Their menu – charmingly short and always changing – reflects the seasons. With bar stools comes expanded hours; Acacia is now open every day of the week from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m., and until 2 a.m on weekends.
fl2pgh.com
If you’re not awestruck by the giant, glimmering, alcohol-stacked “chandelier” towering over the bar at Fl. 2, you will be by their drinks. Now open with expanded hours and socially distanced seating, the bar has revived their happy hour and extended their brunch seatings.
simonchough.wixsite.com
Infamous for their no-longer-on-the-menu SPAM cocktail – yes, they featured a drink using a SPAM-washed spirit – Garfield’s Korean-American restaurant has brought back their bar seats. Go for their Soju Punch (and of course, actual soju) and stay for the top-notch eats.
thecommonerpgh.com
Wacky drinks, in both name and ingredients, are a mainstay at The Commoner. Take a seat at their now-open bar to snag a “Hippy to the Hip Hop Hibiscus,” featuring gin, hibiscus cubes, and plum bitters, or a “Killed 2 Stones with 1 Bird,” using a lemon-strawberry infused Aperol.
taliapgh.com
This Downtown restaurant, putting out a twist on classic, rustic Italian cuisine, is welcoming guests back to their U-shaped bar by reservation. Sip on traditional cocktails or go for one of their house-created drinks, designed to feature the flavors of Italian spirits.