Diners' Choice: Contemporary American restaurants in Pittsburgh

OpenTable

Updated December 05, 2024

Looking for restaurants with the best overall Contemporary American cuisine in Pittsburgh? You’re in the right place. Each month OpenTable analyzes more than 400,000 new diner reviews. We sort the results by category to help you discover new favorites. It's a great partnership: you reserve, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

Eighty Acres Kitchen & Bar

4.9

4.9 (1085)

$31 to $50

Contemporary American

Plum

About the restaurant

Eighty Acres Kitchen & Bar is a relaxed restaurant featuring New American cuisine with a farm-to-table emphasis. We are a family-owned and operated restaurant, with head chef Don Winkie leading the kitchen. At present, with business hours adjusted due to challenges of re-opening during the pandemic, Eighty Acres Kitchen & Bar is serving a modified brunch, dinner, and take-out Thursday-Sunday from 11:30 am - 9pm. The patio is open! Please call us directly to reserve your spot on the patio. Due to social distancing, reservations are strongly encouraged for bar and dining room seating. Current menus can be viewed at eightyacreskitchen.com.

Top review

Rachelle

Dined on Dec 12, 2024

Great food. Three of us had crab cakes and one had salmon. We all enjoyed our meal. Server seemed annoyed with any questions we had about the meal & she didn’t refill our drinks.

Altius

4.9

4.9 (6367)

$50 and over

Contemporary American

Mt. Washington

About the restaurant

As Executive Chef & Partner of Altius, Jessica Bauer's approach to contemporary American cuisine is refined and modern with a respect for the integrity and quality of her ingredient driven menu. Your first visit may be for the view, but you will return again and again to enjoy one of Pittsburgh’s best premiere fine dining experiences. With modern surroundings, higher hospitality and an organic and sustainable wine menu, every part of your experience has been thought of and designed with care.

Top review

RichardVIP

Dined 3 days ago

Food was exceptional along with the server and the view was a bonus. Everyone was very professional and pleasant. With be back when in town again.

Discover more

Popular dish

Chilean Seabass

Popular dish

Heritage Breed Tomahawk Pork Chop

Popular dish

Ōra King Salmon

One by Spork

4.9

4.9 (1002)

$50 and over

Contemporary American

East Liberty

About the restaurant

One by Spork is a seasonally driven chef’s tasting menu experience. At One, we embrace the concept of unity through our shared "house" philosophy. By erasing the traditional barriers between different skill sets, we unite as a single team with a common goal: delivering an unforgettable experience. Combining our teams allows us to harness a wealth of knowledge and expertise, evident in every sip and bite we serve.
Immerse yourself in our decision free multicourse culinary adventure. This experience can be met with a selection of perfectly curated liquid enhancements. Upon arrival, our team will help you select the pairing right for you!
Doors open at 5:45pm. Dinner starts promptly at 6.

Due to our extensive uses of allium, nightshades, and butter, we are unable to accommodate these allergies. We ask that all allergies are noted with at least one week notice to allow our team time to prepare ingredients and menu changes to your specific needs.

Reservations are required.

Top review

jim

Dined on Sep 19, 2024

The food was great, the experience sitting watching the chefs make the food really added to the evening. The server was fantastic, she took time to explain , for the evening and the different foods that we were about to have. Overall, great time.

Discover more

Popular dish

Koji Rye Fried Chicken

Popular dish

Tagliatelle Bolognese

Popular dish

Crispy Octopus

Cafe Momentum - Pittsburgh

4.8

4.8 (144)

$31 to $50

Contemporary American

Downtown

About the restaurant

Café Momentum is not a normal restaurant. Café Momentum is a non-profit restaurant that offers a locally sourced, chef-driven menu and serves as a culinary training facility for young people impacted by the juvenile justice system.

Café Momentum’s program teaches critical skills that allow youth to re-enter society in a safe, real-world environment of nurturing accountability. By participating in our program, the youth rotate through every aspect of the restaurant, from waiting tables to washing dishes, while working side-by-side with Chef Peter Henry.

Don't miss our famous smoked fried chicken served with mashed potatoes, ham hock collard greens, buttermilk biscuit, and black pepper gravy.

We are BYOB! $5/person corkage fee.

Top review

OpenTable Diner

Dined on Nov 16, 2024

We had a 5:00 reservation and the restaurant had just opened. We had the goat cheese and mushroom appetizer, strip steak and salmon. Everything was wonderful. Restaurant is byob and if you forget there is a state store a 2 minute walk away. Very nice experience and would definitely go back.

Fig & Ash

4.8

4.8 (2143)

$50 and over

Contemporary American

Northside

About the restaurant

A wood-flamed mash-up of Modern America with classic influences, guests will relish just how delicious home-away-from-home scratch cooking can be. At Fig & Ash, we provide seasonal sustainable comfort dishes, in a warm rustic setting. Fig & Ash offers a new take on old favorites and new adventures that will become favorites.

We allot one hour and forty-five minutes for each party of two and two hours and fifteen minutes for each party of four. Please keep this in consideration when dining with us to ensure a great experience for everyone. We can accommodate up to a party of five in our Main Dining Room. Please contact us for larger reservations.

We have outdoor patio seating available equipped with commercial overhead heaters. Please contact us for more details.

Top review

SarahVIP

Dined 4 days ago

Delicious food and superb service. A little loud and tight for my taste, but it is one of my favorites. So glad it’s on the Northside.

Discover more

Experience

Fig & Ash Wine Dinner with Bello Vino

The LAB at Armen’s Barrels

4.7

4.7 (263)

$50 and over

Contemporary American

Washington

About the restaurant

An exquisite dinner menu along with classic martini's, craft cocktails, a wide variety of beer and of course, our handpicked selection of wine from all over the world.

Top review

Lenora

Dined on Dec 10, 2024

What a surprise to find such an interesting, high-quality place in this location! Lovely people, talented chef, interesting setting. We left with the idea that we will be back!

Cornerstone Restaurant

4.7

4.7 (413)

$30 and under

Contemporary American

Aspinwall

About the restaurant

Since opening in 2009, our goal has been to create a place where people gather and relax. Our mission is to serve fresh up-to-date food and beverages paired with a comfortable environment. We believe we are on our way to accomplishing our goal, but continue to strive to do better. Our employees have become our extended family and have helped us to make Cornerstone a home away from home for all of our customers.

While we do offer outdoor seating, we cannot guarantee it. We will do our best to accommodate your request. We kindly ask that you adhere to your reservation time slot. If you need anything before you arrive, please don't hesitate to call us!

LAST SEATING DURING THE WEEK IS 9:00PM AND 10:00PM ON FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS.

CUSTOMER PRICE NOTICE: A 3% charge is applied to all sales for card processing fees. Charge will be waived if paying cash.

Top review

ViolaVIP

Dined on Dec 3, 2024

Had the chicken caibatta and a cup of soup. Both were really good. We shared an order of the homemade chips. They came with dip both good as well. I will be back.

Ritual House

4.7

4.7 (1434)

$31 to $50

Contemporary American

Downtown

About the restaurant

Spirited food and drink in an atmosphere designed for the senses. Ritual House was inspired by the world travels of friends who also have a passion for Pittsburgh. Inspired art, devilish details, and comfortable, luxurious surroundings, are just the start of the experience. Located in the iconic Union Trust Building in Downtown Pittsburgh, Ritual House features innovative modern American food with global flavors and artfully crafted cocktails imagined by Lisa & Herky Pollock. Open daily for lunch and dinner. Saturday and Sunday brunch.

Top review

Josh

Dined 1 day ago

I took my sister here to celebrate her being cancer free. The server and manager were phenomenal. It felt like they were celebrating with us. My sister had a gluten allergy- the server verified this with her with each and every drink or food item order. She verbalized her making note for the kitchen. The food was excellent as well, but the service was outstanding and I would go back even if the food was lacking (but wasn’t!). They made my sister’s night so special!

TreeTops Restaurant

4.8

4.8 (1992)

$50 and over

Contemporary American

Acme

About the restaurant

Award Winning Destination Dining Experiences. Discover the Height of Exceptional Cuisine in the Laurel Highlands. Dining enriched with Nature in a Frank Lloyd Wright inspired setting. Deck Dining, Acoustic Entertainment, Remarkable Entree's.

Top review

JoelVIP

Dined on Nov 11, 2024

Such an awesome experience! Food was suburb! Service was excellent! The setting was so tranquil and beautiful. Highly recommend!

Kaufman Tavern

4.6

4.6 (1452)

$30 and under

Contemporary American

Cranberry

About the restaurant

A landmark experience. A dining and drinking destination. A historic tradition. Since its inception, the Kaufman House has been a gathering place for travelers, neighbors and friends. Today, Kaufman Tavern continues and updates the tradition, providing a warm welcome, restorative libations and a fun, comfortable, exquisite dining experience. The food is the real star here: a top-notch, scratch-made, local, eco-friendly and--most importantly--delicious dining experience. Our menu reflects the best of the US and the bounty of our region. Cajun and creole. Northern and Southern. The East and West coasts and beyond. This is hand made, lovingly crafted, just plain good food. Kaufman Tavern is new American cuisine at its finest.

Top review

Piching

Dined 4 days ago

My lamb was perfectly cooked but could have used more glaze or sauce. and my husband said his halibut was the best he has had so far

Explore Diners' Choice best of Pittsburgh

Explore more Diners' Choice lists