17th Street Cafe

My grandmother adores this place. So every time she wants to go out to eat we end up meeting here. I cannot complain about any of the food that I’ve had here so far because it’s quite tasty. It’s a very small place so get comfortable. I’ve had only a little issue before with the service because the waitress was being a little snappy for some reason, but don’t we all have those days. A little pricey.

So very charming quite the intimate close atmosphere with a petite bar in the front and little seating. I came here on a Saturday evening with a date. After shooting for one of the hot shot newer joints and being told I could have a 1030 pm same day reservation or call two weeks in advance (really).
Quaint little gem tucked away on 17^th I found one website which said no reservations so I made none. This was no problem because we were seated within one half hour of our drink at the bar. Parking was a large challenge though so be prepared to battle the backstreets and paid lots for that.
I ordered the Sicilian pillows and added chicken, my date had the Mediterranean pillows this seems to be their signature dish. Yes they were a little oily but nothing terrible. If you’re a world traveler looking for bold flavors you won’t find them here … You will find nicely seasoned Italian eats. The pillows were very soft and added a saltiness with the cheese that adds a smooth texture and nice flavor to the dish.
Our service was beyond exceptional, polite, knowledgable and detailed. I could not ask for more. The breads were complimentary to the cuisine served I had no complaints there. For desert we tried the cannoli my date said it was harder then his family makes but I liked it well enough.
The negative reviews here do not really do it justice I think people were looking for something to pick apart so they did. This is probably not a good place to bring children, your family pet or your imaginary friend from the second grade. The quarters are a little too intimate for that.

The zuchini app and salads were above average and the service exceptional. The back room was intimate, meaning it could be a slightly bigger for my taste. It sediment has a nice neighborhood restaurant feel without sacrificing on quality ingredients and a well prepared meal.

I had a very good experience here — went on a sunday evening and got a lot of friendly attention from the waitstaff. Our meal was excellent — from the freshly baked bread that was perfectly soft inside with a nice crust outside, to the salad which was spinach-​based (much better than iceburg lettuce you get other places), to the wedding soup which had really delicious meatballs, and finally the entrees. Both my wife and I had the asiago pillows and thought they were spectacular. Prices may be a little high (except for the pillows which I thought were actually appropriately priced) for drinks and meat entrees, but overall it is someplace I’d definitely go back to.

I really don’t understand the negative reviews for 17^th Street Café, but I guess tastes vary. I’ve eaten here a bunch of times and have always had a good experience. The first time, my parents were visiting from Philadelphia and the owner of the restaurant came over and had a nice long conversation with us about the Maxime Talbot Penguins-​Flyers trade. Most of the times that I have eaten here I’ve had a very pleasant jolly enthusiastic waitress, which has further enhanced my dining experience.
The bread is good, the food is good, and while I’ve never had any room for dessert, the table next to us last time said that the dessert was good. Between my dining companions and myself, we’ve had at least one dish from each section of the menu and they have all been tasty. And the asiago pillows are delicious.
My one complaint is that 17^th Street Café does not give you a choice of the side dish. Last time I mistakenly ordered the greens and beans as an appetizer and after I’d eaten them and the waitress had come back to take our main course order, I found out that my meal had the same dish as a side dish and I was told that I could not swap for another side dish. The greens and beans were delicious, but one was enough.

Good but not great. The food, service and atmosphere were all ok. Nothing stood out as either great or terrible.

‘Meh. I’ve experienced better’ is extremely accurate to describe 17^th street café.
Pros:
Al Fresco dining during the Spring/​Summer
Fairly friendly service
Cons:
Overpriced (particularly for the portions served)
Below-​average food (can only speak for the chicken dishes; overcooked, dry, etc)
SLLOOWWWWW service — despite 3 servers and maybe a 12 tables at best
My last visit I waited 10 minutes outside without being acknowledged whatsoever before giving up and seating myself inside. The time before that, so much time had elapsed since we finished our meals before being offered dessert I stopped counting at 15 minutes if I recall. At that point I just wanted to get out of there. Food comes out fairly quickly, but getting it ordered in the first place and/​or paying for it have proven repeatedly to be challenges.
Also, be aware if you are going to use a Groupon there is an unwritten rule that you must purchase two ENTREES. Also, a sald — regardless if you add chicken, shrimp, etc — does NOT count as an entrée. Despite the fact you could easily exceed the total of two entrees by ordering an appetizer, salad, and one entrée — they won’t do it. Odd. Particularly since this was not mentioned beforehand.
I don’t see myself going back.

I’ve seen the sign for this restaurant for years and finally decided to pull the trigger and try this place. It was like an oasis in the S Side, after the nightmare that was parking.
The restaurant was busy but not packed and it is adorable inside – you have no idea unless you have dined here! We sat in the back room which was very cozy albeit NOISY since we were right by the kitchen and the bathroom.
The menu was a little pricer than we had anticipated but we were ok with that, and our service was FANTASTIC. Our waitress could NOT have been any nicer, to the point i wanted to come back and hang out w her after our shift.
We started w the hummus appetizer and I was disappointed bc I am a HUGE tahini fan, but my boyfriend HATES it and he proclaimed it the best hummus ever. And ate the entire thing. You know what, this happens all the time, actually…
I had the mediterranean asiago pillows and you know what. they were very good but i didn’t love them. I REALLY liked them though. My boyfriend had the sausage and pepper ravioli and he let me try one which let to my trying to take over his entrée and we ended up arguing over it bc we have no class.
Lady and the tramp, but he’s the lady and I’m a tramp.
That is a sign of two things: 1) don’t have us over for dinner, we cannot even handle it, and 2) this restaurant has GREAT food, I just ordered the wrong thing.
I will definetly be back, the last time the had a groupon I bought one and I’m excited to put it to good use. Something tells me I’m going to be ordering the sausage and pepper ravioli.

I used to frequent the 17^th Street Café for one reason — the Scallops Rinaldo. It’s the best scallop dish I’ve had, period. Then, some time ago, they took it off the menu to my dismay, so I stopped going. I found out that they brought it back to the menu, so I snatched a Groupon and headed straight off to have dinner there.
The Scallops Rinaldo and duck dish my wife and I shared were both amazing. The house dressing on the salad was excellent. The dessert selection was interesting — they offered a cheesecake made with a crumbled brownie crust, a layer of Reese’s Peanut Butter cup chunks, then cheesecake, and all of it topped in a smokey bacon and chocolate drizzle… I had to try it out for curiosity’s sake. It was oddly tasty — though I will say that the bacon was a bit too smokey tasting — I think more of a straight «salty bacon» flavor would have done better on that dessert.
Regardless of my bacon preferences on desserts, I loved the entire meal. The staff were very prompt, friendly and accommodating. I love this place, the food and the service. If they could bring down the price point a bit I’d give them all 5 of the stars. :)

I took the advice of a friend and stuck with safe menu choices. Steak wasn’t bad. Went back for lunch (Im staying two blocks away) and had very boring salmon and pasta. Mediocre wine overpriced. Only bother to return at lunch cos it’s too cold to walk further.
Had stuffed cod… not bad, but tiny.
Wish DISH were open for lunch.

HORRIBLE TREATMENT.
After having been a very frequent customer, we went to the café around 4:30 on a Friday. The food has always been priced a little high for the quality, but it is a local business and my boss is a local businessman. He likes to dine other small businesses. This past visit it was dead empty with the exception of staff. It was my boss, his young-​adult children and a fourteen month old baby and me. We were seated and enjoying a little of wine, the most expensive bottle on their very limited and impressively unimpressive wine list. What WAS outrageous was that the horrible way the owner treated us. Out of nowhere, and I must remind you, we were the ONLY people in the restaurant, the owner came over and demanded we make the baby stop pounding on the table. …not my baby, and I’m one of those people who doesn’t really like noisy kids, but I’m telling you, that was not the situation. These were chubby baby hands on the table with a laughing baby… and who were we bothering? We thought he was joking until we saw the look on his fat face. My boss said «just pack our food to go». The owner turned around, not even out of earshot of our table and said «that a – hole wants is food to go. Pack that sh– up and get him the f— out of here.»
Small wonder the place was empty. Overpriced food, lousy wine selection and not even a friendly neighborhood atmosphere. This is a NO GO.

Hadn’t been here for years and used a Groupon a few days ago. The food is all very well prepared and very affordable.

I think I’ve eaten here more than any restaurant in Pittsburgh. Maybe because its right by my house, but probably because I can always count on them to give me a good experience. The staff does a great job of making you feel at home. Pair that with their loyalty rewards and email specials, and you’ll find its hard to forget about this place. The food is unassuming and tastes homemade. The martinis are inventive.

At the request of a friend, I decided to try 17^th St. Café for lunch today. I’ve been to 17^th St. for dinner a few times but never considered it for lunch due to the prices. However, my friend mentioned that the prices are very reasonable for lunch and the menu offers a large selection of salads, sandwiches and entrees. She was correct. The menu had a large selection all priced between $ 8 – 12. But, the drinks were overly priced. My lemonade was $ 3 with refills costing more. That was almost half my entrée! The drink prices seem more in line with their dinner prices.
When we arrived the restaurant was about half full and we were seated immediately. Our waitor looked a little frazzled and overwhlemed but the more experienced waitress helped out as needed to ensure we had a good dining experience.
I ordered the daily burger and a lemonade. The burger was juicy and flavorful. My only criticism is that it came out without bacon. This was disappointing as it was stated to have bacon and cheese when the specials were told to us. I was in too much of a hurry to send it back. My friend also enjoyed her chicken entrée and the chef easily accomodated her request to sub grilled veggies for her pasta.
When all was said and done we were in and out within fourty five minutes. Not a bad place to go for a sit down lunch. However, avoid ordering the iced tea or lemonade as you will pay $ 3 for a glass with mostly ice.

My PIC (Partner In Cuisine) and I decided to finally use a Groupon we had purchased a while ago this past Saturday. Normally, we would never really try an Italian restaurant (especially one at this price point) because quite frankly, it’s very easy for me to cook a quality pasta dinner at home. However, as I said we had a Groupon I didn’t want to see go to waste.
The staff was extremely friendly and attentive, the atmosphere was very laid back and relaxed yet professional, and the food was damn tasty (the house salad dressing is delicious) but I’m not entirely sure those things made up for the fact that in my opinion, it was way overpriced. In the end it was spaghetti. The PIC will definitely benefit from the pasta combination ideas I can apply at home.

Went here for dinner recently before a show at the Rex. Great convenient location right off Carson. From the outside looks nice and cozy and inviting and inside was welcoming as well. If you are in the front room (probably about 7 tables for couples) this is really nice but I don’t think I would be too excited in the back room as it was pretty dark. Service was attentive, menus were nice (on IPADs no less), and noise was just right.
The draft beers were great and normal restaurant priced, the salads were excellent, and the bread was good. The entrees (both of us ordered pasta specials) were mixed — I loved mine and found it very well presented and flavored with a perfect portion. My wife’s was very skimpy, looked like it came out of a can, and was okay tasting.
I guess my main issue is the price. Of $ 25 pasta dishes, I just expect more. That said, if I had another event in the area, I would give it another shot.

Everything that Dish Osteria & Bar is, 17^th Street Café is not. They’re both small neighborhood Italian joints located a block off Carson Street, and two blocks away from each other, but that’s where the similarities end. While Dish is swanky, hip and cool, 17^th Street Café feels stuffy and outdated. While Dish’s food is light and flavorful, 17^th Street Café’s is overworked and greasy. While the clientele at Dish is young and attractive, 17^th Street Café appears to host retirement home social outings around the clock.
I want to love 17^th Street, I really do. It’s charming from the outside, and al fresco dining is available in the summer, an option that Dish does not offer. However, at the prices they charge, the food and service at 17^th Street should be better, period. The food isn’t terrible, it’s just mediocre, and consistently over-​buttered and over-​sauced. The service isn’t terrible either, just slightly subpar, but enough to feel irksome considering the high quality restaurant the Café purports itself to be.
Perhaps located in another area, without such stiff competition so close by, 17^th Street Café wouldn’t appear so lacking. But given the choice between eating at 17^th Street Café and Dish, I’ll choose Dish every time.

I have always been hesitant to go here because of those ominous $$$ staring at me, judging at me. But my friends were in town so we decided to go to a nice dinner and live it up!
The ambiance is so pleasant. Nice but not pretentious and stuffy. Cozy and intimate with a good level of noise so I didn’t feel ridiculous after that 3^rd glass of wine (I get loud, and I have loud friends). I hate when I go to restaurants and I feel like I’m in church.
Drinks: Gave our table a complimentary taste of a new Creamsicle cocktail (OJ, pineapple, and whipped cream vodka). It was sweet but good, dangerously good. I was feeling like a girl so I got a cosmo and my friends got margaritas (up and on the rocks). Solid cocktails. 1 bottle of Pinot Grigio.
Food: We started w/​Fried Zucchini (apparently its a Pittsburgh thing to have planks of Zucchini because my friends were surprised) — Delish. My friends got pasta dishes that came with salads as well. I was filling up on drinks so I just got the crab app. Everything was awesome tho!
Price: We got 3 cocktails, 1 bottle of wine, 2 apps, 2 dinners with salads. It broke down to $ 38 per person (3 people). Not terrible at all.
SERVICE: PERFECT! Not overbearing but attentive. Personally, I love when the owners are the servers it gives the place a quaint feel. We chatted about the Soup Contest. AWESOME SERVICE!
Definitely will go back again!
Pros: Service, drink list, ambiance, Delicious food
Cons: No reservations, parking

I’ve only been here once and according to my friend, when he was here earlier in the year it was waaaaaaay better but I found the food very bland and warm, friendly service and cute atmosphere couldn’t make up for it.
We tried the crab and artichoke dip and for dinner, inspired by Kitchen Confidential, I had one of their specials, a flounder filet with polenta. I’m usually expecting polenta to be this creamy, mushy puddle of heaven but here it was more like a quiche. So there was the flounder and a slice of polenta on their opposite sides of a plate, they didn’t seem to go together. I wonder if it has anything to do with skipping out on the salsa that was supposed to go on top of the fish but I can’t see how some chopped tomatoes would’ve made this any better. The dip was also plain and largely unmemorable.
I did like the décor and the format, they have a smaller, quieter back room with just a few tables and a nice-​looking, dark bar and more seating in the front. It’s really romantic and I wish the food was tastier.

After driving around for an hour trying to find a place to eat on a warm Saturday evening a month ago, my friends and I stopped in here to eat a great meal. It was just about full, but our party of four was able to get a table in the back room after a ten minute wait. No problem, we saddled (I’m not sure if this is the right use of the word saddled, but it sounds right to me) up to the bar and had a drink.
For dinner, I ordered a cinnomon chicken dish that was stuffed with some sort of cheese I think. I was skeptical ordering it, because I thought it would be too sweet. Our server said it wouldn’t be too sweet, she had recently tasted it. The meal also came with a salad and side. I realized when I was ordering, that this was my first «proper» dinner in quite some time. Salad was the house garden variety.
The chicken ended up being quite the interesting (in a good way) meal. The cinnamon was subtle, not to overbearing at all. The potatoes I got were done well.
The place itself is slightly cluttered, but feel authentic. This place isn’t trying to be anything that it isn’t. The service was spot on, and overall it was a great meal.