Biddle’s Escape

This little out-​of-​the-​way coffeeshop is well-​worth the detour. While the first barista I encountered seemed to be too preoccupied to be friendly everyone else there was a peach!
Regardless I had a top notch French Toast Latte and a delicious pesto egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast. I’m always through the roof when the vegetarian options are 1) warm and 2) actually have flavor. This was amazing.
When you stay to sit and enjoy your coffee, they have unique and very cool mugs. I like that they aren’t branded and they’re not all the same. The patrons seemed to be as unique as the glassware. I was working on my computer while a Eastern European guy was tutoring a young girl. I don’t know if it was his daughter, but if you take your kid to a coffeeshop to go over geometry — you are one cool dad.

This is definitely my favorite neighborhood, place. Almost a mile from my house, Biddle’s truly offers an escape from the Pittsburgh hustle bustle. I’m glad I found this place. It just took my a while to walk through the threshold. The East End is lovely, I love it. I ordered an almond milk matcha latte. Real good! Amazing tea selection, décor, plants, people, art. I love it, I love it, I love it.

Gem of a hipster coffee shop tucked away in regent square area.
Lots of table space and a beautiful patio when the weather is nice. Easy street parking and has a bike rack.
My husband loves their coffee and recently we have started buying their awesome beans which are locally roasted. My favorite is the fog lattes which are light but frothy and just the right amount of sweet.
Another highlight is the food here. We love the weekend specials– particularly enjoyed their roasted veggie bagel sandwich and the southwest wrap. Grilled cheese is generous and never fails to satisfy.
Our weekend tradition is to run in frick park then come here for lunch after :).

If you have sat on their patio and listened to amazing live music. Or if you have ordered one of their delicious smoothies or coffees, you are probably grateful for Biddle’s Escape. There’s an intense feeling of community, in part due to the beautiful mosaics by local artists, or by the way that everyone from the neighborhood drops in to see and greet their friends. Prices are reasonable and the music is wonderful.
There’s also a little joke, hidden in their name. I’m not sure everyone remembers the story of the Biddle Brothers and their famous prison escape in 1902. The story made an excellent movie (Mrs. Soffel) but also a perfect name for a local coffee shop.

If you are looking for a coffee shop like no other, Biddle’s Escape is where your search will end. Nestled in an unexpected residential area, this quirky café is truly escape-​worthy. If you need busy people around to inspire you to work, you can choose to sit on the downstairs floor; if nature is your thing, the huge outdoor patio will welcome you, and if you feel like hiding from society, head up to the second floor with its study tables and chairs. The drink selection is unparalleled and the latte’s are heavenly.
I think the best thing about Biddle’s, though, is the atmosphere. The employees are upbeat and love their jobs, and the colorful, artsy feel is always inspirational. It’s a great place for study sessions, first dates, deep conversations, or just a great cup of coffee.

Really excellent space with large deck out front. Cool spot to do work or meet with friends. Cold pressed coffee is delicious (and strong!).

Anyone who doesn’t love this place is just silly. It is not Starbucks. It takes longer, but the coffee is better. It’s generally cheaper. The baristas are cool, and you can typically have a delightful conversation with one of the friendly people hanging around. Or just look around, the place is crawling with awesome, kitschy stuff.

Five stars for a coffee shop that can legitimately be called a community space. It’s kind of place where the events bulletin board is overflowing, where a craft trinket vending machine doesn’t seem out of place. There’s a quiet and spacious room (that no one seems to know about) upstairs in case the patio and main space are crowded.

I love everything about this place. From the garage doors, the old door tables to the causal atmosphere. I order the maple bacon frappé every time. Most days it’s perfect but I have gone a few times where it wasn’t made correctly and tastes… off. I still go every time I’m in that part of town.

This is the marking point for regent square. Whenever people ask me where I live I just say 10 minutes from Biddle’s Escape.
This eclectic café has it all! Cool crafts, weird tees, even cooler and weirder coffee and people…
I definitely can’t do this place justice by trying to describe it on Unilocal,so everybody should check this place out while they’re in the ‘burgh!

I’ve lived in Pittsburgh the vast majority of my life and I’ve spent a giant amount of that time in coffee shops (because I work from my laptop) and folks, this is by far my favorite coffee shop in town and I regard it as one of the best things about living in Wilkinsburg /​Regent Square.
First of all, their drink menu is far broader, higher quality, and more inventive than other places in town. Pittsburgh loves flavored lattes (as I learned when I worked at the Carnegie Coffee Shop, another great spot) — but Biddle’s Escape really goes above and beyond in that arena. As in: their flavored lattes don’t just use sugar syrup. The ginger-​curry flavored lattes here use homemade flavor preparations with — get this — actual curry and actual ginger. It’s super-​good.
More majorly rad things about Biddle’s, in no particular order:
1. They have pinball machines. Lordy, I love Pinball. The only other coffee shop in town that’s better for Pinball is Kickback in Lawrenceville, but they’re a dedicated pinball café, let’s remember.
2. The décor is friendly, spacious, fun and leading towards tropical South East Asian-​style. The owner has a collection of exotic masks and buddha statues livening the place up.
3. The outdoor deck: in the spring, summer, and early fall the deck at Biddle’s is a leafy, lively, elegant haven full of puppies and a happy, diverse crowd of neighborhood folks of all generations and races.
4. The community-​centeredness of the place — on Wednesday night they bring in food trucks and the Steel City Ukele club practices on the deck — about 25 ukelele players just strumming away. Very adorable. Also, they have an events list with a full dock of games nights, readings, local musicians.
5. The herbs — they package and sell a huge variety of herbs and herbal teas. Including herbal-​tea-​fruit popsicles from local HealCrest farms.
6. The music — these baristas (in addition to being sweet and good-​natured despite the busy-​ness of the spot) have refined taste. When I get stuck needing to go into a Crazy Mocha for my caffeine fix (used be pretty rad — but I don’t know, I guess my tastes have matured, I avoid Crazy Mochas these days) and they’re playing just a local pop radio station complete with tons of obnoxious ads it’s a bit hard to take.
At Biddle’s I regularly hear mixes of Johnny Cash, Regina Spektor, soulful hip-​hop, Bob Dylan, Belle and Sebastian, the Shins.
7. The food — they’ve got a small but solidly satisfying offering of grilled sandwiches, salads, soups and smoothies.
In short — I just super-​love Biddle’s and I was excited to hear that they’re expanding to the upstairs.

Well the brunch does not come with a drink anymore… to be honest the amount of food does not worth $ 10. Go to square café instead.

I’ve been visiting Biddles for a little over a year now and can wholeheartedly recommend it for so many reasons:
1. The coffee is really good.
2. They have an enormous tea selection and you can buy loose leaf tea to take home and brew yourself. They will also combine and ice all teas (at least they have never said no when I ask for a combination like ginger+lemongrass+spearmint on ice.)
3. Their patio is HUGE and beautiful. They also allow dogs outside.
4. Lots of places to sit, both inside and outside. They also create an environment that is conducive for table sharing (check out the little table sign things near the register.)
5. The food and pastries are really good. They also have a brunch thing that is reasonably priced and usually really awesome.
6. The place is very clean. Including the bathrooms.
7. Staff are very nice and helpful.
This isn’t my favorite coffee shop in the U.S., but it’s near the top of my list. Biddles and Cup Ka Joes in South Side are probably my favorite in Pittsburgh.

I’m never in this area of town but felt compelled to grab coffee and chill for a bit before driving home to far North (Hills) last time I was in Regent Square. Biddle’s Escape drew me in with the fun, funky colors and spacious patio.
Really though that was about all I loved about it aside from the coffee. In short:
Pros: Coffee was fantastic. I just got a café Americano and added a little half and half myself, so I probably just got the standard roast. Whatever it was, it was great.
Quiet. Free Wi-​Fi. Clean bathrooms.
Cons: Hotter than a damn sauna. I bailed after not too long because I was developing some serious swamp crack, if you know what I mean… unacceptably hot.
Service was the slowest I’ve ever gotten, and I was one of two people actively waiting for drinks. How can it take nearly 10 minutes to pour coffee into a cup??? The barista was kinda nice but wouldn’t last a morning rush at a Starbucks.
If I’m in the area I MAY stop again, but overall I’d say my visit was lackluster.

Tucked and hidden away in a cozy neighborhood off of S Braddock is one of the most unique little cafes I have seen yet. Right on the corner on Biddle Ave, is a bright pop of purple and yellow (favorite color point bonus). I’ve been hearing good things about this coffee shop or seen them on top cafes in Pittsburgh for who knows how long. First actually really nice day of spring in Pittsburgh (hallelujah?), I finally decided to take a look see for myself.
All the doors were open and the patio as well, it just screamed welcoming and ‘come drink some amazing coffee.” The menu is huge –there are a ton of choices between coffee and teas or hot and cold. You name it they probably have it. From your traditional additives like whole or 2%, soy or almond (slight up charge) to flavors like lavender and more. I opted for a plain-​Jane iced latte and I was honestly surprised that I didn’t need to add anything to meet my own taste. The latte still had the coffee aroma to it without being overbearing or powerful. It was a nice blend to make me nice and chill and relax.
Next to the register they had a selection of biscotti that I just couldn’t resist. Double chocolate chip? Snickerdoodle? Yes please. The biscotti was delicious — I went with the snickerdoodle of course. It was not too soft and not too dry, with just enough hint of that snickerdoodle taste. It went well with my coffee.
I like that there is no one demographic for this place. You saw college students, older couples, hipsters, and what have you. One this particular day there was a group meeting for a drumming jam session, which was actually pretty cool. Did I mention this place is dog friendly? Dogs all around I could just die. The patio is great it overlooks the street, has a nice fence and a tree to provide some shade. This place almost has it all. It sells their products with a back wall filled with teas. Tribal like decoration that make you feel like you’re somewhere else. Mismatching furniture for that added uniqueness. All in all I love this place. Once of the better/​best coffee shops I’ve been to recently. I will definitely be back.

Biddles is my favorite coffee shop in east Pittsburgh. A walkable distance to where we live. Amazing coffee, protein shakes, loose teas (that are also available for sale) free wifi, amazing outdoor seating when the weather is nice. A food truck comes by on Wednesdays after 5:30 and they often have live music! This coffee shop is a must go if you’re in the area!!!

I’m always happy to update my reviews for the better, and I feel such an update is warranted, based on my experience last night. I visited again for Food Truck Wed., this time to visit the Mac and Gold Truck (separate review for that forthcoming). As before, I was with CM, and we got beverages to go along with our food.
Due to the pleasant spring weather, I was in the mood for something refreshing, so I ordered a strawberry French soda. This used to be one of my favorite coffee shop beverages to order when I lived in CA, due a friend’s influence, but I hadn’t had one in years. The older gentleman at Biddle’s (the owner, I’m guessing) talked me into getting it with half and half, and I’m glad he did. The beverage was just what I remembered – not overly sweet, refreshing, and creamy at once. Mmm! Later, because we ended up hanging around longer than anticipated, I ordered a maple bacon latte, which was the drink I’d wanted to order on my first visit, but didn’t see on the menu. This drink was very flavorful (there really was a hint of bacon flavor!) and well-​balanced (not bitter, but not overly sweet), with a nice frothy texture. It even appeared that there was an attempt at a latte art heart, which CM claimed looked like a butt. ;-) CM ordered his standby, a café au lait. He said it was as good as it’d been last time, and he’s told me that Biddle’s makes his favorite version of the drink he’s tried out of the many indie coffeeshops we’ve been to in PGH.
To consume our beverages, we took advantage of the wonderful weather and sat on the front porch, which afforded some interesting people watching/​listening. One of the more interesting sights we saw was a neighbor taking her pig (yeah, you read that right!) for a walk around the neighborhood. The porch, like the interior, is decorated with interesting and exotic décor, including some interesting face-​like wood carvings and mini Buddha statues. While we were sitting outside, the owner opened the garage door fully, allowing the people seated inside to enjoy the weather as well.
Overall, I was very impressed with Biddle’s this visit, and can now confidently say that the drink I had last time was an off experience (don’t order the malted latte!). As I mentioned in my last review, I definitely think that Biddle’s is one of the businesses in the Regent Square area with the most character, and I now think it’s one of the best indie coffeeshops in PGH. I love that they were able to turn my somewhat critical opinion around, based on the quality of the drinks I received this time, and the consistency of CM’s drink. 4.5 stars.

The oasis of Wilkinsburg. Biddle’s Escape is great place to get work done, meet with friends, go on a date, or simply for relaxing alone time. Their lattes are great (some reviews said it was too bitter or not sweet enough? Be warned this is actually just good espresso – not the sugary explosion drinks you’d get from Sheetz or Dunkin Donuts) BUT the selection of tea is remarkable! If you’re a tea drinker this is the place to be!
The staff is very attentive and polite. Reasonable prices for drinks. I’ve never tried their food but they have food trucks on site Wednesday nights in the spring and summer. Biddle’s has a very «coffee shop» vibe. Great outdoor seating and plus they have pin ball machines!

I adore Biddle’s and always will! I lived half a block away for a year and probably went five times a week. They offer coconut milk, which is by far the nicest cow’s milk replacement in espresso drinks. The croissants are the best I’ve had since being in Italy and always sold out early on the weekends. Another standout offering is the wide variety of double decker sandwiches they make in-​house. The hummus/​red pepper/​feta/​artichoke heart sandwich on olive bread is to die for. Aside from the food and drinks, there is an awesome patio for the warmer days and the staff are all incredibly sweet and friendly. Going there was always a pleasure. I still miss living near Biddle’s. Crazy Mocha doesn’t quite cut it.

Went here today for the first time. The vibe was great and I loved the menu board and the wall of beads.
I got a breve café latte which was very well made, and was the perfect temperature. The wait was a bit long, but worth it.
Overall I was really impressed and can’t wait to head back and to try more of the menu.