O’Leary’s

Best breakfast and lunch on east Carson!!! Homefries and potato salad are to die for. Friendly owners and staff.

It’s this tiny diner with an old country feel to it, but they sure know how to do breakfast. There are plenty of seats for a small group. The service was quick and straight to the point. They definitely try to keep it simple and real.
I ordered the kielbasa and egg sandwich. The portion was just right. The acidity from the mustard sauce added a pleasant surprise and bread had a nice crisp to it. The menu stated that the sandwich will be on Texas toast, but I think they just used regular sandwich slices. I was a little disappointed about that part, but other than that my kielbasa sandwich was tasty!
This place really knows how to do breakfast right at the right price. I really appreciate that they keep it simple, but yet delicious. I’m tired of those over the top and excessively extravagant breakfast places in Pittsburgh. It’s refreshing to stumble upon a quaint little mom and pop breakfast diner like this one. I highly recommend!

Full Pittsburghese spoken here. Belly up to the counter and peruse the plastic — coated menu. No frills diner that slings huge and tasty greasy spoon meals. Breakfast burrito was gynormous and delicious except for the weirdly sweet sour cream drizzle on top so skip that. Pancakes are on point. Martavis Bryant was walking out while we were walking in. Friendly staff.

A tough one. Seeing someone work so hard behind the counter and serving up decent eats at a fair price, I can’t give 3 stars. But then the lack of anyone else working and the incredibly dingy bathrooms keeps this place from 5 stars.
I came in one morn and was pleasantly greeted by the Manager/​Chef/​Server/​Check out girl/​Prep cook and who only knows what else this lady does. She quickly gave me some coffee and asked for my order. I was killing some time, so I told her no hurry, as I glanced at the menu. A steak and egg bagel for $ 5. Almost too good to be true. Although weary, it was pretty great. Got some hash browns as well. Was thinking 5 stars all the way.
Then I went to the bathroom. They are dealing with tight space and i get it. And as a place mostly frequented by locals, who probably just use their own. But wow, down a flight of stairs shouldn’t be legal. And man it was dingy when I got down there. I just chose not to use it.
Bottom line, stop in for a quick breakfast, but don’t drink too much coffee.

How do you not give this place five stars? If you walk in, you know what it is, a hole in the wall breakfast diner staple of the southside. Why hold out on that one star, were you hoping it could get any more kiss my grits than this. I fuggin love this place, it is by no means a Michelin star, fancy, or even casual dining, nothing organic or trendy about it, except it! Soon there won’t be any places like this, brunch yuppies ruining the scene.

O’Leary’s is a South Side staple serving up honest-​to-​goodness food at a low cost without any fanfare. The staff do it all, wait tables, cook, ring up checks. It’s kind of chaotic, but the breakfast is hot and filling. One quibble, I ordered the Deluxe French Toast that comes encrusted with cornflakes and was so looking forward to it. I got the regular French Toast… Which was good, but not as good as I imagine the Deluxe version was. My husband got the hot sausage omelet much to his liking. We will definitely be coming back here for a quick, hot, and cheap breakfast next time we are up early enough on a Saturday b/​f it gets packed. Best to go 1^st thing in the morning. Any later than 10 and you may have wait awhile. Plus, which by 10, do yourself a favor and go to brunch!

My boyfriend and I have been coming here for over 2 years. It’s our favorite breakfast place! They even have some lunch items! Try the potato salad!!! It’s the best.
Love,
your «burger girl»

I love the atmosphere in o’leary’s. It’s a little tiny family owned café where everyone knows your name by the time you leave. The place is very intimate, VERY pittsburgh, and the food is great.

Cheap, quick breakfast! If you’re looking for breakfast and don’t want to wait 2 hours to get into DeLuca’s or Pamela’s, this place is where you want to go. Their menu doesn’t have as much variety, but everything is around or under $ 10 and the portions are huge.

I didn’t really find this place phenomenal.
I ordered the breakfast burrito and a coffee. Both were actually really good.
Service was average, but there was actually a family argument going on at the time of my breakfast. I thought that was a little unprofessional. I understand it’s a family business and disagreements and arguments may happen, but take it to the back. not a front row show for your customers.
I live in south side and love breakfast so I’ll mot likely be back.

I’ve lived in the southside for 3.5+yeArs and was never fortunate to eat at O’leary’s. More like wake up in time to enjoy breakfast food. We came in and ordered the specials and within 10 – 15 minutes we had our meals and sides. Great breakfast food

Great service, excellent food served hot off the stove! I felt like I was sitting in my mom’s kitchen chatting with the locals. And the staff genuinely seemed happy we stopped in for breakfast. Next time we are in town, this is a definite stop!

I used to live on 17 & Jane and would dine here are almost every Saturday morning after hitting the bars. Food is just fantastic home hooked meals from scratch. My go to is the atomic omelet then adding some siracha for more spice. If I feeling real hungry, breakfast burrito is the cure. The thing is massive and for the price well worth it. I don’t live in the south side anymore but anytime I am crashing at a friends on a weekend you better believe I will be there.

I love that This place has a Huge Mega Stuffed Veggie Burrito and Awesome Staff as Well. Everytime I’ve ate here nothing short of Polite Women Cooks/Waitresses.Real home cooking and perfect if you live in «SaasSide».5 times that I was here just Great all around Stop in here and you won’t be let down. Cheers Friends

Fantastic service, great atmosphere, and one of the best breakfasts in the Burgh! If you are lookin’ to be satisfied, then look no further, my man, because this place is off the hizzy. (That means that it’s really good)
Their chocolate chip peanut butter pancakes made me happy as a clam.
Seriously good food.
— C-​Dawg

Simple and awesome brunch. Very homely not at all greasy. Very friendly service, make sure you get the home fries either inside your burrito or as a side.
Family owned and operated, beats Pamelas hands down

We stumbled upon O’Leary’s on a Sunday morning literally seconds after I finished a diatribe about the South Side’s lack of breakfast options. My BF and I had made the mistake of attempting a Piper’s brunch after 11 am only to find a 1 hour wait and stomachs left wanting. We were walking down Carson St. looking for an alternative and almost walked by this place, as many of other reviewers have said it is easy to miss it despite the yellow paint adorning the building. A quick check on Unilocal and we decided to give it a try.
We immediately found an empty table and were greeted by a server who took our order for coffees and water. The coffee arrived and it was hot and somewhat decent for your run of the mill diner. We both went with the mixed grill, his with bacon and mine with kielbasa (they do get kudos for having this as a meat option) and toast. After a short wait and some attentive coffee service our food arrived, and our table equipped with ketchup and chipotle tobasco. I could pour that hot sauce over anything and it would taste great, but I suspect that my dish still would have been good without it. All of the ingredients were fresh and nothing was greasy. However, when the server brought our food out she let us know that the toast did not come with the mixed grill but we could add it for a charge. What savory breakfast of egg, meat, and taters does not come with toast along side it? I really shouldn’t gripe, our two coffees, entrees, toast, and the water that never came (minus another point) filled us up and came to a total of $ 20. But charging extra for a couple pieces of bread when you are already charging $ 8 for potatoes and egg with a few veggies and pieces of meat?
Overall the food was good and if I lived in the South Side I would definitely head back here, but there is nothing here I can’t find at my own neighborhood breakfast spots (with the toast included!).

I’ve probably walked by this place dozens if not hundreds of times. For some reason I always thought it was closed because you can’t really see inside. But one morning, after working overnight, some friends and I decided to give it a try. If nothing else, we could wander on over to Jack’s for cocktails if O’Leary’s was a bust.
Okay, sure, we did end up at Jack’s. But not before enjoying a delicious breakfast at O’Leary’s first. The two ladies behind the counter work together beautifully to take and put together orders. I was quite impressed with their efficiency. My friends ordered omelets and breafast sandwiches while I ordered the breakfast burrito. I had to, it’s my thing. If I see a breakfast burrito on a menu, I have to try it. The choice of meats includes your typical: bacon, hot or sweet sausage, ham… but also kielbasa. So I just had to try the kielbasa filled breakfast burrito. You can look at my picture to see that, okay, technically the tortilla was not folded over completely. But it still had all the ingredients inside and was topped with salsa and sour cream. The biggest surprise was the fact that they use mango salsa. I was shocked to find mango salsa in a place like this, and then I became very pleased. The waitress asked me if I enjoyed it and I told her I most certainly did. I was shocked to find out that this burrito is a new item on their menu. I hope it stays there.
My friends also enjoyed their selections. I believe I heard, «This could be the best breakfast I’ve ever had» come out of one of them. The spectacle behind the counter and the friendly service only made everything that much better. We all agreed we will return. If only to try the grits and use the coupon I forgot I had in my wallet.

I’m not afraid to admit it, I feel WAY much more at home and comfortable in a grease spoon diner than in a high-​end eating establishment. Food has always been a comfort item for me and not necessarily an adventure, although there’s plenty of those to be had in the Pittsburgh scene.
Back again and this time for breakfast. The locals were there in force but they were super friendly. Grits (which was AWESOME) and Eggs with Toast was the meal ordered. I left with a happy palate, a full belly, and barely a dent to me wallet.

Quaint little place. Small menu with reasonable prices. I REALLY like this diner. It is as unpretentious as you can get and they make their French toast from scratch. That’s right, you read that properly. They make every order of French toast from scratch and to order. It is not taken out of the freezer like so many other places. Coupled with the fact that it actually tastes good, I have found my new favorite breakfast place. They don’t do poached eggs, but the fried eggs are not greasy and always cooked properly — so I can let this slide. Items that we have ordered here:
French Toast
Eggs, over easy
Bacon
Sausage
Ham
Pancakes
Steak and Cheese sandwich
Homefries
Hot Sausage patty
There are only two things that really haven’t been that great here (in my opinion): the hot sausage patty and the steak and cheese sandwich. I am not a fan of fennel, which is why I don’t care for the sausage patty. As for the steak and cheese, I can get a better tasting one at other Pittsburgh locales; doesn’t taste bad, though.
Do not expect to go in on a weekend and have a long conversation with the people working behind the counter; they are slammed and it shows in their no-​nonsense attitude toward everyone. They are congenial but always straight to the point. Not once did I see this mother-​daughter duo stop to rest. They were cooking machines.
This is one of the big draws for me. Watching these two ladies work seamlessly as they create a little dish of deliciousness for everyone. From making the French toast, to the fresh home fries, to the freshly baked and carved ham that they use. You can see that love that goes into what they cook.
The only downside is the parking situation. It is the standard Carson Street quandry: finding that coveted parking space on the main drag or on one of the side streets. It is well worth it, especially if you like French toast. I will be returning and returning and returning…