Willow Restaurant

Had New Years Eve dinner at Willow. It was outstanding. The service was wonderful (thanks Kylene), friendly and attentive and the chef offered an exciting menu. We had the ribeye and salmon entrees. Both had exceptional sides. We’ve been there on other occasions where it was more casual but equally good. It has a relaxed comfortable rustic atmosphere with a varied menu. Perfect for a special occasions of just a weeknight out.

Me and the hubby hadn’t been to Willow in forever. We made the decision to go and I made reservations through Open Table. We looked at the menu prior to going and realized the menu had changed considerably since our last visit. Gone the cranberry chicken, here a new and exciting change. We got there and we were immediately seated. Given the menu changes we were interested to see if anything else had changed. The waiters and waitresses no longer «dressy» but now casual in jeans and t-​shirts. I always liked the atmosphere: soft lighting, inviting fireplace, warm woods. That all stays the same.
We were greeted almost immediately by our awesome waiter, Fred. He was attentive, friendly, and very knowledgeable the entire time we were there. Apparently it’d been longer than we thought since we had been there as, according to Fred, they changed things in the summer of 2014. Gone the never changing menu. Here a new and changing menu with different foods… very nice. Fred gave us a run down of the menu and gave us time to make a decision. There are bar apps, small plates, and entrees. Everything sounded so awesomely appetizing and it was difficult to make a decision but we did :). We decided on a small plate as an appetizer. The hubby wanted to try their beef soup as well. And we chose entrees.
We started with drinks. The hubby went with a seasonal beer. I chose a signature cocktail. I got the Old Cuban, very good with lots of alcohol. It is a mix of rum, champagne, bitters, mint, and lemon juice. It was very refreshing, light. We got the lettuce wraps to start. Very good! Beef in lettuce. The beef cooked to perfection-​it was juicy and tender and drizzled lightly with a spicy aoloi complemented by, what I’d describe as a sweet balsamic on the side. It was a nice mix of sweet and spicy. It was a wonderful explosion of flavor. The hubby got the beef soup presented in a neat way, the beef and noodles in a bowl, Fred pouring the broth over the beef and noodles table side. It was a nice touch and it smelled Heavenly. The soup was terrific, miso-​esque. The hubby enjoyed it. For my entrée, the Eichner’s Farm chicken. The chicken was fresh and succulent, so juicy and tender. It was served on a sweet potato mash with Brussel sprouts mixed with bacon and red onion. The red onion not at all overpowering to the Brussel sprouts. The hubby chose the pork chop served with fennel and apple kraut and spatzle. The chop was a little overdone just around the edge but perfection in the middle. It was juicy and terrific. The spatzle, wow! The hubby noted it was the best he has ever had. He loved the kraut as well and he has never been a kraut fan. For dessert, the willow bar, a chilled chocolate masterpiece. I’d liken it to a chilled chocolate cake with fudginess and a pretzel crust, divine! Overall the changes since our last visit-​definitely a positive. The vibe is chill. The food was superb. Drinks were delightful. The wait staff a class act. Atmosphere was warm and inviting. If you are in the North Hills and looking for a nice restaurant to try or looking to celebrate a special occasion and don’t want to drive into downtown and have to pay for parking, go to Willow. It was a fabulous dining experience!

Only has 3.5 stars because of reviews like «I couldn’t get in on a Friday night.» Make a reservation then? Went with a party of 6 and had a great time. Good cocktail menu, solid sandwiches and great small plates and entrees, all for reasonable prices. Everyone enjoyed their meals. The cider brined pork chop was my favorite. Only complaint is that a medium rare steak was ordered and it was barely even rare. Will definitely be visiting again to try the burger.

Went here last week and had an excellent meal with friends and family the service was very very good Food was excellent and we all had a great time highly recommend this place. Victoria was our server and she made us feel very much at ease and did not rush anyone. I recommend the octopus appetizer.

This place is absolutely amazing! It is by far one of my favorite restaurants. Not only is the food incredible, but the staff is very friendly and attentive. Whether your going to Willow for a special occasion or just a nice evening out this place will never let you down. Victoria was our waitress and she was great!

Went last Friday and never got past the door. At just after 6:00 pm, the patio had 3 occupied tables, and the dining room, a few more than that. There were 3 slouchy employees at the front desk, one of whom was clearly kitchen staff. We asked for a table, and were told snottily that there were a lot of reservations, and if we didn’t have one, the wait was 90 minutes (!). The place was more than half empty! When we weren’t even directed to the bar, I knew we were dealing with inexperienced, under supervised hosting staff. It just seemed like we were interrupting their conversation and annoying them.
We won’t try again.

All the wasted years!
So I was trying to find somewhere different to take my wife for our Wedding Anniversary as we have been to most of the usual suspects and I remembered Willow from the Pittsburgh Magazine Best Restaurants Party. I read some of the Unilocal reviews and knew this was the place. I easily made reservations thanks to the Open Table App.
As soon as we pulled up I knew this place would be good! Not only by the almost completely full parking lot to the sweet aromas bellowing out from the kitchen. Once inside we were greeted and told Happy Anniversary by the hostess and taken to our table.
A few minutes later our waiter came over to take our drink orders. I went with the Mexican War Streets. It featured Tequila, Aperol, Grand Marnier, Thyme, lime and sugar and the wife had the Gina Marie which featured Pimm’s No. 1., strawberry, rhubarb, sugar, lime and house ginger beer. My cocktail was delicious and very refreshing and she enjoyed hers as well.
For small plates we started with the Roasted Pork lettuce wraps served on Bibb Lettuce and topped with carrot and cucumber slaw and a spicy aioli. We love lettuce wraps and these were delicious. Next we chose the crab cake. It came served with aioli, cucumber and a nice Chesapeake Vinaigrette. And for our third and final small plate we chose the famous Parker House Rolls which come topped with not only bacon salt but have bacon butter on the side! C’mon Son! Who does that?! They are a must order from now on!
For my main entrée I chose the Ribeye. It came served with roasted garlic butter, bone marrow, mushroom, charred corn risotto and was topped with parsley. It was simply amazing! One of the best steaks I have ever had in my life. it was so tender and juicy and cooked to perfection. The bone marrow, mushrooms and risotto were the perfect companion to the steak as all of the flavors worked in perfect harmony with one another. My wife chose the Steak and Frites which featured Hanger Steak severed with creamed spinach, house cut fries, a bistro salad and topped with a Béarnaise sauce. She loved her food also. We only ate a little of our entrees as we were pretty full from the small plates we had.
Upon telling our waiter that we were done with our entrees and wanting them packed up and that we were celebrating our anniversary he insisted on offering us a complementary dessert. We chose the Willow Bar which was spectacular! I don’t know how they do it but, each food item got better as the night went on leading up to the grand finale with the Willow Bar.
The food and service were superb the entire evening. Willow defiantly needs to be on your to try list if you haven’t been yet. Until next time…

Went to Willow for the first time with a friend, based on a recommendation from a co-​worker.
The ambience, both indoor and out is just outstanding — among the best I’ve experienced. It is beautiful, quiet, classy without being pretentious.
I had to shift my reservation a couple of times due to a late flight and the phone staff were extremely accommodating. This was mirrored by our server who was exceptionally friendly and professional. We ended up being there after closing and never felt rushed or hurried.
The food was good, but a bit complex for my personal tastes. I’d recommend for foodies, not so much for meat & potatoes types like me.

I have been eager to check out Willow for quite some time, and Pittsburgh Restaurant Week seemed like an excellent time to test their culinary chops.
They are conveniently located shortly off of 279 in a beautifully decorated building with both indoor and outdoor seating. We chose to sit outside on the covered deck surrounded by well maintained flowers and plants & a wrought iron fence flanking the parking lot.
We ate off both the PRW & normal menus and found several nice dishes we’d enjoy having again. My husband enjoyed the halibut and I had a beautiful salmon with kalamata olive crust. I also particularly enjoyed the chilled corn soup — to my surprise! The Parker house rolls were delicious, of course, but the bacon butter didn’t quite pack the flavor that we were anticipating. We shared the fresh peach parfait, and while local summer peaches are always delicious, I could have made a better dessert for us a home.
Our server was polite, though not very attentive or friendly. The other staff were quite pleasant and gracious, so he was definitely not the norm.
My only complaint is the $ 15 corkage fee for BYOB. Save yourself the money and drink your wine in the comfort of your own home — I wish we had!
Overall, a great place to have a delicious meal. We’ll be back and will recommend it to others.

I was pleasantly surprised with my meal. The burger and fries were seasoned to perfection. The willow bar dessert was mouth watering. The prices weren’t bad and the staff was friendly and helpful. We will be back

Went to Willow last night. I know about it’s 4 (at present) sister restaurants downtown, and decided to try this outlier for a friend’s birthday. We sat downstairs, and there was more than ample distance between tables for privacy. This is a large restaurant, and they have the nice option to sit outside on a patio.
I started with a Smoke & Honey cocktail — Vodka/​Amaro/​Smoked Honey/​Lemon/​Egg White. It was served in a martini glass, and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but it was truly delicious — a very unique combination, although the I think the Amaro’s bitter contribution was lost.
My companion and I wanted to sample a little of the menu, and figured we’d try a «small plate.» I asked the waitress about how the Lobster Roll Bites and the Fried Artichoke were served, to see which was better to split. We decided on the latter. We were each given a heavy, rectangular porcelain plate from which to serve from the main plate. The app consisted of 4 small battered artichoke heart sections and 4 squares of fried prosciutto placed upon a smear of pea purée with scattered English peas and a few small star-​squirts of lemon aioli. The menu mentioned asparagus, but none was there, replaced I assume by a small vine of pea shoots. No mint as written either. Fried artichoke and fried prosciutto, which packs a very powerful tail-​end salt punch, is a bit heavy-​handed use of the deep fryer, but no oil was detectable. And when Willow calls this a «small» plate, they mean it. Every component was artfully arranged, but with this finger food, you’d think they could do away with the idea of separate plates. And at $ 10, it’s priced twice what it should be.
My «large plate» entrée consisted of a nice-​sized square of Scottish salmon broiled perfectly, with a chip of fried salmon skin sailing on top. The seafood was placed on top of a mushroom crêpe, and around the plate were scattered tiny nicely-​cooked pattypan squash and baby zucchini. I would have used something a little less mushy under the fish, but it tasted fine. I could not detect the ramp pesto or pickled ramps mentioned on the menu, but this fufu veggie du jour just ends up sounding like a construction detour anyway. My companion ordered the «large plate» pork tenderloin, which consisted of 4 – 5 bacon wrapped medallions nicely cooked with a sweet onion emulsion, and sides of grilled succotash and «compressed» nectarine wedges.
All in all the, the dinner was fine — pretty and all. But I guess I’m starting to prefer more simple food simply prepared at better value. I can really find no fault with my dinner at Willow — service was pleasant and diligent (though my companion’s request for a steak knife for her pork should have been anticipated) and meal was enjoyable. I just wasn’t wowed.

Went here yesterday and I couldn’t be happier. I had been wanting to check out Willow for a long time and I’m glad I finally got to go. Long story short, try the beef tartare, bacon and egg and pork chop (best in the city). My only complaint was the couple next to us was ridiculously loud but with food this good I could care less!
Go, leave now!

I love the concept here of the small plates and large plates. Get two or three small plates to share with someone, or be greedy and just order a whole large plate for yourself. Everything that we’ve ordered here has been outstanding. My favorites are the rabbit with dumplings and the poutine. Also, they have one of my favorite Ceasar salads in the Pittsburgh area… with whole anchovies!
This place even satisfied my snobby father who is used to West coast eating. There’s enough variety on this menu for anyone!

Drinks were unique and delicious. Portions were pretty generous given the price points on the menu. There’s certainly enough menu items to please most palates.
I was a bit confused by the presentation of the Chicken and Brie sandwich after reading the description. I thought there would be more of a contrast or separation of the ingredients, rather than everything feeling all smushed together on a sandwich. To me the sandwich tasted like creamed spinach with mushroom and chicken (leg and thigh) on sour dough bread. In my mind I thought there would be large chunks of chicken, with a layer of cooked mushroom, topped with brie and spinach, followed by basil mayo on the sour dough. I would have almost liked everything separate: chicken and mushroom, with a creamed brie and spinach side, served with thick slices of sour dough.
The basil mayo was totally lost in everything, which is kind of sad because basil mayo is a pretty amazing condiment. The sourdough bread was the clear winner in this portion of the meal.

I went here for my birthday this year. We sat by the fireplace in the room off of the bar. It looks like the outside wall is a garage door, so this could be opened in the summer. The décor was nice (I think they just redecorated). The food was AMAZING.
I had (and shared):
lobster rolls– they were huge! A little less flavor than I would have liked, but still good. The chips that comes with them were really good salty and vinegary.
Tuna flatbread– really good. It is a weird combination, but it worked well. It is like sushi on pizza… 2 of my favorite things!
mussels in curry– really well prepared, not gritty at all. I wished that the sauce was thicker. They came with garlic bread that was to die for.
Beer cheese soup without bacon– If I could bathe in this and never eat anything else again, I would be a happy girl. I love beer cheese soup, and this was one of the best I have ever had. LOVE LOVE LOVE. I did not share any of this soup. It was delicious and ALL MINE.
The BF had the above and:
Hangar steak done filet style– So this was the hangar steak with the filet toppings and sides. He said it was good, but we were so stuffed after the small plates that he didn’t eat most of it til the next day.
Dessert chocolate cake… Sadly, this one was Meh. Not great. Not even really good. It made me so sad.

My fiancé and I ate their this past Valentine’s Day. Atmosphere was nice as its been newly renovated. Staff was friendly and accommodating. Food was great. We had the pork chop and salmon. Nice beer and wine selection. I would suggest a space heather in the lobby as you wait for your call to be pulled around.

First, make sure you have a reservation on the weekend (not sure about the weekdays); otherwise you will be seated at the bar or the high top tables in the bar area.
Very nice décor; haven’t been here in years since it was called Mardi Gras.
Food was very good. We did the small plates, appetizers. Started off with the antipasti plate with cured meats, olives & more. Very good! Next up was the lobster bites. They were superb! You get 2 of these cute mini buns overstuffed with lobster goodness. And lastly was the crab cake. Very disappointed in the fact that it had an extremely fishy taste. The aioli sauce was good and it was nice not having a lot of breading in the crab cake. Also had some type of pear for dessert which was quite tasty. Server very knowledgeable.
Will definitely go back!

Finally Willow, You Nailed It!
I’ve been a frequenter to Willow for years and I’ve always been up and down on them. The restaurant would have a great menu with great choices and then two months later switch up the menu entirely. The restaurant would change owners, chefs, menus, and they never seemed to have an identity of where they would like to be or what cuisine they would like to specialize in. The last time I went to Willow, the menu was almost exclusively BBQ and vowed never to go back. It was a shame because the restaurant is nestled in a wooded area and the views and ambiance are fantastic.
However, I recently had read that Willow had undergone an ownership change (I believe it’s the same group that owns BRGR) and had closed for sometime this past summer to re-​invent itself. All I can say is that they found their identity and I can only hope there will no longer be any reincarnations. The experience was amazing!
Upon entering, the restaurant seemed pretty much the way I’d always remembered it. The bar area was bustling and I could see some patrons dining in the downstairs seating area. We had made reservations and were promptly taken upstairs to one of the back rooms. We had a wonderful evening view of the wooded, snow covered terrain.
We were then greeted by our server Victoria. If you do one thing upon dining at Willow, request Victoria as your server. She is fantastic at what she does and is highly skilled. She is knowledgeable, friendly, and in no way overbearing. It was the perfect server experience.
However, our food was the star of the evening. The menu has been scaled back to a one page offering. There are a few items that you are able to order off the bar menu, burgers, sandwiches, salads, small and large plates. They have a full drink menu of creative and tasty cocktails as well. I started with the sangria and might be one of the best drinks I’ve ever had. Not too sweet, not too dry, and full of delicious fruit. Highly recommended!
For starters I ordered the scallops and pork belly small plate while my wife ordered the parker house rolls and olives. My scallop and pork belly plate was unreal. I could’ve ordered three of these. The scallops were big, juicy and sweet. The pork belly was salty, sweet, and melt in your mouth. It was a wonderful combination and creatively presented. For my wife, she loved the olives (I’m not an olive eater so I can’t speak to how these were). But the Parker House rolls were awesome. The bread was warm and the butter that was served was room temperature for easy spreading. Usually bread is included but these are $ 5. For as good as these rolls are, I’d spend $ 5 on bread all day.
For our entrees, I decided on the Willow Burger and my wife got the lobster roll small plate with a side of fries. I consider myself a burger connoisseur and I must say this was one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. The meat was cooked to medium perfection and the brioche bun was fantastic. For my toppings I decided on sharp cheddar, whiskey bacon jam (yes it is as decadent as you’d think) and crispy pork belly. It was insane! The burger was huge and I almost couldn’t finish it. But as good as it was, I was able to push through. However, the fries were sacrificed due to how full I was. I was able to eat a few and they are amazing. They are crispy and have some sort of garlic and rosemary (I think) seasoning. Very good!
My wife’s lobster rolls reminded me of our vacation to Maine a few years back. The lobster roll filling was filled with large chunks of lobster and served on a buttered bun. She received two of them with homemade potato chips. I had a small bite and although I’m not ready to say a Pittsburgh restaurant can do a lobster roll better than Maine, I will say it’s not too far off from authentic lobster rolls in New England. If you’ve never had a Maine lobster roll and wonder what it might be like, try the one at Willow and you’ll have a really good idea.
Overall, the experience was amazing and I emplore Willow to stick with the current recipe. The food is excellent, the service is excellent, and the experience is more than worth it. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever return to Willow due to all the changes through the years and never having a true identity. I can say with certainty this will be one of our go to restaurants from now on!

The beef tartare was pretty amazing. Three generous slices of bread topped with generous amounts of diced beef. This is definitely a must try.
The curry mussels were also tasty. Mussels were bit dry, but the sauce was good. They topped it with these microgreens and these red peppers of sort that were pretty much el diablos. They also provided toasted bread that came burnt :-/​
The salmon was also delicious. My friend asked for no salt if possible and they were really accommodating. The entrée also cam with this potato pancake with dill that she did not like but I tolerated. She also got a side of green beans, that were $ 7… which is a lot for a tiny dish of french green beans sauteed in oil and garlic.
The rabbit and dumplings on the other hand… was very not good to me. The gnocchi tasted funny, and I just did not like the rabbit. It tasted overly gamey. This is my first time having rabbit, so it could very be that I just do not like rabbit.

The service was friendly and attentive. The smoked brisket with bbq sauce was tasty! The scallops were amazing! The atmosphere was warm and inviting!
SUCCULENT