Pittsburgh Restaurant Week Starts Today — Here Are the Menus We’re Excited About

PHOTO COURTESY OF CAFE MOMENTUM

The holidays may be over, but true foodies know that a second season of joy is upon us: Pittsburgh Restaurant Week.

This is the time to try restaurants in a cost-effective way — many of the Restaurant Week menus include multiple courses that typically would have been priced higher if ordered during regular service.

The Winter edition of Pittsburgh Restaurant Week features restaurants such as Hyde Park Steak House, Paris 66, Alihan’s Mediterranean Cuisine and täkō — among many others.

A few of us at Pittsburgh Magazine scoured the menus to find the options we’re most excited about.

Kristy G., Food Editor

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CAFE MOMENTUM

With the hustle and bustle of the holiday season behind us, I’m looking forward to relaxing at Cafe Momentum.

Since 2023, Downtown’s non-profit, BYOB restaurant has served delicious dishes while doubling as a paid training facility for justice-involved youth ages 15 to 19.

Not only are participants learning from culinary experts in both the back and front of the house, they’re receiving mental health services, legal assistance, financial education, management skills and self-esteem.

I’ll eat to that!

Texas chef Chad Houser launched the Cafe Momentum concept in 2015 after teaching kids at a local juvenile detention center how to make ice cream. Feeling inspired, he partnered with local justice departments and community partners and opened the flagship eatery in Dallas. There’s another Cafe Momentum in Atlanta and a Denver site is planned for 2026.

Cafe Momentum’s Restaurant Week lunch and dinner menus read like my belly’s greatest hits list.

A bread and butter board! A burger topped with short rib and bacon! Smoked fried chicken! Mushroom ravioli! Mashed potatoes!

For the record, Chef de Cuisine Robert “RC” Carter makes the best spuds in the city and I cannot resist them. When it comes to Cafe Momentum, I guess you could say I’m restaurant weak.

268 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Jess S., Editor

PALM PALM | PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Ever since Palm Palm opened in East Liberty last summer (and I watched reel after Instagram reel of patrons enjoying decadent desserts and drinks accompanied by sparklers), I’ve been wanting to take my girls there.

Yes, the oasis-like aesthetics are a vibe (especially for my 12-year-old and 9-year-old daughters), but the menu looks even more amazing; and what better time to try it then Pittsburgh Restaurant Week?

As a sushi lover, I’m most intrigued by the Tuna Sushi Tots — a combination of cumber, yum yum sauce and avocado — in the first course offerings.

For the second course (which includes a range of soup and salad options), I’m definitely opting for the Fat Crab and Corn Chowder, while for the third course — which features the restaurant’s main entrees — the Wagyu Ragu sounds irresistible. The dish consists of slow-braised Wagyu beef in a savory sauce served over pipe-rigate, a shell-like pasta.

Palm Palm’s coastal-inspired cuisine is meant to be shared, but I don’t know if I’ll be feeling that charitable when it comes to dessert. I have my eye on the mini key lime pie, a tart and decadent way to finish up the Winter Restaurant Week experience.

5996 Centre Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15206

Aidan M., Digital Director

The view from atop Mount Washington alone was enough to interest me in Monterey Bay Fish Grotto, then I looked at the menu for Winter Restaurant Week.

That sealed the deal.

The special menu offers soup and salad options as starters, but I’m most interested in the “She-Crab Bisque” — cream sherry, crab, creme fraiche and chives.

Entree options range from a New York strip steak to grilled salmon to shrimp and cod.

I’ll try to save room for dessert — an “angel food grilled cheese sandwich.”

A grilled cheese sandwich for dessert? It’s described as an “individual portion of caramelized angel food cake, cream cheese filling, berry compote, vanilla bean ice cream, toasted sweet & salty almonds.”

Sign me up.

1411 Grandview Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15211

Huck B., Creative Director

Winter Restaurant Week is when I want a menu with conviction, and EYV (Eat Your Vegetables) is delivering exactly that. This is vegetables with swagger.

The opening snacks set the tone. Broccoli “Chicharrons” with beer-cheese dip announce crunch and salt over restraint. Hummus Fritters with harissa yogurt and za’atar bring heat and depth, and a loaded Baked Potato Gougère feels like a brilliant collision of French technique and Midwestern comfort.

Course two leans into clever excess. I’ll most likely order the Farmers Salad mixed with ranch mousse, and tater tots, which sounds delightfully unhinged in the best way. Or maybe I’ll pivot to the Curried Apple Pierogi, balancing sweetness, spice, and creaminess.

Then course three goes big. The Fungal Farms Lions Galette with truffle-rutabaga coulis and creamed winter greens sounds like pure cold-weather luxury. I’ll make my husband order the porchetta-spiced squash with polenta and provolone crust so I can try that one too.

EYV isn’t proving vegetables can be “good enough.” It’s showing how thrilling they can be when treated like the main event.

424 E. Ohio St.
Pittsburgh PA 15212