Atrias Restaurant and Tavern

I have to admit that I’m not a die-​hard Atria’s fan. I can’t be, because Atria’s tends to go back and forth for me — at least, this location does.
On the one hand, I’ve had really good meals here. Octoberfest at Atria’s, for example, is pretty darn delicious. The specials offered then are flat-​out tasty — filling, carb-​tastic and quite heavy, but definitely tasty! Similarly, the drinks I’ve ordered and the time I’ve spent at the bar section with friends have also been equally enjoyable.
But I’ve also had bad meals here that I simply can’t forget about — particularly ones that were cooked with so much grease and sauce that my food literally fell apart in my hands or fell off of my silverware. I particularly remember this happening once with a burger I’d ordered. I admit, this was many years ago now, so in the interest of fairness, perhaps it’s not a common issue anymore.
But the following is still a common issue: the parking lot. You have to let the staff park your car — resulting in a lag time as they look for a car they’re much less familiar with than you are. And getting out is simply a nightmare as the exit connects to the road literally in the middle of a bend, just past a light. So drive with caution when leaving. Seriously. The people in a rush to get home and whipping around that bend are themselves enough to scare me away from eating here often, truthfully.
So yeah, this is not a go-​to eatery for me. It’s a nice place to dine in October for sure — and I’ll stop in if someone has a coupon or invites me. But I admittedly don’t go out of my way to dine here. Still, I do stop in periodically, so I guess that’s what counts. ‘Til next time, guys — because let’s be honest, there will be a next time!

Shame on us.
6:30 reservation. Gave the hostess our name and she was immediately confused. It was evident that she had already given our reservation away (as we could see the computer) but she didn’t own up to it. 6:40, hostess says they’re clearing tables upstairs for our space. Ok. 6:45, still waiting. Manager shows up. Says patrons just left on the lower floor and that he’ll personally push tables together for our reservation. We agree. While standing outside I watched him clear one of these tables, work on getting the legs level for 30 seconds, and then abandon all hope. This was the last time that we saw the manager all night. No follow up later on. 6:55, watch two servers finish pushing the tables together and laying down the table dressing. 6:58, we’re seated. No menus or silverware. Server comes out. Her name is Lynda. She immediately notices this and rectifies the problem. Lynda worked hard all night. She deserves a better working environment. 7:10, order taken. 7:45, apps show up over an hour from the initial reservation. 8:33, meal finally arrives 1.5 hours after the initial order was taken. The food is ok. It’s warm and I’ve had worse, but I’ve also had a lot better at this same location a year ago. 8:53, paid the bill. No dessert as we would likely have had to spend the night. Total was $ 155 and my parents intended to pay as it was my birthday (plus they had a gift card). I insisted on paying in full. We compromised and I paid $ 105 after applying the gift card. Left $ 20 solely for Lynda. Hope she finds a better employer if she plans on staying in this line of service.
We won’t be back. The kicker is that we’d had a near identical experience during the past Octoberfest. We thought that it was a fluke. Shame on us. Our general observation from watching the servers, manager, and patrons is that this place panders to regulars while ignoring customers that would otherwise repeat. What happens when the regulars are gone?
Don’t waste your time.

If you order to go from here make sure to take the time to view everything that you ordered. Also know that their website is outdated and there are certain items are not available anymore so have back ups ready.
We ordered on a Sunday around 430, we wanted The Rocks (not available), Southwest Chicken salad (not available), a Pacific Salmon salad (available), two Steak Salads (not available*), and Blueberry cheesecake (available). The not available items were still on the menu on the website, which is supposedly being updated as this is a test restaurant for a new menu.
Picked up the order and brought it home only to find out the cheesecake was not in the bag. Mind you, the place was dead. Only several tables were seated. I should’ve checked, this was my fault. We called the restaurant and they comped us for the cost. When we opened up all of the food we felt jipped. *They «created» two $ 15 steak salad for us since they forgot to tell us it was no longer on the menu. They used half a steak and a side salad per creation. Both of the Salads combined equalled my Salmon salad. There was no way these salads were worth $ 15 each. Speaking of my salad, the Salmon was dried out and burnt. They also gave us chili with our zucchini sticks instead of sauce. (BTW, their chili is on the sweeter side)
When we called the restaurant back we spoke to the manager. She comped us for the entire meal which was very fair and nice of her. Just be sure to check everything in your order before leaving, right down to the salad dressing (which was also incorrect).

what happened to this chain?
we’ve been Atria’s supporters for decades and have watched this chain, multiple locations, skimp on quality while maintaining (increasing?) prices. we gave up drinks at the ball park (we’re season ticket holders) but thought we’d give MtL yet another chance — thinking our last poor experience was a fluke. we shouldn’t have wasted our time.
the quality and taste of everything ranged from fair to poor. not only did we wait 75 minutes for our food, but it was really terrible.
my husband (and the person at the table next to us) sent back Shrimp and Grits — the grits were like flavorless, chalky paste. I had the Gorgonzola pork tenderloins, the pork was cooked properly, but the only enjoyable aspect was the potato pancakes. we ended up splitting my meal because we waited another 25 min for his replacement of fish and chips, for which we still paid full price. no comped drinks, no apology beyond our waitress. nothing.
the only positive was our waitress, Regina, was lovely.
we’re sad to see this local chain continues to go south. sadly, we won’t be back.

Have been to most Atria locations over the years. Always enjoyed good food and great service. I convinced our group to go to Atria’s Mt Lebanon for New Years Eve dinner. What a huge mistake. We arrived on time, 9 pm, and were seated immediately. Our drink order was taken and we were informed of the menu items no longer available and that they close at 10pm. Our drinks arrived at 9:20, but they were not busy. I knew why when our calamari appetizer arrived, eight pieces of calamari on a big plated of hot peppers. Honestly embarrassing they would actually serve it. Overall it was my sorry mistake to have selected Atria’s. With so many new restaurant choices available I won’t be back.

We enjoyed a Christmas party at Andrea’s in the upstairs room. We worked with Becky on the menu and on the planning and things could not have been more wonderful. The room look beautiful the tables were perfect the food was lovely and that he was very professional and did a great job following up and taking good care of us.

Everything was amazing– food and service top notch! I had the scallops and my husband had the crab cakes. So delicious! Staff was fantastic and manager came out twice to make sure everything was good.

Bartender Jessi is wonderful. Made the best drink ever! Exudes great customer service skills. Excellent Asset to your establishment.

My friend and I called ahead for dinner 6:30pm on a Sat night. They were quite busy. Great to have complimentary valet parking. 4 stars because of the décor, was a bit out dated. Carpet could definitely be replaced. We were seated upstairs which was nice, with light from a coupe of windows. Wait staff was very attentive snd friendly. Good sense of humor.
For drinks we both ordered the Honey Mule. Jim Beam Honey whiskey with ginger ale and lime. Very good.
We had Sherry Crab soup to start. Sherry was the predominant flavor but still very good. We ordered 2 entrees to shared. Father’s Day Filet Kabob with grilled veg. My friend ordered it medium. I prefer rare or medium rare but to my surprise it was delicious, very tender and tasty. I will be ordering a steak next time. And the Spicy Shrimp De Frivola with stuffed banana peppers. Penne pasta with just enough spicy kick. Was delicious.
Will definitely be back for the service and fantastic food.

Atrias was excellent! The service was wonderful and provided great recommendations, location and outdoor seating was beautiful, and the food was glorious! I would recommend the Fish Tacos as a perfect summer dish.

This place was actually a house and I love it. It’s up scale yet homie and the service is more then kind. Me and my beau went during happy hour, which is only downstairs but our waitress let us sit upstairs away from the crowd. Appetizers were half priced along with most alcohol.
We started with my beau’s favorite Calamari and I ordered grilled vegetables. One word, perfect. Both were light and pleasant and didn’t fill us up to to much. The portion size was def. enough for more then just the 2 of us but remember the Calmari was his FAVORITE. I ordered a moscato along with it while he had a simple beer.
For dinner I had the waitress pick for me while my beau tried the Chicken Fresco. The Chicken Fresco came with their homemade marinara and a balsamic glaze. Not impressed, to plain for me but I grew up eating nothing but ethnic and flavor riched food. The beau thought the same. I was surprised with the Tri Tortellini and was happy. The pinenuts gave this plate exactly what it needed but it’s nothing I couldn’t make at home.
The wait was a bit long for dinner because of our waitress and chef miscommunicating and we ended up with a free dessert! We picked the strawberry wontons. When it came out the plate looked so pretty!!! But not with three wontons and a scoop of ice cream… Def a dessert for one not two. Needless to say it was very very good. I can say this dish was the best part of the experience.
Overall, 4 out of 5 because the flavors are for people who are used to that style of cooking… I come from an ethnic family so flavors are a big deal to me!
— Dating Kay

We had our son’s wedding reception at Atria’s in Fox Chapel. The appetizers were awesome. Pot roast nachos, crab stuffed filos and sausage stuffed peppers. There were plenty served. Our waiter’s name was Kurt and he was WONDERFUL! He kept the drinks going, remembered what everyone was drinking & was very personable & professional. We had a choice of chicken piccata, twin filets and crab stuffed salmon… everyone loved it. Then the dessert trays came & they were lovely, delicious and just enough.
Thank you so much!!! You made ME look good!

Well it has been a while since my last visit here so my girlfriend and I decided to have lunch there. Again we got the free valet parking. The staff was very friendly and asked where we wished to be seated. I let her choose since she had surgery recently so we ended up on the main floor.
The first thing we noticed was the place was very cold. We had wondered if they left the air conditioning on from the previous day. They were offering Italian specials so my friend opted for the eggplant Parmesan and salad. I decided to take the vegetable salad with chicken along with a cup of wedding soup. Although it took a long time to receive our food it was quite good.
I thought the presentation of the salad with the triangular shaped pita bread was marvelous. it wasn’t overfilling.
Later on we both used the restroom only to find it was bone chilling cold and although clean in a deplorable state of disrepair. I really thought that a place like this that offers free valet parking would have nicer appearance. The first floor was fair in appearance and had a full bar. We sat at a booth.
However, the staff was attentive to our needs and will return as we see fit.

Chain restaurants, whether they be local or national, always worry me. I never think I’m going to actually enjoy them. A few weeks ago was my mother’s birthday. She is a pretty picky eater who would much prefer a super burger from eat n’ park than going to any fancy restaurant. Atria’s was a good happy medium. The staff was so wonderful. Before even knowing that there was a birthday at the table, the manager came over with complimentary fried zucchini. I’m not big on fried foods but these were good. Even better because they were free. I didn’t order an appetizer because of the free treats given to us by the manager but I did give into the advertisement of their crab cakes being the best in town. The crab cakes came with a parmesan risotto and grilled asparagus. I don’t eat crab cakes a lot but I would imagine that the advertisement wasn’t far from true. They were amazing! It was an extremely pleasant and surprising experience and my mom had a great birthday!

Nice place for a date night, or dinner with friends. Semi formal setting. Their beef pot roast nachos are to die for and their fillet mignon steaks are delicious.

The food was not anything amazing – I had several types of pastas, which I only liked one in particular because of the spinach that came with the penne. They served some dessert that looked like it came from a supermarket party platter of marzipans and burnt hard chocolate chip cookies. I also asked for coffee and apparently it takes 40 minutes to make that. The waiter avoided eye contact after the I asked a second time and acted like I never asked for it.

I *love* this place!
I recommend using Open Table or calling for a reservation ahead of time because this place gets PACKED. Somehow I can always get a reservation right away, but without a reservation there’s a wait.
They have a really nice outdoor patio that I like in the warmer months. In the colder months its indoors, and the building used to be an old hotel. It feels like an old building. Its a nice restaurant but it does look a little bit dated upstairs with the green stripes on the walls.
BUT — are you here to check out the décor or are you here to EAT?
I effing love Atria’s food. It’s probably so unhealthy but I don’t care. Why is it so good? How??? I strongly recommend the Miso Glazed salmon, the meatloaf, the pot roast, the goat cheese ravioli and their reuben’s are to die for. Literally you might die, bc they are so tasty they’ve got to be FULL of butter.
No one ever ate a reuben for their health.
The pot roast nacho’s are OUTSTANDING. In fact, any time I want to get my Dad to come to Atria’s with me, I don’t ask if he wants to go to Atria’s, I ask if he is in the mood for Pot Roast Nachos. Turns out, Dad’s always in the mood for pot roast nachos.
The only thing on the menu I don’t recommend are the fish tacos. I had them on Saturday and they were just not excellent. Still tasty though!
The service is outstanding. Our waitress this past Saturday was Daya and she was so pleasant that we’ll ask for her section when we come back.
They have a killer cocktail list too, the Blood Orange martini tastes like angels squeezed it from golden oranges in heaven. ??? Ok, I don’t know what that meant, it is just a damn good martini.
Also, I spent my formative childhood years in Stuttgart, Germany. Their Oktoberfest menu is HANDS DOWN the most authentic, best tasting German food in Pittsburgh. I get asked where to get the best German food all the time. It’s at Atria’s, during their woefully limited Oktoberfest menu.
The Chicken Paprika is … AUSGEZIECHNET. WUNDER BAR. Really effing good.
Everyone in Pittsburgh eats at Atria’s, but if you havent yet, you really should make a reservation!

I had heard lots of bad things about Atria’s. Came here on a gift card, so we were in the mood to experiment. I was determined to have a good meal and find the good in Atria’s. So here’s the good and the bad.
Here are the pros:
Free valet parking was very nice.
The crab bisque that many reviewers rave about was indeed very tasty, but has a few cons attached that I’ll get to later.
The setting was very pretty. Their outdoor seating is nice and has a garden party feel to it. Atria’s is in a big old house, and we were seated next to an upstairs window that we enjoyed looking out of.
The waitress was very prompt and friendly. No issues with service whatsoever.
Cons:
The food was so so average. I could make pretty much everything we had for dinner that night in the comfort of my own home for way way less money.
The aforementioned crab bisque, which was the best part of the meal, came in a tiny little cup, and had little to no chunks of crab in it. And what, no crackers?
Our Quattro Fromage appetizer was actually a sub-​par spinach dip that tasted like they dumped a bottle of ranch dressing in it.
Their cocktails are boring and my sangria tasted like a Jesus miracle in reverse… I swear they turned that wine into water.
I had to salt and pepper the crap out of my goat cheese ravioli with basil pesto. (It’s part of their summer menu.) It was so incredibly bland. I eventually gave up and took it home to see if I could fix it. I made a white wine and herb sauce and added some parmesan cheese, and voila, it was awesome! Why couldn’t they have done that?
Lastly, both our table and my chair was incredibly wobbly. I swapped my chair out for a neighboring one, but the table issue was annoying. I felt like I needed to hold onto my drink until I could gulp down enough that it wouldn’t spill if we jarred the table. Everything in the place was pretty old and worn looking, and for their prices, I would expect the décor and table settings to be a lot nicer.
$ 80+tip later, we decide that Atria’s has been an average experience not worth repeating. There’s way better restaurants within that price range.

The food was really good… in my opinion, better than the fox chapel location.
The décor is a little hokey, but I guess local sports paraphernalia is better then random rummage sale finds (a la CRapplebee’s and TGIFridays).
Bonus points for seasonal specials and free valet… free does not mean that tips are not accepted, please remember those fellas are doing you a huge favor by not making you go insane from attempting to find a parking spot yourself… reward them.
Service was friendly and attentive but not overly so.

Atria’s is currently running its Oktoberfest promotion, something I wasn’t aware of considering this was my first trip to any of its franchises. How ironic is it that my first Atria’s experience happened to be at THE first Atria’s, the one founded 82 years ago?
Kay and I have whizzed by what I’ll refer to as Atria’s Prime far too many times to be forgiven, especially considering that we’ve resided in its zip code for well over a year. Some weekend errands that took us up and down this South Hills corridor left us with excuses no more. We had to lunch here.
A chipper lad acted as a valet, parking the Kaymobile safely. I doubt the other chain-​ish Atria’s offer this, but do not allow it to put you off if you’re worried about dining casually at a casual price point. Our t-​shirts and jeans were not frowned upon at the least, and my wallet wasn’t left gasping when it came time to settle up.
A hostess led us to an upstairs dining room that overlooked bustling Beverly Road. From the looks of Atria’s Prime’s exterior and interior, I felt as if I had been invited to a Thanksgiving dinner as the guest of a wealthy relative I didn’t know. And in these Victorian-​ish environs… I just felt like a burger. In spite of Oktoberfest, and the not entirely common dishes being offered for a limited time, I required nothing more than a burger.
Kay’s enthusiasm over the special menu did little to dissuade me. Even tasting her splendid Sauerbraten entrée, luscious braised beef, doughy, nutty spaetzle, tangy cabbage and all, failed to fill me with envy.
I was too into that burger, man.
Every Atria’s has one burger on their bill of fare: The Award Winning Cheddar Burger.
This bull of a burger carries with it no fancy or out-​of-​the-​box accoutrements. Mayonnaise, mustard, coins of sour pickle, shredded lettuce, tomato, and onion are all that come with it, and they are placed neatly UNDERNEATH the cheddar-​robed patty (not only does this prevent a mess, but it also keeps the bottom half of the burger bun cool), which in my case was ordered medium-​rare, something their chef achieved with the steaming, gushing precision of a champion grillmaster. The bun glistens with butter. The most perfectly actualized housemade potato chips, sliced longways, THE ideal way, come with (or fries or cole slaw if you must… blah) this unassuming masterpiece (I asked for a ramekin of their fresh buttermilk ranch dressing to dip the chips in and was a very thankful I did so).
What? They’re selling soft pretzel sticks and bratwurst this month and next you’re telling me?
Kay insisted on starting with the salted bread batons, and I thought I was at Olive Garden. Not that I hate the OG or their breadsticks, but they lacked sufficient chew factor to make them memorable. Docile is how I’d describe them. With spaghetti and a salad is the only way I’d have them again.
The bratwurst was brought to our table on a complimentary basis to commemorate our first visit by the chef himself, his forehead happily beading water like a car’s windshield in a rainstorm. That he ran upstairs to give us some of the German sausage in gravy for free and speak with us for a moment was heartwarming. Kay loved the bratwurst. I thought it to be a tad bland and rubbery, but I won’t gripe about it much since I felt honored to have sampled it at no cost.
Hungry minds can be kindred. Hence our simultaneous decision to have the Black Forest Cherry Cake for dessert. Each cornerstone of vicious, delicious, maliciously moist cake was filled with a tart, grisly cherry compote, and iced with a cadaver-​white, cocoa shaving-​laced buttercream frosting. Chocolate sauce outlined the body, a tuft of maraschino cherry-​garnished whipped cream to held off some of the depravity, and a snowfall of powdered sugar to reminded us of dark days to come. A more fitting cake to celebrate the Season of the Witch there isn’t.
To paraphrase the Atria’s motto, it ain’t bad to eat here.
P. S. Our good-​humored waitress Kimberly provided nimble, top-​notch service.