Bill’s Bar & Burger

I went here twice because it was in the hotel I was staying in (Westin). I was pretty excited that I had a great bar in the hotel so as to avoid having to drive or walk far.
It’s a nice looking restaurant/​bar. I sat at the bar so I don’t know what the rest of the place looks like. The service here was really good. I didn’t have a single problem.
First night I ordered the bacon and cheddar burger with a pretzel bun. I was skeptical of the bun thinking it was some sort of gimmick, but it was really good! The burger, I ordered it medium rare, came out rare, but I’d rather go that way than the other. The only big problem with this burger is that the onion rings I ordered to go on top of it were red onions. Red onions are not sweet, they are very bland and in turn really bring the taste of the burger way down. I like the sweetness of white/​yellow onions. These were not that. I couldn’t even eat them, they were gross.
The second night I was there I ordered the same thing because it really was a great burger. I asked this time if they could make my burger actually medium rare since it was so rare last time. The bartender recommended I order it medium and then it would come out medium rare (you’d think), but it actually came out medium. Uh. They brought me my new burger out and it was fine, but I was irked by the insistence of the person who brought it to immediately cut into it (which I don’t, I eat it as a whole burger) to see if it was okay. That was not okay, the burger was.
I then ordered a dessert that I waffled on. I really wanted the pop tart but then waiter told me it was really small. I then ordered my other choice, the red velvet birthday cake. They should REALLY have a disclaimer that their cake is NOT made in-​house. If I want boxed cake I don’t need to pay $ 6 a slice, I can walk to the grocery store and get a whole cake for that. I don’t go to restaurants to have boxed dessert, I just don’t. This and the onion rings were why it gets this many stars.
The service is excellent, the bartender that waited on me both times was very nice and the food could be great with a few modifications. I won’t be back, but it was an okay place to have dinner a couple of times.

I had a fairly basic burger, bacon and cheese, nothing fancy. Except that it was the best burger I have ever eaten! I don’t know why, but the burger was just delicious! Perfectly seasoned and so tasty. Only reason I didn’t give Bills 5 stars is that my fries were cold. They must have been sitting for a while before I got my plate. Sorry Bill, but cold fries cost you a perfect rating. I will definitely go back. Next time, I’ll send back the fries!

I had high expectations for this restaurant, and I have been wanting to go here since it opened last year. Last night was the first time I had the chance to go, and I must have had my expectations too high. The house mojito was delicious, but my burger was just OK. I got the bacon and cheddar burger with onion rings on top. It was nothing to write home about. We had a large party too, and they got more than half of the orders wrong. Not sure if that was on the waiter or the kitchen. They apologized profusely for it. There was also no on there on a Saturday night. I expected it to be packed. This will probably be a restaurant I check off my list and don’t go back to.

Thought I’d give them a second chance. The burgers are still small and tasteless. I’ll go to Five Guys way before going back to Bill’s. I work right across the street from Bill’s but I’ll walk several blocks for a better burger. Service is still mediocre at best. Conclusion: Overpriced, bland, burgers.

The food is great and the service was wonderful. My server even suggested making a change to my food order that improved it greatly. We will definitely be back! The milkshakes are AMAZING. I rarely get dessert, but could not pass up the milkshake and I’m glad I didn’t. Bryan said the beer flight was good. They definitely have a large beer selection.

Good burgers!!! I had the classic for
$ 8.50 last time. Good burger deal considering I could easily spend my lunch money at some establishment for who knows what? I’m satisfied will Bill’s Burgers, Sandwiches, Salads and Wraps.
Had the turkey wrap today fresh filling. They cater to the lunch crowd mostly take out but the place is cool to sit down and eat in. Dimly lit like pub environment but, no beer here Milkshakes!!!
(Try Restaurant)
VERY neat and clean environment noise level is low and I like that. I like getting alway from work for half an hour to relax.
But, if you want you can call ahead and they’ll have your order waiting for you!!!
If you like your office workers that much.
Recommend!!!

I need to write this review while it is still fresh in my mind, otherwise I am sure I will let something out.
I recently stayed downtown and due to the fact that the hotel I was staying at didn’t have a restaurant in it I needed to find food elsewhere. Yes, I know this is part of a hotel itself, but I did not stay at the Westin. I was looking for a place that had later hours due to the fact that I was going to have a late dinner. This place fit that bill on that fact alone, but I probably should have looked elsewhere.
When I had shown up I had all intentions to sit at the bar to dine, but once I entered I decided differently. After a rather sad sports day in the city the bar was lined with some long faces and drunken attitudes. After the host had a lengthy conversation with a coworker I was finally noticed at the host stand. When I told the host that it was only me and he suggested that I sit at the bar, I deferred that notion and requested a table. Once seated at the table, it wasn’t any better. Those drunken attitudes seem to have spread out through the restaurant. To say the noise level was loud is close to an exaggeration. If I had to hear the drunk lady tell her daughter and son-​in-​law how much she was ready for a baby any longer I may have offered to help that process along just to get her to shut up.
Once I had a chance to look over the menu I was a little confused. Everything is priced extra. That is unless you get the platter deal. The burger by itself is not on the cheap, ranging from $ 8-​$ 11. The sides start at $ 3 and range up to $ 6. So if you were to go on the complete cheap side of things here, your meal before anything else is already at $ 11. They do say that you can make your burger a platter, but it is basically the same pricing. I went with Big Bill’s Deluxe Platter. At $ 13, it is probably the best value.
The burger patty is bigger, but that didn’t make up for the lack of spices. There was no taste to this thing at all. And let’s touch on the grease issue. Or should I say let the grease issue touch on you. There was so much burger grease that the bottom half of the bun was saturated and nearly inedible. The fries, cold. However the fries did have a decent seasoning on them.
I really need to touch on the customer service before I end this review. My server, or maybe I should say order taker because he did not serve a single item to me, was so scarce for me that he might as well had been a ghost. After my order was taken he only came back to give me my check. The guy that actually served my food was the most pleasant person I had an interaction with the whole time here.
After finishing my food and drink, I waited for twenty minutes. In those twenty minutes I watched my «server» whiz by multiple times. I even attempted to wave him down so I could get my check and go. I’m not sure how he missed me on all those occasions, especially when he stopped at the table next to me to hand them their checks. People seated after me were already gone and here I still sat. Finally I received my check and was eager to pay and leave. I will never stop back here again, this visit has left a less than desired taste in my mouth, figuratively and literally.

So I want to love this place, but today was tough. The drinks were phenomenal, Bloody Mary and mojito, and the staff is nice, but the burger was very odd. We ordered the turkey burger and it was full of what looked like strings, when we asked what they were I was told it was mushrooms. I am a foodie so I initially wondered if it was saffron, nope… Looked up all kinds of mushrooms to figure out what this was and I cannot find anything that looks like this. :-(
The sweet potato fries were great!
If you come here, please don’t get the turkey burger.

Given the limited choices for food within a short walk from Amtrak, this place was okay. Not something I can rave about. Menu selection not bad. Good selection of can/​bottle beer but not much on draft.
Had a cheddar and bacon burger on a pretzel roll. Asked for thousand island on it. Delivery of food was prompt. Burger looked good but the taste was odd. Never tasted thousand island like this. Plus it was very «wet». Crap dripping. Everywhere. Too messy to eat normally. Had to to fork and knife it.
I also thought the beer and wine was over priced. No blush options on wine. $ 7 for a small bottle of Angry Orchard.
Will I return? Don’t know. Dominos delivered to the station would have been cheaper and just as good.

Tried this place out as my wife and I were staying at the Westin Convention Center. It’s not bad, but it was pretty average. Got their 2013 burger that won an award — pretty tiny, but was definitely savory enough.
Would not recommend the cornbread.

The only way this place will survive is from hotel and convention center clientele. I had the Bacon & Farmhouse Cheddar Burger. A premium burger at Hardee’s is better!!! The $ 4.00 little basket of fries was cold. Neither item had any great flavor. Never again.

Food was ok, sushi was better.
Burger was excellent.
Chicken and Avacado Club was ok, bread was too hard on the edges to eat so very crunchy… and chicken was a lil over done, but, still ediable.
Sushi Roll was amazing.
Great Beer selection, lite wine selection.
Excellent service and very attentive.
Will go back for another shot.

I think that I and two of my co-​workers have visited every Burger restaurant, joint, bar in the Downtown Pittsburgh area. So, I made reservations for our pilgrimage to Bill’s Bar & Burger expecting a blow your socks off burger experience. Let me first say that the restaurant décor is inviting. White tiled walls, red accents and dark wood accents, I was pleased with ambiance as well as the wait staff. Friendly, without hovering, glasses refilled and plates cleared without asking. Can’t ask for much more than that.
Now on to the food. Bill’s Bar & Burger is supposed to be known for their amazing burgers and their use of a custom beef blend made especially for their restaurants. I’ve heard people rhapsodize about their burgers and all three of us ordered the «Bacon & Farmhouse Cheddar Burger» with thick hickory bacon (nitrate-​free), aged cheddar, lettuce, tomatoes and pickles served on a pretzel bun. The burgers are supposed to be a Pat LaFrieda custom blend, fresh ground daily and hand-​pressed into 6oz patties. (We’ll talk about this later.)
We also ordered their regular fresh-​cut fries and «Iron City Fondue» which included an Iron City beer reduction, local cheddar, whole grain mustard, soft pretzels and kielbasa.
So, let me just say that I was disappointed and underwhelmed by the food. The famous Pat LaFrieda blend didn’t seem to be hand-​pressed at all and the burger wasn’t well seasoned. I’ve had Pat LaFrieda meat before and the burger that I had at Bill’s Bar & Burger just didn’t taste like their meat. The burger was just okay; Not bad, just not spectacular. I don’t know what to say… Additionally, the fries were tasty, but the order that I received had bits and pieces of fries. (Like they were the tail-​end of the fry basket.) With regards to the «Iron City Fondue», the beer reduction was a nice touch, but the whole grain mustard was overwhelming and the kielbasa had a strange aftertaste. (I think that it tasted a little like the fluid used to keep the fondue warm.) There was also NOTHING distinctive about the pretzel bites. (They tasted like the frozen pretzel bites that you get at the grocery store.)
Overall, the restaurant is attractive and the service was great. The food was just okay, which is really the main attraction. The carpet doesn’t match the drapes in my opinion. I would go back again, but my expectation level has been readjusted.

Nice atmosphere and great beer selection. I ordered the chicken club which was ok. Chicken was tough and looked like it was pulled off a rotisserie chicken and mostly dark meat. I’m not much of a fan of dark meat would have preferred sliced chicken breast. I think this is a great place to meet up for some beers but the food is not so good. I’ll have to try again maybe a burger next time.

First time and we will be back. Burgers are great with tons of bun choices. Our party had the Classic, Patty Melt, Fish Sandwich and the Bacon Burger. My husband proclaimed the Patty Melt as the best ever
We had the Charred Broccoli which was over the top good. Crunchy and seasoned well. The Hot Mess was fun, fresh cut fries with cheese curds and gravy.
We saw the Sushi go by and it looked good. The shakes can in so many varieties it was hard to pick from.
If you find yourself at the convention center, Consol or the Strip District worth the stop

I really wanted to love this place. I don’t. For those people who say it’s better than Burgatory and BRGR, they must work there and are trying to offset the reviews.
The burgers are small (6oz) and expensive and nothing you couldn’t get at Eat n Park. You can double it for another $ 3.95 but then you’re spending almost $ 15 for a boring burger. They say they come out medium by default which is what we wanted. They were both overlooked. Not a surprise since the parties are so thin.
Sides are al a cart. So it’s even more expensive.
Spinach and artichoke dip was mediocre at best but it came with a basket of semi stale and broken chips. We had the few bigger pieces and ask for new ones. We got another basket of mostly small chip pieces again.
The shakes are pretty good and service was nice.
I can literally walk less than a block to dine here but I’d rather drive 15 minutes and wait in line for Burgatory any day.

Wah!
This is my second time visiting. The first time I arrived for happy hour the week prior. The bar service was so slow. I had to give the bartender the evil eye before I could get a drink after staring at the two bartenders for 15 minutes. I had a mojito since it was a happy hour special (still $ 8), but it was good. A little more lime-​juicy than a normal mojito, but I liked it.
The next time– I came for lunch with co-​workers on a Wednesday (I figured I would give it another shot). My one co worker made a reservation for us at 12pm. I was impressed that we were seated right away considering the crowd, and that we were a few minutes late.
The interior of the restaurant is nice– It’s also a lot bigger than it looks from the outside.
We were seated, and our drink orders were taken quickly. Our water arrived after 15 minutes, and my mojito arrived after 25 minutes. The manager brought my mojito to me, and advised it was on her for the delay. I thought it was a nice gesture– until I tasted the mojito. Too much simple syrup was added, it was horrible and very hard to drink. Not at all like the one I had last time. Couldn’t taste any lime at all. I didn’t complain any further as it was free. I opted to try their sushi for lunch. The California roll was decent, and made with real crab. The spicy tuna roll had too much sauce and not enough tuna for my taste. My friend tried one of the tuna rolls, and liked it.
My co workers each had burgers and fries. First off, one of the burgers never showed. The one co worker was so hungry after waiting 40 minutes for the food, she started eating hers. She said the burger just tasted like patties from a box (they also looked liked patties from a box). After the second burger arrived, the same manager gave it to the other co worker for free.
To top it all off, my receipt should have showed the sushi since my mojito was free. There was an additional charge of $ 1.00 for pepper jack cheese that one of my co workers actually got on their burger. At this point, I’m so annoyed I deducted the $ 1 from the tip.
The waitstaff was very friendly– I feel bad only giving two stars. I’m so disappointed since the restaurant is located in the building I work in downtown. I probably won’t be back.

Considering this place just opened, our experience was excellent. It’s certainly a more accessible atmosphere and menu than its predecessor, The Original Fish Market, and definitely much more affordable. While I’ll miss a handful of the menu items from the OFM, as well as the larger array of sushi offerings, Bill’s is much more suited for economically-​conscious visitors, convention goers, and really anyone unwilling to wait at some of the other, more established places downtown. There was plenty of staff on-​hand and service was excellent. We were greeted by a nice hostess staff and manager, and once seated, had a wonderful experience with our waitress and the other staff that we interacted with. It certainly was a nice surprise based on some of the other reviews we had read. Perhaps we got lucky… perhaps others on here were unlucky. Either way, I have very little to complain about.
With many on here complaining about the high cost of a meal, I tend to disagree. I guess I’m just used to dropping $ 12+ on a burger, a la carte (a trend that’s growing in the area as places like Burgatory continue to raise the bar on both flavor and cost expectation), but their price points fall below other popular places in the Pittsburgh area, albeit for a slightly smaller patty (6oz, when most promote 8oz). I got the Fat Cat burger, and it was delicious. It was a basic, greasy burger with American cheese and caramelized onion on an English muffin. Simple, and well-​prepared (medium is their go-​to temp, but they’ll do whatever you prefer). The muffin was actually ideal for a greasy, medium burger. It didn’t get soggy at all (although, to be fair, I housed that thing in about 2 minutes, so I never gave it a chance).
Our group ordered quite a bit from the menu. Aside from my Fat Cat, my wife got the steak & fries. The fries were, by far, the down side of the meal. A bit too soggy and undercooked. Her steak was delicious, but she orders similar meals at some other outstanding restaurants (Brewer’s Art in Baltimore or Eleven in PGH), and it wasn’t even close to on par with those places… especially not for the $ 25. The steak was really good, though. Her fries were honestly the only issue we had, though. The «Frickles & Peppers» were perfect and crunchy, with a hint of Old Bay to the batter. The vanilla shake was basic, but very good… so yummy, in fact, that I ended up starting AND ending my meal with one. For $ 5, it’s a heck of a shake. Their side of charred broccoli was tasty, and the sweet potato fries were absolutely PERFECT. I can usually limit my fry intake, but not this time. Perfect level of crunch on the outside and soft on the inside. If my wife’s fries were as perfect as the sweet potato fries, I’d have likely given Bill’s five stars.
Overall, it’s hard for me to be too critical, and I’m rating Bill’s on a curve. It’s not pretending to be fancy and I think the expectations set by the menu offerings and atmosphere place it in that TGI Friday’s-level of expectations, only much better. We’ve been to so many places that delivered way worse experiences days after opening that I’m confident Bill’s can succeed and only get better. With a pleasant and attentive staff, simple, well-​executed menu, and — in my opinion — fair prices in a downtown restaurant scene that’s continually getting more expensive, I’m oddly excited to return. Walking by this place every day means we’ll either get to see it improve or worsen, but regardless, they’ve proven it’s worth revisiting very soon! Check it out!
Enjoy!

Although I usually look for locally owned, mom and pop kind of establishments when I choose a place for dinning, I was very intrigued to try Bill’s Bar & Burger that is on CNN’s list of the top 10 best burgers in America. The place just recently opened in the Westin Convention Center replacing the Original Fish Market, which closed last November.
First off, the place is huge! I made the mistake of thinking that I could enter it from the outside. I ended up walking the length of the Westin entering the hotel on the east side only to have to walk the entire length of the hotel again to find the entrance. Do yourself a favor if you come here and simply enter the hotel off of the main entrance on Tenth Street. The entrance to the restaurant is right there on your right. Inside you get the feeling of spaciousness. I was left to wonder if they will ever fill all of these seats. In addition to traditional seated dining, there is a full bar with an impressive beer list and, I suppose as a reminiscence to its predecessor, an eight seat sushi bar.
I passed on the sushi in favor of its namesake; a burger and took a seat at the bar. The bartender, Becky, pleasantly greeted me, offered me a menu and gave me a moment to look it over. Wanting to try something unique I went with the Fat Cat Burger and included fries and an ice tea with it. It took only 10 minutes for my burger to arrive. It was two greasy patties with melted American cheese topped with a mound of caramelized onions and butter served on a toasted English muffin. The fries came in a wire basket. Wake up arteries!!!
No doubt the burger was yummy. Greasy as all getup but what would you expect? The fries were average at best with most of them being «fry fragments» (if you know what I mean), hardly worth $ 4.00. The entire bill for a burger, fries and ice tea before tip came to $ 18.14.
The service was exceptional, the atmosphere was pleasant and clean but in agreement with Maurice W. and Dave M. who provided previous reviews here, $ 18.00 for a greasy burger, fries and a drink is way overpriced for the Pittsburgh market. Especially when you consider all of the options in the Cultural District which offer quality meals for less. I say, bring back the Original Fish Market.

After walking by on our way home from work wondering when it was going to open, on Friday we realized it was kicking, so we knew we would have to go soon. Saturday night, we decided to meet a friend there for dinner as we were curious.
I have to say, I am a fan. We were greeted promptly, our service started and ended great, and the food was pretty good. I did not expect it to be like some other places that we frequent but when I base this review on other establishments like this, it definitely deserves a 4. We got the fried pickles and banana peppers with ranch and I think that they were pretty awesome. We also had Vanilla shakes, a few burgers, regular fries, sweet potato fries and the Steak and Fries (Wagyu steak with a red wine reduction). The only think I would not get again would be the steak… i will save that for some other places that I go to. The steak and reduction were good, just not the best that I have ever had and they did several other things better.
The sushi that I had seen looked good, and since the Original Fish Market was one of my favorite sushis in town, and the staff seems a lot the same, I am confident that when I try it, I will not be disappointed. I regretted not ordering it when I saw it walk past our table a few times.
Prices were fair… $ 5 for a vanilla shake, $ 8 for a 6oz burger, the steak and fries was $ 25 I think. I think they were in line with the market downtown.
Large beer selection, some good wines to choose from, specialty cocktails… I was pretty impressed.
I had seen someone mention that they could not tell who was staff and who was not. The staff (less the managers and the host staff) is wearing denim shirts… easy to spot.
The place is huge, and it looks like they have a private area too. I think this a great addition to the dining scene downtown personally.