Bossa Nova

I came here for a privately catered event with PITT Arts, so my experience was quite different from most patrons. We were served quesadillas, pizza, chicken with potatoes in a cream sauce, and a light pesto pasta. I only tried the latter two, but they were good. The dishes were catered to college students, so I couldn’t expected the most culinarily complex dishes; however, other restaurants who have catered to this program have served us more impressive food.
I’d be interested to return here for a late night experience because the restaurant/​lounge has an open layout with peripheral seating which seems conducive to bumping into and then talking with people.

The menu was small and underwhelming. The flatbread pizza most likely came out of the box. They didn’t have the sauces, so the gave us ketchup to go with over cooked shrimp/​bacon and extremely greasy fries.

Go to salsa night on Thursdays super FUN

I’ve been going to this bar randomly over the last 5 years. It’s definitely gone downhill.
My last experience here was when I was trying to plan a birthday party during happy hour on a Friday during the summer. When I called to reserve some space, they told me they only reserve seating areas for people who pre-​purchase food. Which, the pre-​purchase options were about $ 10−12/person. I wasn’t about to pre-​order food for a casual birthday get together. So, figuring they’d probly be very busy on a Friday night, we got there around 4:30. There were MAYBE 6 people around the bar. No one in the lounge seating area. I sort of felt undervalued as a customer for not being able to reserve space when no one was there. 5:30 came around, the bar got a little busier, but no where near the packed house crowd they painted as a picture for me when I tried making reservations.
Our waiter was sub par. People sat without drinks for 20+ minutes, and some people just didn’t get to order, because one person would order a drink and the waiter dashed off, leaving others to call out after him (to no avail.) He would basicalyl take 1 – 2 orders, and run off, not to return for 10 minutes.
This place is average in food price and quality. But the attitude of this place could be better. Go to Six Penn instead. They have outstanding service without the pompous attitude, and in the summer they have a roof top patio with a bar and lots of seating. Best in town!

Went to an event here. The meatballs were frozen meatballs. It was ok. I probably wouldn’t go back to eat.

I ended up going to Bossa on Latin Dance night. I was impressed as to how many people were on the dance floor. I had a good time and would most likely go back when I hit up Pittsburgh again.

We went there for a late dinner. They have a tapa menu. The environment is nice. People were dancing in the bar area and the DJ has pretty good tastes for music. The food is just so so. The waiter/​waitress doesn’t seem to know what they are doing… We waited for 20 mins just for someone to come back to get us the bill. The most surprising thing is: I ordered fries and I asked for ketchup. They said «we don’t have ketchup»… which is quite «amazing»…

I stopped in to Bossa Nova for a holiday party on a busy Friday night in December. Although the restaurant side looked empty, the bar was packed. It seemed like people who were not a part of the party were still coming in. A little odd seeing the party guests had a live band, appetizers and were giving out prizes.
With the appetizer stations, we were able to try many different appetizers from quesadillas to calamari to sushi and back to meatballs. It seemed like Bossa Nova was trying to satisfy varying appetites by offering everything from Italian to Japanese. Overall, the food was average. I was not overy excited about any of it. I enjoyed the drinks much more, especially the Spansh wines. The service was great. We had 3 different bartenders ask us what we wanted while another was making our drinks. Everytime I finished my last bite and was about to have an empty plate, a waiter appeared out of nowhere to wisk away my dirty dish.
However, this is not a casual, laid back, every day type of bar. I can’t put my finger on exactly what it is, but the atmosphere definitely gave off the «I’m better than all of you» type of vibe. Maybe it was the fact that they charge for th coat check?

This rating is for the drinks only and atomosphere, and based on my personal taste a bit ok a big bit. This is definately a «I’m a young professional pittsburgh business person and I’ve arrived.» Status bar or «I’m a young college girl and I’ve just had my first boob job care to help fund my nose job too?» Bar, I did not try the food becaused I moved from a place where we have awesome brazilian restaurant where fresh meats melt in your mouth accompanied by tart sweet grilled pineapple, and real slow cooked brazilian beans mmmm. Soooo after seeing how pittsburgh does Mexican food I’m not willing to drop my pennies to risk the disapointment of pittsbugh attmepts brasilian.
The bar is roomy with nice lounge seating which is nice for those who don’t want to participate in the round the bar meat market. The guys make for fun people watching, either all suits or in their pirates jerseys. Or the occaisional jersey shore look a like meat heat in his v neck t shirt who is too good to attempt so much as a toe tap to the beat of the music. Then there’s the balding old man with twenty something on his arm who already looks like she has botoxed up her face in an attempt to mirror her idol kim k. There are few older gay gentlemen I would have liked to chat with who mad things a little more interesting. There was an awesome looking woody Allen meets Andy Warhol look a like with cool glasses, and an awesome white frizzy mane.
The women range from down to earth girlfriends in for chat, drink and dance to wifes and girlfriends grinding it up on the dance floor with their man to the cougars. Warning Cougar dance zone, these women looked decent though and I’ll give it to em they weren’t afraid to shake it.
My biggest gripe about this place (I know I haven’t gotten there yet), the drinks are sugary syrup crap. You can only put too many sugary alcohols together before you get a tummyache, you might as well be drinking the syrup flavors starbucks puts in your coffee. Stick to something on the rocks or a vodka soda most places cannot screw that up too badly (aside from Bar louie) but I will get to them later. Price is lame also 8 bucks and up for a mojito and they use coconut rum in it! Yuck. Sorry my college days of only being able to handle coconut rum are over, it is was frat guys give girls with a roofie.
Anyway moving on my biggest gripe was that there is a cop standing by the door, who looks like he just walked away from beating a non white person to death. I know I know cops have the hardest job and I will be the first to say it, but this guy has a thick energy so nasty it hits you in the face from across the room. The way he was looking at the non white people who were a little to «loud» for his tastes, no louder than the booming music mind you. Made my stomach churn. Also they used him to close at 1:15am on a saturday. Thats pretty lame for a downtown bar just because they were not packed. Bars in Salt Lake City Utah do that, come on BossaNova this is pittsburgh aka drinkersville, not mormondryville. Just sayin…

I never ate here nor could have possibly gotten a drink no one would wait on me.
My friend who wanted to be a socialite of some kind asked me to come with her. I don’t know what she was thinking. Not my scene whatsoever! We had come from a free Devo concert. I was dressed in converses, a side pony tale, and bright pink 80’s garb.
I have never seen so many idiots occupying one space. The chicks looked at me like I was an alien. Not everyone needs to wear 5 inch heels, gobs of makeup, and clothes that is so tight that your breathing is impaired just to get a little cleavage popping out of a minuscule ugly dress.
I like fashion, I love heals. It was the glassy, vapid, duplicates that I saw that made me give my friends a hug and kiss then seriously BOLT out the door! Super bad energy in this place. I jumped in the first cab I saw and headed to Lawrenceville. I didn’t even say goodbye to the friend who had brought me there. Smoke bomb disappeared! She knew I would hate it but just didn’t want to go alone. I was pissed.
The night was not lost. My awesome «fiends» from LA (stunt man Curtze, and Elvis impersonator slash gangster screen writer) met me out and we dive bar-​ed the rest of the evening away. I meant to write «friends» but didn’t change it because fiends, haha… much more appropriate.
I am not saying that people who like this place are any particular sort. Some of my favorite people like Bossa Nova. Just stating my personal experience.

I was reading through some other Unilocalers reviews about Bossa Nova and I cannot agree more with the person who said something along the lines of this place being for girls looking for a sugar daddy, desperate divorced older women looking to snag anyone, guys looking for a cougar, or if you’re just a pretentious douche.
Now I admit, I can have fun here, but I can have fun anywhere as it is not the place that makes you have fun, it is the company you keep. I have had a few good times with some girl friends here, but unlike the rest of the crowd, we were not looking for a sugar daddy/​man/​etc.
Food was nothing to write home about, the service at the bar can seem very slow so we often end up moving to a table. Some of the servers are great, actually. I just wish the overall vibe and atmosphere was not as it was as it takes this place down several notches.

This is a trendy «Brazilian Tapas» restaurant nestled in the Cultural District. Perfect for grabbing a drink or light meal before or after a show.
Boy and I popped into Bossa Nova before the ballet. We saw suits de-​stressing from the week, some 30-​something females looking to get tanked, and some were just like us, waiting to go to a show.
I had an (uncharacteristically) girly cocktail. I was dressed to the nines for the ballet. I figured… why not? It was sugary sweet and through no fault of the very lovely bartender, I will stick to wine and beer from now on. Boy chose one of their many scotch selections.
For tapas, I had the fig and goat cheese toastas. Boy chose the stuffed peppers. Strangely, my food arrived about fifteen minutes before the peppers. The restaurant was not crowded in the slghtest, so I found this puzzling. Having tried both, I thought the tapas were bland and overpriced for things I could have easily made at home. Boy disagreed. He really liked his peppered.
The quality of the food and drinks (and their corresponding high prices) probably merit a two-​star review. But we were greated by a very pleasant hostess and served well by the nice bartender. Their service alone probably earns Bossa Nova the three stars I am giving.

I like it here…
I’ve only visited in the past for happy hour or drinks out with friends. Recently, both times I came late in the evening after work functions and arrived hungry. Coincidentally, both nights I was there was also salsa night. It’s an interesting crowd, all ages, just gettin’ their salsa on. I enjoy the music, but will sit back and let the «pros» do the dancing. They have friendly service, a few outdoor tables and a huge bar. It’s a pretty lounge-​y vibe.
There is a decent wine/​beer list, and also specialty cocktails. Both times, I tried the sushi, which was not bad at all — not comparing to a Japanese restaurant, but for a bar it was done well. The spicy one was really hot, topped with a jalepeno: nice touch. I also ordered the house salad, which was a meal in itself. Seriously it was huge! The ingredients were fresh, and with some balsamic and olive oil, it was very enjoyable.
For drinks or light fare, Bossa Nova is one happening spot in the downtown area, which seems to be on the up and up!

Came here for drinks on a Thursday night which was salsa night. Very classy and swanky. Great to find some culture among the steeler jersey laden bars that cover most of the area.

Just a warning, Bossa Nova will close early if business is slow. The kitchen is supposed to be open until 11 pm on weekdays, so I was shocked for them to say they are closed when I walked in the door at 9:15 pm. But I went back again the next day and had a wonderful meal there. I was a little disappointed that some of the traditional Spanish items, such as the Tortilla de patatas, were no longer on the menu. But there are still some marvelous choices. The Scallops are always excellent, and so is the Jamon Asparagus. The Cranberry Walnut Salad is delicious and I also like the homemade Spanish Chorizo. The service is attentive. The décor is beautiful and hip.

Girls looking for a sugar daddy, guys looking for a cougar, or if you’re just a pretentious douche: Bossa Nova is the place for you.
The atmosphere is downright tragic for how hard it tries. The bar prices scream to the proletariat: «Let them drink beer down the street! We only want the bourgeois in here.» Even the DJ they had during the Gallery Crawl a few weeks back was tragic. I mean I know that the DJ has to appease the sugar daddies and cougars but is every place in Pittsburgh required to have 80s music? I’m sure it is in the liquor license application.
That said, the barstaff is generally friendly and very quick — most likely so you don’t realize you just paid eight dollars for a beer.

Never been before and went on a Thursday night at 6PM before a show. Upon arriving, all the good seating near the windows was blocked off for private use (and remained unused). The «host» told us to go find our own seating wherever we wanted. The setup is interesting with a large open bar area and a small number of tables around the perimeter. We took a seat at a table. The bar seating was fairly full with some milling around in the area and standing, and probably a total of 30 people there. We saw at least 5 – 6 staff, a couple sitting around playing on their phones.
We sat at our table for 20 minutes and never had a single person come by, not to say we will be there shortly, not to take a drink order, nothing. We could tell this wasn’t going to be good so left and no one even noticed.
It was a little more bar than restaurant, so we weren’t sad to leave.

It’s always surprising to me when you go to a bar/​nightclub/​restaurant and they actually have good food! It DOESN’T surprise me when most of those food and drink items are pricey, so they better be worth it!
Cocktails were STA-​RONG. My caipirinha was really wicked strong and my Cosmo was pretty much cranberry juice with a splash of vodka. Looking to party, here you go! Looking to dance… meet me in the middle of the wide dance floor to drop to some pretty excellent DJ tunes. It’s nice that there’s wide windows that open up in the summer that people can gawk at you dropping it from the street!
I like that there’s actually a business downtown that stays open past 9 pm! You’d be surprised the crowd you get here on any night of the week. Thursdays are salsa night and Friday/​Saturday you get a mix up the after theater crowd and the night owls. Throw in a random Steeler (hi Charlie Batch) or Pens sighting and you’ve got a hip place! I love how the place is decorated like a Mad Mex restaurant that’s ready to throw down on the dance floor!
Although you will always have your creepers… case in point last night. A strange man claiming to work at Saks went around kissing our hands. But who doesn’t come out of a bar without a creeper story. It just adds more flavor to the place… or a good story to tell the day after!

This place is A-​OK! I was contemplating giving it 4 stars but the scene is getting a bit dated. They need to spruce it up or something. It’s just sorta there now. But don’t get me wrong, every time I go here I enjoy myself — but I make sure I have a good group to go with. You do see some regulars but that’s just the type of place that it is. I like that you get a mixed crowd, no one too young and most of the people that seem to frequent this joint are in there late 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s.
It can get a bit pricey if you have a tab open and aren’t thinking about what your drinking and how much the drinks are. The drinks are made reasonably well, by that I mean they have enough alcohol in them so that you don’t have to wonder why you just paid $ 10 for ice, water, and a splash of alcohol.
Back in the day Bossa Nova was a novel idea for this town, but now with all these upscale bars/​lounges and restaurants opening they may have to reinvent themselves somehow.
All in all a fun place to hang out. One thing I noticed is that there is a gap between when it’s jumping. Right after work is good b/​c you get the happy hour peeps, but then it seems to clear out after 7:30 PM and then it picks back up around 10:30 PM… maybe it was just the night that I went, but I have a feeling that this is the norm.

Went here on a Monday at around 7:00. The bar was filled with the usual suspects; guys in Brioni suits drinking away the stress, unfortunate weather and reality they have to head home to the wives who just dropped 3−5k at pottery barn.
The drinks were solid, and very fair priced (based on NY and Chicago pricing) The open (ish) floor plan would accommodate a happy hour very well. The food on the other hand — absolutely horrible.
We had lamb, chili prawns, ahi, chicken (something) and Chorizo. The ‘fusion’ southern Spain meets some Japanese influenced small plates works, but the execution was deplorable.
Verdict: Drink but avoid the food at all costs…