Crystal On Penn

So I’m in Pittsburgh on a Sunday night, and I discover ⁷⁄₁₁ doesn’t sell beer. Weird liquor laws in Pennsylvania.
So this place is right around the corner from my hotel (which doesn’t have a bar), and they close at 6:00pm on Sunday. WTF?
So Monday, after our bus tour, we stop in to score a six pack of Iron City for the hotel room. $ 12. Better price than the Korean place just up the block.
Stopped in Tuesday for another six pack and Wednesday we had some 50 cent wings. Get the dry rub. Good stuff.
The atmosphere was that of a neighborhood dive bar, the bathroom left a lot to be desired (Hello cleaning crew), but the service was friendly, the beer was cold and the wings were hot.

Got food via a delivery service. Without a doubt the worst gyro I have ever tasted. The meat tasted rancid. The sauce was tasteless. The lettuce was limp and brown around the edges. The fries were the cheapest possible food service frozen fries. Gross. Never again.

Best cheese steak! Order double meat/​cheese with a side of onion rings. Can’t go wrong!

In Pittsburgh for work and a buddy suggested this place so we stopped in for a drink and dinner. The staff was earnest and made you feel welcome, the service was quick, and the food was really good. The vibe was far more local, laid back, and less touristy but better service/​experience here than some of the «nicer» places on Penn. Would definitely recommend.

I had eaten at this restaurant a few years ago when it was owned by the original owner, crystal i suppose. The food was just ok, decent. I was back in this part of town for a late meeting and stopped in for dinner. The atmosphere was cute, it looks like they cleaned up the place a bit with a fresh coat of paint. The folks that worked there were super friendly and the bartender greeted me with a smile and explained the specials. I ordered the lamb kabobs with rice and a salad and also ordered the grape leaves. First off the grape leaves were amazing and were served with a tangy sauce. The lamb was moist and perfectly seasoned. I will be back soon !!!

We stopped in during a road trip because of the Triple D review. Cognizant we weren’t Guy Fieri, nor was he with us during our stop for our food to go. However, we were hoping something as basic as onion rings wouldn’t be over cooked. My college greasy spoon NEVER over cooked them for my orders. Fries, they entirely omitted this from our order, really odd since we paid for these as the rings already came with the combo. the lamb, portions were quite small for the price paid, but cooked properly. Three stars because the server at the bar was nice, and for the food we received that didn’t have an issue: lamb, kefta, various appetizers.

This place was nice, it was the only place we could get food without a wait. The food was average, and the beers were cold. The service was just okay… it is nice and I would recommend it… a little far from the action of downtown though!

This is under new management and believe it or not the food has gotten even better. Love the smoked flavor of the bubba ganoosh or however you spell it. LOL

Crystals will never get my business again. First time I went everything was great, I ordered take out and got drinks, so I figured, ok cool. new hang out. boy was I wrong. I went in Crystals, the first Steelers home game, asked for two shots only to be told, wait a second I’m talking now. really? I left just as fast as I walked in. Crystals evidently has enough customers and don’t need anymore. Thanks Crystals… greenbacks spend everywhere!

This place looks like it would be a fun place to drink with a good group of friends on the cheap. The service was also very very friendly and accommodating. Plus, no smoking which is always a great thing for me.
That’s where the good points stop. I swung in here to meet up with a few peeps before heading to dollar night at PNC Park. We saw there were dollar tacos being offered, and figured because it was Tuesday and the place was featured on Diners, Drive-​ins, and Dives we couldn’t go wrong. Oh, poor stupid me.
One huge bite into the horribly stale taco shell and I discovered that the taco meat was covered in bbq sauce. Not the delicious tomato-​y spiced sauce normal tacos come in, but freaking sweet as pie bbq sauce.
…the TACO meat was covered in flipping BBQ sauce! It was as horrible as one can imagine for someone who had their mouth set on a normal taco, even if it was just from the Old El Paso taco kit. I couldn’t believe it. I literally think that the two bites of taco I had (the second was to confirm what my taste buds were red flagging in the first place) were the worst food I’ve had as a paying customer. The wilted iceberg and mushy tomatoes didn’t sit right with me either. It was as if someone put sloppy Joes in a taco, only they forgot the tomato sauce and freaking added BBQ SAUCE OH MY GOODNESS WHY WHY WHY DID NO ONE ELSE ON Unilocal WARN US!!!
Apparently this place changed owners from the original folks who were churning out the good Mediterranean food. I will neeeeeeever eat here again, but if I’m ever down that way and want a cheap drink I may.

Stopped in on a Monday for lunch. I was made to feel very welcome by the warm greeting offered by the bartender as he handed me a menu. I looked over the menu and was tempted to get one of the Mediterranean dishes but for some reason I settled on a burger.
The burgers are listed as «build your own»… you choose one cheese, two toppings ($ 1 more each for additional toppings) and a side. I went with provolone cheese, bacon and grilled onions on my burger (tomato and pickle are included) with a side of onion rings.
Looking around I felt very comfortable here and could imagine stopping by for a beer after work or before a concert at the Alter Bar. There were 14 different craft beers listed on the large chalk board along with a variety of imports and domestics. Beings that it was lunch time though, I was going to be sipping raspberry iced tea as my beverage for now. I counted only six other people dining in for lunch on this particular day but there were about four or five other people coming in for takeout.
About ten minutes after placing my order, a woman who I suppose is the cook, handed me my burger on my plate and with a smile said, «I hope you’re hungry». Don’t get me wrong, the burger was tasty and it was huge. Combined with the onion ring, it was much more food than I needed or would eat. But the grease factor was a total turn off. The bun started to get soggy after a few bites in and there was a pool of grease on my plate.
I’m rooting for Crystals, really! The comfortable atmosphere, the pleasant service, the huge portions and the variety of beers are all a recipe for success. But the greasiness of the burger knocks my rating down to three stars. I really need to come back here and try one of the Mediterranean dishes and hopefully up the rating.

I stopped here with a colleague from work as we were coming into town for a meeting and were looking for a local place where we could get something different.
The staff was friendly and did a good job keeping up with everything and making sure we had whatever we needed.
The food was good (we had roast beef and baba), not life changing good, but a decent local place sort of good.
The music was a bit too loud for us to continue our conversation after eating (the speaker was right over our heads) so we did not stick around as long as we might have otherwise.
Overall not too bad

Everything is bad but the $ 2 Miller lites

First time here and had a very warm welcome. After 5 minutes however the bartender didn’t like what came on Touch tunes and skipped the song that someone had just played… hmmm…not cool. Simple, If you don’t want touch tunes in your bar don’t have it as an option for patrons. Luckily the other bartender had enough sense to reimburse the person that played the song. Not a great first impression but if I happen to be walking by and desperate I suppose I’ll stop in again.
Update: Owner introduced herself and was very friendly. Will be back to try the food and write another review. I guess how the saying goes «good help is hard to find».

Came in ³⁄₁₉ on a Wednesday around 5 for an extremely late lunch (dinner now). The place was pretty empty, had maybe one or two other tables and what seemed like a few regulars at the bar. We chose this place since it was on Triple D. The owner is so nice, very sweet lady.
Appetizer Platter — We tried the appetizer platter which came with hummus, babba ganoush, tabouleh, stuffed grapes leaves, feta and olives, tzatziki, and pita bread. The hummus was really good — it had a cumin flavor to it. The babba ganoush was not the best I had but pretty good. The feta was a bit strong. Grape leaves was good too. It was good, I did feel the cumin in the hummus gave it some flair.
Felafel platter — I ordered the vegetarian felafel platter with the rice and french fries. I absolutely loved the felafel, which came with a bit of tahini on top of each piece. It was so crispy on the outside, firm on the inside, not soggy/​soft and not dry. I have to say it is the best felafel i’ve tried. The rice was pretty good, nothing special. This also came with the stuffed grape leaves which I felt were standard. The french fries were awesome! Very crisp and amazing flavor. I had to refrain from finishing it all. This plate can definitely be shared between two people, especially if you order the appetizer.
The food is extremely cheap, the other two in my party ordered burgers and I think the total came out to be just around $ 40 with drinks and tax.

I have been to Crystal’s on Penn more than I can count, however my last visit there prior to this recent one was about a year and a half ago. Approximately right around when the business traded hands and though remained Crystals in name Crystal is no longer the proprietor, and the staff has since had a complete overhaul though I think they kept the cuisine similar…
I won’t talk of the food for that reason. It was decent when I used to go there. Hit and miss type. It was always so convenient to go here because it was so close to everything including where I used to work and downtown events. This particular trip was solely for the purposes of meeting old work friends and having a few brews at Happy Hour, something that I always did more at Crystals than eat anyhow…
Well I arrived a little after 5pm and this very small bar was packed. No seats and people kind of just standing around. I went to the edge to order and got the happy hour special a pint of Miller Lite for $ 2.50. Meh not bad. My friends slowly rolled in from their own previous engagements and all was well with the old bunch.
Now I had a great time with my pals as usual, but one thing they started to do at Crystals was have a DJ. Ah, did I mention this place was small, I mean like really small… Like my living room dining room small. The music was overkill. Way loud… The bartender though only one did a pretty good job keeping up with the demand of people. Can’t figure out why there was only one bartender who not only waited on all the bar patrons but also waited tables. There are about 4 – 5 tables in the bar. So kudos to her, just wish they would have rethought that whole DJ thing the place is not a dance club…

I have a love/​hate relationship with this place. I work really close to here and hit it up for convenience. I just want to be honest when I quote Forest Gump and say it’s like a box of chocolates… you just don’t know what your going to get. I have had 1 to 5 experiences in here. I’ve probably tried 10+ items on the menu and most are good. I recommend the specials. I went with the lent fish special for $ 7…fish sandwich, fries and a side of slaw. It was pretty good.
A heads up that the bottled beer is reasonable for domestic drinkers — $ 2.75. Plus they have added 4 new taps for those who enjoy IPA’s and such. About $ 5 a draft. These are reasonable costs just a short walk to the convention center and Consol Energy center.

AMAZING.
The food here is simply delicious.
From the sidewalk, you’d never know what kind of food was waiting for you inside.
While on our road trip, my friend suggested a few places in the Pittsburgh area for lunch. I had heard of this place on trips to the Steel city before, and so I said we should try it.
So glad we did!
It was a Friday afternoon — about 1:30 and the place was empty. I almost thought that they weren’t open. I noticed a few people come in and get take out, and a couple of guys came in and sat at the bar, but that’s it.
We ordered hummus (of course) and it was delicious. I love homemade hummus, and this was superb. I also got the chicken kabob plate. Let me tell you. It was to die for. The chicken was perfectly charred on the outside (but not too much) and the inside was juicy. The flavor was amazing. It came on a bed of rice which was tasty, and the garlic sauce on the side was heavenly. I don’t know if it was yogurt based or sour cream based, but it was the best!
My friend ordered the artichoke heart salad with lamb and enjoyed it too — I think she wished she had the garlic sauce though!
Our waitress was friendly and helpful. The atmosphere was relaxed — I really would never have expected this kind of QUALITY food in a small little bar like this.
My friend is lamenting that I live within 5 hours of Pittsburgh and we travel here regularly. She will not be able to come back for a long time, but I am sure to be back soon.

I’ll admit to being miffed over some of CoP’s recent reviews, so much so, that I made it a point to stop in (before catching The Dillinger Escape Plan at Altar Bar) after not having been there for 3 ½ years, Crystal’s cable television debut occurring over 5 years ago.
After eating a lackluster lamb kebob wrap thingamajig that included unseasoned meat, flavorless tzatziki sauce (see also that pitiful hummus), and storebought pita bread, I sensed that something was amiss.
A look at the website before going revealed a completely new design, one that did not feature pictures of the family that owned it when Food Network taped their famous segment.
Also glaringly absent was their signature tweaked sour cream that came with everything.
I reluctantly asked our fun server if Crystal had changed hands, and she told me that it had, several months ago in fact.
Thus the dip in quality.
I wouldn’t say it was dirty, however. The tables were a bit worn, the floor was scuffed a little, and the entire establishment could have used some more light, but the place looked clean to me.
And our meal was not a complete bust. The kibbee was actually meatier, more moist, and even better than I had remembered it to be, and the baklava, served warm, was delightfully akin to a pecan pie in a puff pastry. A scoop of ice cream might have gone really well with it.
It saddens me when good restaurants are sold and run into brick walls by newer, half-​assed, corner-​cutting owners.
P. S. We had no issues with the service. Nobody sang loudly or did anything inappropriate, and everyone was friendly.

No. No. A thousand times no. Guy Fieri owes me 30 bucks and the hour I completely wasted on one of the worst dining experiences I’ve had in years. (Yeah, yeah.)
First of all, this place is a hole. I don’t mind holes as a general rule, but Crystal on Penn takes it to a «hole» new level. It’s Dante’s circle of hell reserved for compulsive cleaners, fans of sanitation and neat freaks. It’s dirrrrrrty, know’m’sayin’?
Second, the service. It’s bizarre. Servers who holler across the bar at each other and patrons and sing along to the radio at the top of their lungs. Friendly, but not professional in the slightest.
Lastly, the food. It’s awful, and about as «Mediterranean» as raggae. The sampler appetizer was described to us by the server as «a sampling of all our best appetizers, accompanied by fresh, warm pita.» Dolmades were dry and bland, hummus was boring, tabbouleh was all parsley and the olives were canned California olives. «Fresh» and «warm» translated to «chewy» and «room temp» for the pita. Icing on the cake: the plastic, divided server like the pre-​cut veggie platters at the grocery store.
The falafel sandwich — touted by our server as featured by Guy on «Diners, Drive-​Ins and Dives» — had an extremely odd aftertaste and was served as crumbles instead of patties. Husband’s gyro salad was completely uninspired, sprinkled with griddled flakes of lamb gyro. Griddling the gyro meat rendered it crunchy. Most of each meal was left behind on the plate.
Just. No.
[15 Minutes of Fame: «Diners, Drive-​Ins and Dives: A Taste of Everywhere”]