OTB Bicycle Café

Went there with family while visiting back home. Atmosphere was excellent. Food was great. Our waiter Ray was the best very accommodating and attentive to our needs. We will be back.

Great food, beer and atmosphere. Waiter Ray’s knowledge of beer and the great veggie options on the menu were first class. We had 12 people and the service was spot on.

Good food, cool atmosphere. Glad to see they did something cool with the boathouse in North Park! Got the cod sandwich and it was delicious and at an affordable price. This is a pretty cool stop if you’re around the park and are looking for a place for a bite.

If you like bicycles, it’s worth it to go! The burger with peanut butter was pretty good! A waiter was nice!

Love this place, my husband and I come to Pittsburgh a lot for business, try to come here on every trip. Décor and laid back, funky atmosphere, great food with lots of healthy options !!

I no longer think of this place as a standout and go to in dining on Carson st. OTB has slowly become what most of the southside eventually does — lackluster. Ordered the veggie burger and it turns out they’ve resorted to using MORNINGSTAR brand instead of house made (which they’ve never done) or a better quality brand. Also, we ordered the wheel mill burger made with what’s equivalent to twice cooked beef, horribly dry.
Unfortunately, we won’t be back for the sandwiches that we can make at home with minimal effort.

Solid. Pretty much our «go to» place on the Southside. Friendly staff and constantly good food. The beer selection is worthy and always changing.

Was pleased with the shrimp tacos for the price! The décor is a nice touch.

Awesome beer selection (limited draft choices), killer food, and awesome value. I will definitely be stopping back soon.

The best buffalo chicken dip in south side. Hands down. The burgers and fries are also good. Haven’t tried much outside of that. Simply because I’m hooked. Also nice drink specials at happy hour. Bartenders friendly as well as the crowd.

Delicious lunch today at OTB. Really cool environment with a no-​nonsense staff. Their menu is full of special burger and sandwich treats all with fun bicycle themes. It’s important to note that the burgers aren’t limited to just ground meat, you can get turkey, chicken, etc; great! Order anything, you definitely can’t go wrong here and their fries are so delicious! They also have an extensive beer list (sadly I couldn’t partake since I had to go back to work after). Can’t wait to get back here!

OTB is always bustling with local foot traffic and bike enthusiasts. My husband and I decided to stop by for dinner and sample what they had to offer. We ordered two East End nitro stouts and started with the fried pickles for an appetizer. Our server asked if we wanted ranch or peanut butter for a dipping sauce. What? Peanut butter? Disclaimer: Please, don’t let this deter you. This peanut butter is the most divine nut butter that I have ever tasted. It is made by Wholey’s in the Strip District and they get a fresh batch every day. I don’t know if pickles are my favorite vehicle for this legume sauce revelation, but it wasn’t bad! They also offer a couple of other menu items that feature the Wholey’s peanut butter including a burger.
Tonight I ordered the tandem, a grilled cheese and tomato soup. The grilled cheese left much to be desired. It was very bland and the soup was thick and reminded me more of marinara sauce. However, I don’t believe this is a reflection of everything offered on the menu and I look forward to trying something different next time. My husband ordered a burger with a jalapeño cream cheese sauce and he really enjoyed it. The French fries were tops, perfectly crispy and well seasoned.
Our server was exceptional and the atmosphere is lively. I look forward to another dining experience.

I’m not into the bicycle scene whatsoever and I still thoroughly enjoy this place! The servers are super friendly and the burgers are just out of this world!

[Warning: St. Pete, Fl visitor here for a short trip]
ARTSY BURGERS IN AN ARTSY PLACE = $ 6 craft Burgers on Monday! Along the growing Carson Street area, we were happy taking a break here and dining at the tables outside for a little people-​watching… which unfortunately also invited a few solicitors to interrupt our dining experience.
DECENT TASTING BURGERS= I liked the various patty options such as Grilled Chicken, Veggie, and Turkey besides the typical Beef. Fiancé took The Thick (BBQ Sauce, Cheddar, Bacon, and Onion Rings) and was happy with the harmony of all the ingredients. My ‘Heaven on Earth’ (Buffalo Mozzarella, Roasted Red Pepper, Sriracha, and Tomato) seemed to be missing… something. Perhaps it’s because the Turkey patty was flavorless. The accompanying Fries were just okay.
I GUESS I GET THE BIKE THEME = Mind you – I’m a road cyclist. I only somewhat enjoyed the theme (all Burgers have cycling names and all décor inside matches the theme) But it seemed only that way superficially. Other than that, this felt like a typical, theme-​stocked sports bar with the same kind of middle-​agers looking to get out.
GLUTEN-​FREE /​ALLERGIC PYRA SAYS = No gluten free Buns here so their gluten-​free option is place your Patty on a bed of «greens.» My patty and toppings actually seemed pitifully small against the freakin’ huge amount of greens bed it was placed on.

My favorite place to eat in Pittsburgh! It’s not just another Carson St. Gastropub– the menu is unique and creative and the beer list never disappoints. Get the Seitan wings even if you’re not a veg. Great place for any type of food preference, including those that like to eat animals ;)

Fun as hell on trivia night. Great vibe and awesome beer list with on point service. Loved it and will be back! Love the paintings on the ceiling. Fun place on the east end of Carson. Check it out!

I really like this place! The employees are friendly and the burgers are top notch. They have a decent selection of beers on tap, and it changes up enough to keep it interesting. The cycle theme is nice as well. You owe it to yourself to at least give it a shot once.

I really like OTB (see my previous review for more on that), but the last two times I’ve tried to eat here for dinner, service has been extremely slow. My husband and I biked here and sat outside for about fifteen minutes before someone brought menus, and then didn’t return to get our order! They were very busy… but after half an hour, we left. Don’t come if you’re in a hurry!

I have been to many cycling bars in this country and this one is just, well, weird.
I went in there hoping to see the CYCLING world championships on the tvs to have a beer and watch a race? Baseball… all over the place. I don’t think I have EVER seen anything cycling being watched in there.
It has more of a normal bro jock feel than any cycling bar which I have been in. So, basically, it’s a sports bar that doesn’t show any cycling but a bunch of bike stuff is hanging all over it.
What the heck? Maybe you should change the name of the place to something else? Just ONE screen should have cycling on it at least, at LEAST.
Several national cycling events are on youtube and tv? Are they on at this bar? No. Football is. Locals I talk to about this are as frustrated by this as I am.
Aside from that? The food is great and there are many options to be had. The staff are nice and friendly. The clientele? Weird and diverse. Great beers are there and you can get them to go.

Another episode of «If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.»
The pug and I stopped by for lunch last week and noticed a smaller, scaled down regular menu and a grandiose menu for body building. WHAT?! They’ve partnered up with a Cross Fix or fitness place to offer double chicken breast sandwiches, and other items loaded with protein. My guess is that they are trying to appeal to the LA fitness clientele as well.
Either way, they took the Veggie Velomuse off of the menu, which was my favorite. They do have plenty of Veg options, which deserves bonus points, but that sandwich was ‘the bees knees.

We came downtown to see the LST but due to the Pitt game traffic on the north shore was awful so we decided to get lunch first. So we drove over to south side to the OTB. I ordered the hard tail and my companion had the «pump track» pita with ancho chicken. Instead of french fries we tried the black bean and corn salad.
It took a while to get our meals but the pita made it worth the wait.
The burger was very good as was the black bean and corn salad. The surprise was the wrap. It was fantastic. It was similar to a gyro except with the ancho flavor. It had pepperjack cheese and roasted peppers as well. The flavors together were awesome.
The pump track pita will be the reason we return!

I love OTB! The food is great and the prices are as well. Mondays they have a burger night (I think for maybe $ 6 but I’m not positive). I get the Wheel Mill burger every time I go. Depending on what I’ve eaten that day I either get it with a beef burger or with a chicken breast and no bun. Both ways taste great! The burger comes with pico, hot sauce, bacon and homemade jalapeño cream cheese. I am never let down by how good the sandwiches are!

On July 11, my friends and I came in to have some dinner. We were a group of 9. I came in after a few of my friends and we sat in the back. People in my group were pushing tables together so we all could sit together and I repeatedly asked if someone said they could do this. Someone who looked like they worked in the kitchen walked by and heard me and stated that it «should be fine.» So we got all situated at one table for 9.
As soon as our server walked up, she did not introduce herself and she said «just so you know, I’m not doing more than six checks» with an attitude might I add. This is important part of the experience because it indicates her judgment of us as a group before even saying hello. As an experienced server myself, I can understand the frustration of having a large table who all want separate checks and I also understand that some restaurants simply to not accommodate more than a certain amount of separate checks. I just believe that this could have been conveyed in a kinder, more polite way especially since it was not even stated that we all wanted separate checks.
As our visit continued, our server repeatedly displayed the same negative attitude. We all ordered a beer and a few appetizers. Again, being a former server, I can understand the frustration of unruly large groups however, we were not displaying any sort of rowdy attitude. I will admit we had been out drinking before coming in, but if she for one minute thought they we were «overly intoxicated» she should have refused to serve us any alcoholic beverages in the first place. But, like I said, none of us were acting out of hand.
When our meals came out, she stood at one end of the table and had us basically decipher for ourselves what sandwich was which. She gave half of us our meals and left to get the other ones. She did say what was what but only once, even after we looked confused. When she came back she said, with attitude again, said that the first meals she sat down where for the first people that ordered and that these ones where for the rest. Some of us ended up with wrong burgers but none of complained to her for the sake of not being annoying. We all ate and enjoyed whatever sandwich we got.
When it came time to get our checks, she did come back and confirm what food and drink was on what check since we did end up requesting separate checks but still no more than six. We had no problem telling her again, but at this point, our frustration with her was probably becoming visible. After continually receiving attitude from her and feeling basically disrespected as a guest in the establishment she was representing, I don’t think that anymore could be expected of us. After she got all the checks sorted and printed out, she walked over without saying a word and handed all the checks to one person in our group for him to disperse and walked away. Again, being a former server I don’t see this as a huge deal however, based on the way the rest of the visit was going, I felt like she did it because she was just over serving us and the manner in which she did it seemed rude.
After we were all ready to pay, she took a while to come back. At this point, there were a few more tables she was dealing with. One other group of more than four and a table of three. I don’t know if she had any responsibilities in the front half of the restaurant. One of the people in our group, who had grown more and more impatient throughout the visit, got up and went to the bar to check out. Our sever came back, got the rest of the checks and processed them in a timely manner, came back and set them all in a pile for us to disperse again, not saying anything. As stated multiple times in this post, I am a former server and can understand daily frustrations when dealing with the general public, but to not even say a half hearted or even fake «thank you» is unacceptable to me. We all signed our checks and left.
Unfortunately, she received probably less than a ten per cent tip overall. I am not sure what everyone in my group left but I know my boyfriend gave her 40 dollars to keep and the bill was 38 and some change.
We have never in our lives left such a small tip. I felt bad that she was not getting what she could have received for taking care of such a large group. I felt so bad that whenever everyone got up, I scrounged through my purse and threw some crinkled up dollars on the table for her even though she truly did not deserved it but, I know at least one person at the table left her zero dollars for a tip.
After sharing my story with a few other people, I have heard similar instances about the same location in south side. If I was the owner or manager I would be ashamed. The food is really good but the way the staff represents the place is terrible. I would not go to this location again and also because of my experience, I would not try the other restaurant in Wexford.

I love this place!
If you bike the trail, you can get off right at the new marina building, go straight up and run right into this bar.
It has plenty of bike parking and outside seating.
The food was excellent! I had the hard tail burger and it was very good
My wife had the avocado tacos! So good!
The inside is very cool, bikes and gears and cool paintings plus tvs playing motocross or bike videos!
My only problem was the service
Every table was taken in both the bar and upper dinning area, we were in the upper section and waited for a little while before the sever came up.
After we got our drinks, we waited for a while to put out order in, and at least another 20 minutes before our food came.
The problem was clear. There was one waitress on duty!!! One!!!
Even if she was the best waitress in town, which by the way she was not, she could have not taken care of that many tables.
Maybe it’s a scheduling problem, or maybe call offs, but what ever it is, I will be Leary to return based on that alone.

This place is awesome in so many ways. I’ve been here during a biking session to refuel, to casually drink and to bring a friend for a burger and all 3 times have been consistent.
I ate the Dirty Rag (a burger with pickle and peanut butter) from their large varieties of burgers and its the fuel you need to recover or to start going. This place makes me want peanut butter on all my burgers. The fries have that crispy potato dust flavor you dirt find many places that make them extra good and the drink selection is always fresh with lots of specials.
The environment is very unique and friendly and the bartenders are always on top of things. I would highly recommend visiting this place and getting bacon wrapped bananas on a burger. Trust me, it’s worth it.

Going off of my last review… I still genuinely WANT to love this place… but just find it really hard to do so.
My boyfriend and I were looking for a bite in Southside, and since I had a city dining card for OTB, we decided to stop by. We sat at the bar, like we always do, and my boyfriend ordered a beer. The beer he ordered was literally the only beer that sounded appealing on their entire draft list (which consisted of 8 beers). This is the third time that I have gone and have been completely unimpressed by their selection. I almost always order a beer when going out to eat, especially to a bar, but I was so unamused with their selection that I chose water instead.
We started off with two appetizers — hot pepper cheese sticks and fried pickles. We had a choice between marinara and ranch for our cheese sticks– I asked for ranch. I was given marinara. Not a big deal. What really turned me off was that 4 fried pickles cost $ 7… Are you kidding me? Yes, they were good. but not great… and absolutely positively not worth $ 7. I found that to be outrageous. The hot pepper cheese sticks weren’t very hot at all, but were decent.
My boyfriend ordered the Pittsburgh burger and really liked it. He was completely full after eating the burger and barely touched the fries. I ordered the buffalo chicken wrap. The chicken was grilled and flavorless. I needed to ask for Frank’s red hot to give the wrap some flavor.
Overall, I was really disappointed and honestly do not plan on returning for dinner. I did enjoy their taco night last time I had went, and would consider going back for that… or to check out their healthy menu, which I hear is quite good.

One thing I’m a fan of is good ol’ bar food! Throwing it in the fryer, putting it on a bun — all sounds delicious to me. OTB definitely meets to my standard of bar food and more. All of their items are carefully designed to satisfy the greasy spoon (like myself) while still allowing me to challenge my taste buds with a taste elegance.
My boyfriend and I both ordered the Pittsburgh Burger. Amazing! Not only cooked to perfection, but dressed with just the right toppings and seasonings to turn bar food into a fine® dining experience. They both came with a side of potato fries which is always a win. The stand-​out item that we both died over was the soft pretzels. I don’t know how they made them or what they used to perfect such a mouthwatering menu item, but it was darn good. It reminded me of the breading of a corn dog. Light, soft and oh so yummy. Of course, the bier cheese was a great addition for dipping.
The atmosphere here is really cool. It’s definitely much different than the typical South Side bar. You don’t encounter too much of the the usual «doucheness,» and everybody is there to enjoy themselves. There is lots of interesting artwork and bike memorabilia on the wall which adds to the ambience. I’m not sure what I’d call them theme of the place, but I do know that it is working!
Katie is a great bartender and will make you fabulous drinks. Unfortunately, I’m not much of a vodka drinker anymore and the drinks she made us lasted all night (I guess that’s not a bad thing for my wallet). They were delicious, but homeboy is getting old! I can’t do these vodka dranks anymore.
Definitely will be returning soon. Decent prices (though drinks can be a little cheaper), great food and not overcrowded like some South Side bars.

UPDATE: Burger night is now $ 6 for a burger on Mondays. Still a great deal. We went on Monday and i ordered the «Thick». Burger, cheese, bacon, onion rings, and BBQ sauce. It was huge. I also ordered fries which were seasoned perfectly. It was also trivia night which was fun to watch even though we didnt play. The only odd part was the service. Our server asked us to sit at a dirty table with dishes and said she’d be back in a second to grab everything and clean it. It would’ve been better to ask us to wait next to the table while she cleaned it. Also when taking our order she asked if she could sit dirty dishes on our table while writing down our order. Its not a complete fail but ive just never experienced that before at another restaurant. In her defense, it was trivia night and every other table was a party of 5 – 10 so i guess she was just trying to multi-​task.
Anyways the food is tasty and they have drink specials + a trivia night. Also the atmosphere is different and cool so 4 stars to you OTB.

I stopped by last night (Thurs.) at 7pm for a casual dinner date with CM. OTB was recommended to me by my table mate from brunch at the Zenith, who is the manager at REI and a friend of OTB’s owner. Since I had a City Dining Card and was intrigued by the idea of burgers incorporating peanut butter, I’m a cyclist and found the theme interesting, and the location was somewhat convenient for a Waterfront run, we braved the frigid weather and craziness of the South Side to check it out.
Since our waitress informed us that Thurs. night is quarter seitan wing night, we ordered six wings ($ 0.25) dressed in buffalo sauce with blue cheese, along with some soft pita pieces ($ 1) for our appetizer. Although it bears mentioning that the «wings» were more like oblong chunks (see photo), they had a great coating and texture, and the buffalo sauce added a nice zing to them. Additionally, we each ordered a bowl of soup ($ 3.99 each): tomato-​based vegetable for CM and tomato soup for me. My tomato soup was nothing too special, but was nice and thick, though I would have preferred if it had been made with milk instead of water (I can always tell). Because he was feeling a bit under the weather, CM really enjoyed his soup – although I didn’t sample it due to concerns about his contagiousness.
For my entrée, per the recommendation of my table mate at the Zenith, I ordered the dirt rag delight: A burger topped with Wholey’s peanut butter, American cheese, and dill pickle slices ($ 9.49). Because I don’t eat beef, I went with a chicken patty, and of course, I just had to add bacon ($ 1 upcharge). This burger was definitely one of the most unique burgers I’ve ever eaten, and it didn’t disappoint! The peanut butter had a wonderfully gritty, homemade texture and just the right hint of sweetness, complementing the savoriness of the pickles, cheese, and bacon perfectly. Despite the copious number of components, the burger didn’t fall apart as I was eating it, which is the hallmark of a good quality bun. Because he was trying to eat on the healthy side due to feeling under the weather, CM went with the roadie panini ($ 7.99), adding chicken for an upcharge of $ 3. Again, I didn’t try it due to a desire to avoid contamination, but he enjoyed it, and ended up taking half home. Both sandwiches came with a generous side of fries, which were coated with a nice, crispy batter with a hint of ranch flavor.
Service was about what I’d expect at a place like OTB: Generally pretty quick, if not super attentive, with slight awkwardnesses at times (e.g., we weren’t greeted upon entering, and had to seek out a waitress to ask if we could seat ourselves). Likewise, the atmosphere was about what I expected: Fairly quiet (for a bar, at least), with a TV playing college basketball and bike themed paraphernalia. We sat in the back dining room, which only had a few other parties at the time of our visit. As another reviewer mentioned, this is a non-​smoking establishment.
Overall, CM and I were pleased with the quality and quantity of food that we received, especially with the City Dining Card and seitan wing discounts (our total check: $ 22 + change). As such, I’d recommend OTB as a casual spot to grab a few drinks and some dinner or late night snacks, regardless of whether you’re a cyclist or not. Just don’t forget to check out their daily specials, and take advantage of them accordingly!

I have now been back a few times.
One of the perks that this restaurant has is their «healthy» menu. You have to ask for it special, but it has some great low carb options which is great since it’s so hard to find places to go out without feeling like a pain to the waiter and kitchen with changes and substitutions.
Went here with a friend and had a fabulous bunless burger and salad which was well made and delicious and even better was that it was affordable.
This will definitely be in our low carb restaurant rotation!

When I lived in the South Side, everything got old. I work in the South Side, and the mediocrity is invasive. Strictly talking bars, I’m tired of poorly made hot wing specials, fried and burnt out menus, wilted salads, and overpriced bottles. Luckily, there are a few gems that continue to shine whether you want to join for lunch, happy hour, or even get rowdy. OTB is certainly one of these gems.
Everything on the menu OTB is A-​OK. Some things are better than A-​OK. Be sure to check out:
–The PBJ burger. Sounds weird, probably, depending on who you are. But it’s pretty alright.
–The grilled cheese. I always get the grilled cheese. It comes with tomato soup. Don’t let them forget the oyster crackers. You could probably get them to put bacon on the grilled cheese if you ask, but I’ve never asked. I love the grilled cheese. Oh, and they come with…
–Fries. Go for the fries. Always choose the fries option. They put some sort of powdered ranch or something on their fries. I don’t even want to eat all of them but I look up and blink a few times and they’re always gone. I’ve gone to OTB on a nearly full stomach just because I passed by and had no self control and needed the fries. Oh man, the fries.
I wasn’t too impressed with the tacos or the wraps, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t good. They came with fries, after all.
The wait staff is friendly and comfortably alternative; the cooks are punctual and happy to present you with good food; the beer list is smaller given the location, but every beer’s a winner in my book.