Shady Grove

I stopped here for some drinks for a friend’s going away celebration. I didn’t order food so this review is only for the bar service. If you’re a rookie like I was, the address indicates that it’s on Walnut but the entrance is actually on a street off of Walnut. Bellefonte Street to be exact. And when you enter the first door, you have two options: go through the door immediately to the right or go upstairs to the left. Apparently the upstairs bar becomes quite the party with a live DJ on the weekends.
My large party celebrated in the upstairs bar. You can also get food upstairs but note that the kitchen closes at 10 pm. Shady Grove does not take dinner reservations so our large group was scattered at different tables, as there weren’t enough tables to fill us all. I opted to sit at the bar and got to see and hear the wait staff and bartenders interacting with each other. I can understand the frustrations of serving such a huge group, but I didn’t really appreciate the permanent scowls on the employees’ faces. I also didn’t quite appreciate the tone they used when talking about our party to each other. Maybe they forgot I wasn’t a part of that party but these kinds of conversations shouldn’t be held in front of any customer.
All in all, I wasn’t a huge fan. The service kind of turned me off from anything else it might have going for itself. It’s unlikely I’ll come back for drinks and possibly never for the food either.

If you’re looking for a salad, prepare yourself to eat the whole garden. These veggie bowls are huge.
I got the Pittsburgh salad complete with Waffle fries on my first visit. My second visit wasn’t as healthy: Fried Green Tomatoes and the ‘Shroom pizza. The tomatoes were spicey and super yummy, served on bed of mixed greens.
Bread means a lot to me, so when this pizza aced the bread test, I was in love. The $ 11 dollars I paid for a small was more than worth it. 8 large slices that could have easily filled the tummies of three or more people.
I also downed a couple of tequila sours with my meal. I have nothing but good things to say about every aspect of this place.

I often eat at this restaurant, mostly for convenience but also for price. I keep coming back because the drink prices are reasonable, food is tasty, and the ambience is relaxed.
The food menu is a bit large which can be somewhat cumbersome. Although they offer a lot to choose from, impressively, most of what they offer is quite delicious. Some personal favorites are the Cobb salad and fried green tomatoes. Ticket time seems very efficient for kitchens size.
They don’t offer too much space but do have outdoor seating for the warmer months. There’s also additional seating upstairs. Seems to be a great spot for couples and small groups. The service is okay, at times not as quick as I’d prefer. Often feels like I have to coax somebody for attention instead of them anticipating my needs or checking back.
There are many sites to choose from in Shadyside but I’d grab a seat here if you want fresh, unique food pairings that won’t break the bank.

The Swiss bacon melt cheese burger was really good! Cooked to my liking. Atmosphere was really nice as well.

I like my food every time I go but it is rather small inside. Overall I like it here and will return!

Stopped here for lunch. We had French Dip wrap which consisted of sliced ribeye cooked in just enough fat to make it tasty with a great flavored au jus.
Tomato cheese soup which was quite good.
Onion rings which seemed pretty ok
Pulled pork on Kaiser Roll which was sweet sauced but not overly heavy which allowed the taste of the pork to shine through.
Coffee which was very good and moderately dark.
All in all very good service and a great meal.

Wasn’t impressed. Bar was too loud and too crowded. Wings were ok wings but not special. I’m sure this appeals to the 20 sth crowd, but I’m not 20 sth anymore. :)

College crowd Wednesday night bottle specials. Half off.
Kitchen closes at 10:00pm Arrived just in time to get an order in. Nice they still take orders up until closing time. But, ordered Wings. They should be good anywhere. Yuk! Over fried. But, I dipped a couple in blue cheese to suck up the dressing and filled me up enough to finish my drink. Can’t drink on empty stomach. Lol Young crowd. :-)
DJ played. Not sure if that’s an every Wednesday night thing. Fun environment. Not overpriced. Nice place to mingle and meet people.
I’d be back :-) to get my grove on!

The main draw for me to the shady grove is during the summer when you can sit on their patio on a side street just right off of Walnut street. When the weather is nice, we’ve enjoyed a few nights out there drinking a half priced bottle of wine on Wednesdays.
We recently went to watch a football game inside and it was enjoyable because it wasn’t crowded at all and we got a high top table in the corner where we could hang out and talk for a few hours. The inside is not very big and the bar goes down the middle of the restaurant. The food is okay, however we never think to go there for dinner when we are considering options. They do have a pretty large menu and this past time we ordered the spinach and artichoke dip, and nachos and liked both.
I’d recommend this place if you’re looking for a laid back place and some straight forward American food.

Found this place by accident. Random guy walking down the street recommended 2 – 3 places to eat. Great hole in the wall kind of feel. Great place for a quick lunch! Had the Pulled BBQ sandwich and fries. It was delicious and a large amount of food for the money. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone passing through!

This is a place I have been many times in college meeting friends for dinner and drinks. I have not been back in a long time and was pleasantly surprised at how great our dinner was. We were seated quickly downstairs (it does get very busy on Friday and Saturday nights) and our friendly waitress took our drink order. They typically have a nice draft list and I went with my favorite the Leinie cranberry/​ginger. The menu had so many great options from salads to wraps and burgers. The salad options were so impressive and I went with the Greek salad which was served in a huge salad bowl. The dressing was delicious– what I liked is the dressing was not too oily and came with olives, feta cheese, cucumbers, onions and banana peppers. Lot of fresh ingredients with a great taste. My friend went with one of the wraps and I really like how you have an option of a few sides instead of getting fries.

Came here with a friend for their half-​off burgers promo. The place was pretty crowded, even on a Monday night so that says something! That being said, it’s probably not the best place to come for a first date or to hold a meeting over a meal because it can get pretty loud. We didn’t want to wait for a table, so we opted for the bar instead.
We got the guacamole deviled eggs as our appetizer and the Shady burger. The deviled eggs came with bacon pieces and tomatoes so it’s not just fully guac which was a good thing. The burger was fine, just like any other decent burger. I wasn’t a fan of the fries it came with. If you prefer thin fries instead of the thick ones, you might not enjoy the huge portion of fries they serve.
Overall, friendly staff, good food, and interesting promos every day. Shady grove is a decent choice if you’re looking for traditional American food.

I have never felt the desire to try Shady Grove based on the reviews, but I ended up coming here last week. Apparently, Wednesday nights are half price wine bottle nights, but I just wanted food.
The happy hour chicken nachos ($ 6) were a good start for a group of four. The portion was large and the nachos were pretty loaded. However, I ordered a buffalo chicken wrap ($ 10). I didn’t enjoy it, as it was mostly just drenched in hot sauce. I took half of it home and threw the untouched wrap away a week later. My friends were equally unimpressed with the quality and the price.
I really have no desire to come back here, but I would at least consider ordering appetizers off of the happy hour menu. Service was mediocre. Otherwise, fairly unimpressed.

Greg the bartender is the best! If you stop In make sure you look for him! And the food is always amazing. It always hits the spot

This was a great place to get together with friends. Wouldn’t recommend for a first date because it’s pretty loud in there. The food was really good. I got the strawberry chicken salad and it was huge, I couldn’t finish it all! My friend got the Diablo burger and it came with this really great spicy sauce that balanced the burger out. There was a lot on the menu, so I would definitely come back to try something else.
I came on a wednesday night, so I had to wait about 15 – 20 minutes for a table, but there’s an open bar on the second floor so it wasn’t too bad. Wednesdays were half off wine bottles which was probably why it was busy!

Ambiance: Modern american bar and grill with a relaxed but somewhat more upscale vibe than your typical neighborhood sports bar. Downstairs they have a large bar, and a decent number of tables wrapped around the bar area. They do have plenty of TVs for watching the game, but this isn’t really the type of place most people come to watch the tube. There is an upstairs which is open on busier days and has both seating and its own bar. The upstairs turns into more of a lounge after 10pm when food service stops including DJs mixing up the beats on some nights. They also have outdoor sidewalk seating.
Drinks: They have a decent selection of beers including many craft options. The wine list is fairly long but would leave a oenophile longing for more/​better. I’ve tried a few of their cocktails, which were good, but I would not describe this place as a cocktail bar.
Food: Shady Grove serves a wide variety of upscale bar food including burgers, pizzas, sandwiches, salads, and some good apps. I’ve had the pizza a few times and am I fan of the buffalo chicken pizza. The burger’s are pretty good and are on special on Monday nights for 5 bucks I think. Last night I had the shishito peppers and ahi tuna salad. Both were very good.
Service: The service here can be variable. We’ve usually had pretty good service but some nights they can get quite busy and then service has lagged, but this is the exception rather than the norm.
Overall: One of my favorite places to meet up with friends for food/​drinks in Shadyside.
Tip: Wednesday is a very popular night with the Shadyside Yuppie crowd as it is half off wine bottles night (as is Friday night also). They used to use the No Wait app but currently don’t, nor do they take reservations meaning on busy nights you will need to wait for a table.

I really like Shady Grove. It’s simple, low cost and relaxed. There is even some outdoor seating to people watch Shadyside in the summertime.
My go to meal is their summer salad. Their salads are huge! You wouldn’t leave hungry after their bed of lettuce with delicious toppings. I’ve had other things like sandwiches but always tend to gravitate toward their salads because they are so big and full of flavor.
They also have fabulous happy hour specials to take advantage of if you care for a beverage. Wine Wednesday is always a hit!
I never ever had an issue with service with my many times visiting. Always friendly and attentive.
Always a go to for a simple meal when in the area. I’m telling you, get that summer salad. It’s so good I crave it!

Gotta love Shady Grove. Bellefonte, two story bar with an extension in the making. Downstairs is more casual and sports bar like, the upstairs is cocktail bar classy. Additionally there is outdoor seating, perfect for warm summer and cool fall days.
The menu is standard wraps and salad, a few appetizers and great bars. Wednesday and Friday is their half-​off bottle of wine specials, Wednesday, Friday and soon to be Saturday they have a DJ spinning to make this location the only dance floor in Shadyside.
Always a favorite. Come soon, come often

How have I not reviewed Shady Grove yet?!
I have been here so many times, I could not even begin to guess a number. Shady Grove is one of those places that is reliably good – I can’t think of anything that I have ever ordered here that I did not like. The menu is large and features a variety of sandwiches (also available as wraps), burgers, pizzas, and HUGE salads. Being a fan of spicy food, some of my personal favorites are the buffalo chicken pizza (self-​explanatory) and the Fiero Chicken sandwich (grilled chicken breast, pepper jack cheese, guac, lettuce, tomato, and a spicy habenero sauce). They also have these great crispy french fries which come with the sandwiches.
They do half-​priced bottles of wine on Wednesday nights. I’ve had both good and bad experiences – it can get REALLY crowded, so if you don’t get there early enough you won’t get a table. It’s kind of awkward when someone in your party has to then carry the wine bottle around.
Bonus points for outdoor seating! Always a good time.

Can you believe I’ve never been here before?! Crazy, right? Great first experience too!
Our server was the friendliest ever, so that was just the start. I ordered the Veggie Explosion salad and am happy to report it was exactly as advertised! I hate when you get a salad and the toppings are sparse. There were loads of veggies and I especially liked the grilled portobella mushrooms. I thought the balsamic dressing made it a winning combo.
I also ordered the tomato soup, which I believe is always on the menu. It was excellent. I love a nice creamy tomato, and it was just that. I was pleasantly surprised by what a nice lunch it was!