The Modern Cafe

I LOVE the Modern Café. Everyone is just the nicest, and their happy hour is second to none. Granted, I might be a little biased because I work around the corner and am here all the time, but this is one of my favorite bars in Pittsburgh.

It’s been a long time since I wrote my first review for The Modern and since we’ve become regulars here, it’s high time I fixed this! Cute little 50’s décor themed bar & restaurant with a very comfortable vibe. The craft beer list changes frequently but, always has something I’m excited to try. Sampling isn’t a problem here if you’re unsure of your choice.
The sandwiches here are to die for! Their sandwiches have won the Northside Sandwich Competition a few times and for very good reason — they’re fantastic. The Spicy Sicilian may be my favorite sandwich ever with a close 2^nd their Gyro Melt! They’re both indulgent & packed with flavor. You’re guaranteed to sit there making ‘mmmmmm’ sounds! Hubby feels they were robbed of the sandwich prize the year they entered the Greek Cheesesteak, his personal fave.
We also absolutely adore the owners, Dean & Irene. They work so hard and genuinely enjoy their customers and their business.
We will continue to come in for our beer and delightful sandwiches regularly and enjoy a chat with Dean & Irene! There are also Happy Hours on weekdays. It’s fun here!

I stopped in for lunch the other day when I was lost looking for the aviary. I got a Veggie Hoagie that was massive and some grade A customer service.
While I was kind of disappointed there weren’t any espresso drinks on the menu, they do have hot coffee and liquor, so you can pick your poison depending on the time of day. It was also nice that they had free wifi, so I could work on my computer while I charged up my other devices for directions.
The bread was soft and fresh and my sandwich was garnished with a pickle. I’m pretty sure the shrooms came from a can, but the fact that they had a veggie option at all was pretty cool.
For whatever it’s worth, those bathrooms were the cleanest bathrooms I’ve ever seen on the North Side of Pittsburgh.

If you’re in the north-​side stop into this neighborhood bar. The food is homemade with some Greek flavors. 12 beers on tap with countless craft beers by the bottle.
The owner/​bartender is fun to chat with and the other employees are really pleasant.
Bar/​restaurant is clean and vibrant.

I used to enjoy this restaurant, however I will no longer be giving them my business. I enjoyed their food and drinks, but I don’t like their approach to the rights of their employees. Modern Café is suing the City to try to invalidate the Paid Sick Leave Ordinance. Any restaurant that would sue to deny its employees such a basic and essential benefit is a one star restaurant in my book and one that will not be receiving any of my business moving forward. This is particularly true as paid sick leave encourages employees to stay home when they are sick and this is a restaurant where food is being prepared. Shame on you, Modern Café!

Avoid this place. I had a $ 5 shot of vodka put on my bill that I neither ordered nor consumed. When I went back to complain, I was met with hostility and it took a while to get my money back. Service was slow, food was just ok. If you do go, I’d recommend you check your bill carefully.

If you don’t have The Modern Café in your regular rotation you’re missing out. If you aren’t enjoying their delightful happy hour you’re missing out. If you aren’t overwhelmed by their great selection of draft (and bottle) beer — that Dean continually updates — you’re missing out. And believe me, if you’ve only come to drink here? Well my friend, you are REALLY. Missing out! You’re not the kind of Unilocaler who wants to miss out are you? Then get here!
Ok, the beer selection is top notch. Dean is among the nicest owners you’ll ever meet. But the food here is absolutely amazing. Irene works magic in that kitchen. Sure, it’s bar food and sandwiches. But saying that does a disservice to what comes out of that kitchen. It’s far better than that. In fact, the sandwiches The Modern entered into the annual“best sandwich on the north side” competition came in FIRST place the last two years. And maybe the year before that. And they beat some pretty stiff competition. And I can tell you from first hand experience that they deserved the win!
So go ahead. Don’t just take my word for it. Try it yourself. Maybe you’ll get hooked on the Greek cheesesteak. Or maybe you’ll find nirvana in one of the other tempting delights. Have a beer. Order a sandwich. I’ll meet you there next time…

The food is so good I almost don’t want to tell anyone and I’m a picky a@@ b$tc$. The bar tender is nice and the food is so good!!! Love it here.

Thinking of places in the North Side to meet my friend at last night, I remembered the Modern Café on Western Avenue. I had a rather negative experience the last time I was here, which was probably at least six months ago, however, last night more than made up for the first time here! My friend and I arrived around 7:30 (just after happy hour ended-​boo haha) and took the last two seats at the full bar, closest to the door. They also have a lot of tables beyond the bar, however, none of these were occupied. I never caught the bartender’s name, but she was awesome, very friendly and patient, particularly considering my friend and I chose to catch up for quite sometime before ordering any food. They have a good amount of craft beers on draft so I went with the Green Flash Soul Style IPA after the bartender had given me a taster of it. Green flash in general is one of my favorite breweries and this totally hit the spot! My friend went for his usual Yuengling. After scanning the menu, we decided to split the Mediterranean layer dip (Hummus, diced tomatoes, kalamata olives, cucumbers and topped with feta cheese. Served with warm pita chips) and the Spartan sandwich (Steak, Gyro meat, Provolone & Feta cheese, onions, tomato slices with our special steak seasoning & dressing topped with tzatziki sauce on a 6″ hoagie). The dip came out first and it was a HUGE portion for $ 8.99! It was really good and filled with all the good stuff, namely feta and olives-​YUM! The pita also was grilled and warm when it was served. The sandwich, which was split for us back in the kitchen (without having to ask which was nice), was ginormous and both of us agreed we would not have been able to go it alone and actually finish it. My half had a lot of sauce on it, which is exactly how I prefer my gyros, and you could taste all the flavoring of the feta too. The meat was slightly dry but when paired with the sauce, it tasted pretty good. Since I live relatively close, I’m always going to keep Modern Café in mind when I’m looking for something quick, particularly a good craft beer since the bartender said they rotate frequent;y.

Nice little neighborhood bar nestled in the better part of the North Side. I’ve been here a number of times and have always enjoyed myself. Good beer selection, friendly service, decent bar food.

Try the Spartan Sandwich. (From the Modern Café website) Steak, Gyro meat, Provolone & Feta cheese, onions, tomato slices, special steak seasoning & dressing topped with tzatziki sauce on a 6″ hoagie.
So good.
The bar itself is OK. Not a lot of ambiance, but a great neighborhood place. I no longer live in Pittsburgh, but used to spend a bit of time at the Modern Café when I lived in the neighborhood.

My girlfriend and I were in the neighborhood looking for a place to eat. We stumbled upon the Modern Café and it had exactly what we wanted!
The menu is perfect and has something for everyone. Drink menu is larger than what you’d expect. The owners are the icing on the cake because they add such charm and history to the business!
We will be coming back!

I had a city dining card for this place and figured it would be a great place to try after going to handmade arcade with my family.
I did not expect it to look the way it did inside. You walk in, and there’s a bar — then you walk past the bar into the little dining area. It was super adorable. It was Sunday around 6 and we were basically the only ones there besides a few at the bar.
Our service was fantastic– the waitress was friendly and helpful when trying to decide what we wanted. We ordered the grape leaves for a small appetizer. I’ve never had grape leaves, so I have nothing to compare them to– but they were pretty terrible. They were cold, mushy and tasteless. I would never get them again.
My mom ordered the Reuben and my dad ordered a cheese steak. They both agreed they weren’t the best sandwiches they have ever had but they were good. I ordered a pepperoni roll and coleslaw. The pepperoni roll was not that great. It wasn’t bad, but I’ve had better ones from get go. The coleslaw was tasteless. I added pepper and some salt and it didn’t do anything to help.
The only reason I would come back here is to drink. They had a decent draft list, I ordered southern tier 2xmas which was really tasty. The atmosphere is adorable and the service is great, so I would like to come for a drink sometime when I’m on the north shore. If I do visit again, I won’t be eating a meal here :/.

This place is great! Ask for amazing Amanda behind the bar! She is a perfect angel and will make you cry tear drops of pure joy!

Stopped by here for a quick drink and appetizer while I was out exploring. The service was a tad slow, but very friendly. Ordered an artichoke bruschetta — a bunch of parmesan toasted bread with a bowl of the bruschetta topping — DIY style. It tasted good, but was a little sloppy and had too many onions for my taste. My drink was good, but served in a stemless wine balloon — a weird choice for a captain and coke. Overall, a decent neighborhood bar, but nothing to write home about.

«Stand up and take a bow James!»
«Go home to your mother Vernon.»
«I… am… a writer.»
These are the quotes of the most re-​watchable movie I know, Wonder Boys, and one of my beloved ones.
On a frigid Friday night, staying in The Point downtown area, it took a few drinks and a few mentions to successfully lobby the one person that loves Wonder Boys more than me to go to The Modern Café. «Look, when else would we ever come to Pittsburgh, we’re in our Wonder Boys town, and we can sit in the red booth where James Leer, Grady Tripp & Terry Crabtree met their maker in Vernon Hardapple.» Pulled that card, and off we went, and what happened was in a way straight out of Wonder Boys.
While Vernon didn’t wiggle his bum and dent the hood of our cab, the experience had a tilt to it. We both hail from cities where people are always around us – especially Toronto — and our night in Pittsburgh was not so. Everywhere we walked streets were empty. Each bar was empty. Especially this one. One bartender. Four at the bar. And holy what speed ball did that bartender and group of friends get into?
The space is huge for such a low key place. Bar up front, TVs, and then in the back is a long booth against the back wall, and we sat in the very seats our Wonder Boys did. Look, it’s nerdy maybe, but if you’re at all inspired by it, we sat in the corner and talked all night.
The four interactions I had with the bartender were upbeat. Very upbeat. Speedball upbeat. And this isn’t to say I wouldn’t recommend her to be a bartender for the night.
Looking back on the night we probably shouldn’t have gotten into the Ford Taurus of the bartender’s friend who drove us back to the hotel, but accordingly to them we didn’t have a chance at getting a cab over there at such a late hour. I doubt Modern Café would ever set up a car service. With such a strange night, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Vernon Hardapple comes back here to reminisce.
With being an institution in some of our eyes, and offering a pretty odd experience…
Take a bow Modern Café!

I’m a big fan of Michael Chabon’s Wonder Boys, and an even bigger fan of the movie adaptation of the same name. The bar scene was filmed here, and I mentioned it in passing a few times. It turns out Toronto is pretty close to Pittsburgh and we didn’t have Friday plans and did have a rental car so away we went… to get drunk in this dive and sit in the red booth at the back. Mission accomplished.
I checked out a couple of stellar establishments in the rust belt, but I want to review this one first. It was a very fun time, but the bar itself is kind of strange and riddled with questionable characters. I’m fairly certain I had a five minute conversation with someone who had recently been smoking crack… and I’m from Ford Nation so I should know.
PEPPER PROPS to a friendly bar tender who poured cheap drinks happily and kept the shady folks in check.
PEPPER’S PISSED: Come on, Pittsburgh. Figure out your taxi situation.

I was not expecting the look of Modern Café to be so… classic. It’s pretty much a neighborhood bar. But I’d say it’s a fairly good one for the North Side.
It’s way bigger than I thought it would be. A little lonely feeling for a lunchtime. Out of so many sandwiches it was hard to choose, but I went for the Reuben. I’d say they’re a tricky beast to tackle. It was okay. Not the best I’ve ever had, but certainly not the worst. I like mine loaded with sauerkraut, and this just had a decent size for someone who likes an even distribution. But not me, load it on! I was a little bummed the bread was a bit soggy. That’s the worst, right?
I asked the dude for a suggestion on a side and he said try the coleslaw because he doesn’t like mayo. But when it came out, there was no question, it was a mayo based slaw. I love mayo, so that was fine. Not bad again. Just okay.
I think this bar would be my jam if I lived on the North Side. TONS of beer on tap that I’d for sure want to tap into! Maybe I’ll treat myself to a happy hour there… Let’s be honest, he beer will come a’callin!

You can’t go wrong with a little local bar like this. Modern has an excellent beer selection in bottles, accompanied by a small, but decent draft selection. Their food menu, prepared next door, is better than you’d expect, although I’ve only had a sampling of items.
If you’re looking for a chill local bar with a welcoming vibe and nice attentive bartenders, Modern is your spot. It’s really clean, and the crowd is laid back. It’s the perfect place to spend a low-​key evening out with friends, or to grab a drink before or after a dinner at Nicky’s!

I have found yet another reason to hang around on Western Ave.
I’m really starting to like it down there. As an alumnus of CCAC Allegheny I often times just hurried passed storefront after storefront never taking a second glance at the many great establishments that line Western Ave. Well now that Western Ave is within walking distance of my new home, I’ve been slowing down and exploring what the avenue has to offer.
The Modern Café is great. I like the old school neon signage that hangs in front of the bar. I like that it’s attached to deli that actually has corned beef on the menu and I loved the selection of seasonal pumpkin beer.