Clifford’s Restaurant

Clifford’s is by far the best place to eat in the greater Pittsburgh Area. I have been to most of the trendy restaurants around and while there are many great places nothing compares to Clifford’s. My wife and I use it as our celebration restaurant and every time we bring friends they are amazed at how fresh and well prepared the food is. You will not find a better meal.

This place is by far the best place to eat in the Pittsburgh and surrounding area. Absolutely stellar service every single time, magnificent selection and not «a la carte» as most restaurants have now. Everything from the salad to the potatoes to the entrée are tip top. No other restaurant can beat what Clifford’s has to offer. If you have never been to Clifford’s then you are missing something that you should certainly experience in your life time. WOW is all that I can say.

Just excellent food, atmosphere and relaxing. Just wish they had wheat rolls. Only thing we could wish for. This place will spoil you and you’ll never want to go anywhere else.

So overrated and overpriced! I got the chicken piccata, and Cheesecake Factory is better. Got the pepperoni rolls as an appetizer and they were just ok. Really disappointed.

Lovvveee this place! It’s our favorite place to go for special occasions! MUST make a reservation. Food is ALWAYS Great! It’s a true family restraunt, the mom seats you, the daughter-​in-​law is one of the waitresses,(both women are very knowledgable about the dishes and menu) an the son is the head chef! Fresh warm baked rolls, pretzel rolls as well, I love the cucumber dressing! You’ll love this place too!

Friends of ours made reservation for a very special event (my birthday). This is my second visit to Clifford’s in the past two months and it was once again spectacular!
The restaurant is located off a really tight winding road, but it is a road worth taking. Looks like an old chalet you would visit while skiing in Switzerland. Very cozy, quaint, warm and inviting.
We were seated promptly at a nice little table in the front dining area. There is also a dining area in the back of the house. The place was packed with people, but the table arrangement allows for decent space so you are not hearing everyone’s conversation. The place has an old world charm to it with lots of pictures and paintings around the dining area. There is a large fire place as well in the front dining area.
One of the owners greeted us and reviewed the vast array of specials. I think they have just as many ‘specials’ as they do regular items on their menu. We ordered up the Raclette and the Asian Spring Rolls. Both were fantastic. If you like a strong pungent cheese, I suggest the Raclette as it is melted over fingerling potatoes and served with pickles. Odd? Maybe, but it works.
Entrees we had tonight included Rack of Lamb, Veal Osso Buco, Veal Marsala and Crab Cakes. All came with our choice of a side of potato or polenta. Since we are old friends, we shared our food around. I must say, everything was delicious. Each dish offers a wide variety of flavors while the main protein stays the focus.
This place is a BYOB, so bring your favorite beverage and drink up, responsibly of course.
Though a little out of the way, this place is worth the trip. Great food, great atmosphere with wonderful people. As we were leaving last night, we told our waitress that we would be back in two weeks with friends. She stated that if there is anything we would like to have made, to call a few days ahead and they would make it… that is a really nice gesture! Gives you an idea that they are all about the people.

We’ve been going to Clifford’s for a long time — usually as a special occasion restaurant or when we want to impress out of town guests or business associates (back in the day). If you’ve never been here, you are in for a surprise. It is one of the TOP restaurants in the whole Pittsburgh area without question! Yep, and in Evans City of all places! Tough to find, a long drive from the city, but trust me, this is first rate in every regard.
A family owned and operated place that has an extensive menu of all fresh ingredients sourced daily, a willingness to accommodate any special requests, large, delightful portions, and a warm friendly atmosphere complete with the advantage of BYOB — makes this a winner! In fact, when I made reservations for 6 of us this month, I talked to the Chef, Jesse, on the phone. He asked if there was anything special we’d like to have him make for us. If we thought of anything, we could call him up to two days before hand and he’d make sure he would have it for us. Now, tell me, where else do you get that?
The standard menu is mouthwatering. The daily specials recited by the server are mind-​blowing and will make you wish you could sample it all! The crab cakes are world class, the lamb is superb, the veal is offered in every possible preparation from marsala to piccata and scallopini and more! The pork chops may be the best you’ve ever had.
Don’t know why I’ve saved this for «special» occasions. The food is amazing and the pricing is more that fair. I need to put Clifford’s in my rotation more frequently. So do you!

This is a place that we go to for special occasions because it is a bit pricey. The food is excellent though and you can tell the chef takes his time to make sure the food your served is close to perfection!

Four of us had dinner last night at Clifford’s.
What a wonderful experience we all had! From the kind hostess, the wife of Clifford, to the terrific waitress, the chef”s spouse, to the delicious food. Really extraordinary food!
Last night I had the rack of lamb. It was perfectly prepared and oh so delicious. Others in my party had the fresh trout, a chicken dish, and the lamb. Everyone was happy. By the way, the homemade biscuits were incredible. And at the end of the meal we had no room for dessert so the four of us shared an authentic raspberry cobbler.
The food was delicious, perfectly prepared and seasoned, and worth the effort that it took to get there.
Limited seating. Call ahead for reservations.
Enjoy!

By far and away the restaurant my wife and I miss most from PA. Was our absolute «go-​to» place for most any special occasion. We ate there every anniversary, at least once a year for Christmas, and any other excuse to splurge a little (this was back when we were first married and didn’t have much, if any extra money for eating out or other indulgences…)
Family owned and run. Top notch service. Freshest ingredients imaginable, clever yet classic preparations. Fabulous rolls, food made to order any way you deemed fit.
One of my 5 favorite places to eat in the US. Miss it, it was small, intimate, special, everything that most places are not.
Loved the lamb.

One of the best restaurants in the region. The filet with sea scallops were outstanding.

This place is simply awesome. Every dinner has exceeded our expectations. The stewed tomatoes that come with most meals are incredible. Our favorite appetizer is the potatoes with pickles and cheese. Yes, you read that right. Just try them. You won’t be disappointed. BYOB is a nice bonus too. I prefer beer over wine and always bring a small cooler with a few good beers.
Be sure to make reservations a few weeks in advance. We make a point to go there at least once or twice a year… without kids! Also plan two hours from start to finish.

Pricey — but well worth it. Outstanding food and service.

I think there are too many 5 Star zealots critiquing this place. When you pay $ 50 for a meal, you want to be impressed and you want to be able to say, «wow this is really good.» This was the case at Clifford’s, but not as much anymore. You can use the finest ingredients, but it all comes down execution. I mean, splitting a single grape tomato in a salad, $ 50 doesn’t cover more than one? Only one example, but you get the point. Clifford’s is still a recommendable place, but be prepared and pay attention, when they pitch the daily specials, because there are a myriad of them. Also, be forewarned that the specials tend to go for a higher price than the permanent menu items and they don’t address the prices when they articulate the specials.

This is the second time I’ve been here. Just amazing food. No matter what you order, it will be great. Had spring rolls, french onion soup, and crab cakes. One course was better than the next. Make reservations early as the restaurant is small and fills up quickly.

Clifford’s has been one of our favorite restaurants for several years. I would best describe what they do as high end comfort food. It’s a homey, European inspired, small family owned restaurant located in the countryside north of Evans City, PA — use a GPS! Reservations are required since they are only open on weekends with a very small number of tables. Bring your wine because they are BYOB. The menu changes seasonally and there are several specials your server will recite at the table. Honestly its rare when we order actual menu items because the specials sound so delicious and we’ve always been delighted with our selections. Everything is super fresh and their seafood has been a particular highlight for me. Their crab cakes are amazing — they must use a mold to get them on the plate because there is no filler in them, just large lumps of super fresh crab seasoned to perfection. Whether you order seafood, beef, pork, veal, lamb, etc. you will enjoy a high end dining experience with depth of flavor few restaurants can match. It’s simple, comfort food elevated to a whole other level.

Another fine dining experience to add to my list!
Atmosphere: (⁵⁄₅)
The property is very inviting — everything from the building with the gardens outside to the decorations indoors. There are plenty of windows which allow a lot of natural light inside the building, which is a pleasant change from eating in the dark at some other restaurants.
Service: (⁵⁄₅)
Very friendly wait staff, who didn’t seem bothered by us or having to repeat details for our group of 12. They smiled, were very attentive with refills on drinks, and checked up on us throughout our meal without being invasive. She made sure she provided her name to our group several times and made herself available to any requests we had. Our dining visit took about 3 hours from start to finish. It was a nice change from the rushed service you get at other places. A very relaxing dining experience. We didn’t feel like we were waiting too long in between courses.
Food: (⁵⁄₅)
This is among some of the best dining in the city.
* Bread /​rolls: The bread is good. The rolls are to die for.
* Chicken wings: had a surprisingly good breading on them. Portion size was large enough for me to share with 3 other people. Hot sauce was hot without being too hot and the flavor was excellent. I was interested in how a restaurant like this would present hot wings and I was not disappointed.
* Surf and turf: This is an excellent choice, though understandably more pricey than some of the standard menu options. The filet was cooked as ordered and the side of crab cakes was excellent. The candied yams were also delicious.
Overall, this was an excellent choice for dinner with very few issues. I would have liked to see more of their featured item be listed on the menu. There were a lot of choices that they had to recite from memory and it made it difficult for us to remember them all. Furthermore, because they aren’t on the menu, you don’t know what they cost. My other issue is that the gratuity was automatically included on the bill. This is a personal gripe of mine, and I won’t go into it further.
If you have a special occasion coming up, I would recommend saving up and considering this for your dinner.

It doesn’t get much better than this — anywhere! Clifford’s is out of the way and hard to find if you’re not from the area but that is part of it’s charm… We’ve been to Clifford’s about 5 times and I’ve NEVER been even a little bit disappointed. Can’t comment on their menu as it changes seasonally, but anything on (or sometimes, off) the menu is fair game — just ask. They are ready, willing, and able to accommodate most any taste. Oh, and if it’s a special occasion and you give them enough prep time, they can whip up something special for a main course or dessert.
oh, and as a bonus, it’s BYOB — I hate overpaying for a bottle of wine!

Clifford’s is one of those restaurants that everyone who has been there brags about. But since moving to Western Pennsylvania, I have learned to be skeptical of all those «best ever» claims. I have been unimpressed more than once by many of these claims. So, I suppose that is the reason it’s taken me over 15 years to visit. Our visit was for Thanksgiving Dinner. We had made the reservation in October and was looking forward to our visit. We had heard that the family owned restaurant is quite small and is always booked in advance.
Finding Clifford’s isn’t really all the difficult. It’s just north on Evans City, a quick 30 minute trip from Cranberry Twp. It is basically located smack dab in the middle of nowhere. We arrived right on time for our 3 pm reservation.
We were greeted right away by our friendly hostess and led to a nice corner table. The ambience of the restaurant can be described as pleasant. Nothing too fancy or over the top. I would describe it as old world charm. No fancy art work, just loads of black and white old time photos adorn the walls. Tables are covered in white linens and the back dining room has a lot of windows to let in the light. The restaurant is BYOB.
Our server offered us beverages, BJ had brought his own, I had ice tea. They delivered our bread basket, we fell in love with their home made rolls. We were advised of the soup for the evening, it was pumpkin crème soup. It was so delicious. And we loved the crispy butter drenched croutons. Next came our salads. I got raspberry walnut vinaigrette and BJ got beet vinaigrette. Both dressings were clearly homemade and so good. The salad fixings were so fresh and delicious. Even though I was in fear of filling up, I still had to savor every bit of my salad.
Next came our turkey dinners. The plates were so full of food, they delivered them one at a time. BJ commented about the turkey being all white meat and our server was kind enough to bring him some dark. The meal included the usual Thanksgiving fixings, stuffing, sweet potato, mashed potatoes and gravy and cranberries. The extra special treats were carrot and squash casserole and creamed corn that had been baked under a thick corn bread. Everything was so yummy. And of course, we couldn’t eat it all. We had plenty of leftovers.
For dessert, they had several choices. I got pumpkin pie and BJ got pumpkin tiramisu. Everything was SO good. We can’t wait to go back to try their regular menu.

My husband and I celebrated not only my birthday, but our 1^st, and now 2^nd wedding anniversary here. This tradition will surely continue each year for our anniversary. We can not rave enough about this restaurant and we always highly recommend it to those who have not ever heard about it. As one Unilocaler did post, it is one of the best kept secrets out there.
The food is impeccable, as well as the service. I can not speak enough bout both of them. The expression of «you get what you pay for» holds true to their food. We are always impressed by the many, many, specials they have to pick from, and making the decision on what to eat is the hardest part. My husband and I both choose the Chilean sea bass with a crab cake, and it did not disappoint. We also splurged and had an app of panco breaded rice and swiss cheese balls, which was divine. Plus dessert was on the them because of it being a special occasion.
The restaurant itself is fairly small, and they only take reservations, so I recommend making yours at least 2 weeks in advance. Another thing I do like about them is that it is BYOB, so that does save on the extra cost of alcohol, but also allows for you to bring your best bottle or bottles of your choice.
This is definitely a restaurant to choose if your celebrating a special occasion in your life!