Butterjoint

Very disappointed. I went expecting a great bar food experience on a high end scale. The prices were higher but I figured it must be worth it. I got the «fancy burger» but was surprised with the low quality. Sure, the beef was grass fed and local but it didn’t stand a quality check. The bun was charred and ruined the taste of the entire burger. The single beer battered onion ring only covered the outer ring of the burger and the cheese clumped off with every bite. I asked for medium well and received welllll done. I’ve had better $ 9 burgers at cheap bars with more flavor than the one here. Just because they stamp «fancy» on the bun doesn’t make it fancy. Ended up spending $ 46 for two mediocre hamburgers, a beer, and $ 6 tip. Insane!
However, despite the disappointment with the fancy burger and poor patty mixture, the fries were crispy. *yay* They did not have a light lager menu but their bar seemed to be upscale. The service was great as well. They truly did do a great job waiting on us. However, that doesn’t really make up for the meal and it’d have to be a place you become accustomed to i suppose.

One of my favorite post work bars in Pittsburgh. Perfect for a cold day. Cozy bar, great menu, and excellent beer selection.

What’s not to love about this laid-​back lair in Oakland? A well curated draft list, good service, delightful ambiance, and cast-​of-​characters crowd provide for an ideal venue for a second date or nightcap. The Fries + Aioli were simple yet addictive; in fact, the full Legume menu is available ’til 9:00. A return trip is surely in order (read: burger), but expect to pay for the refinement.

Everything we ate, drank was excellent. Extra special burger, fries, desert, drinks. All good. Service great.

This has been on my list to try ever since I visited Legume last year. Many friends have also said Butterjoint has their favorite burger. Finally got a chance to visit and it did not disappoint.
Butterjoint is mostly a bar with a few larger tables and a rather small food menu. I would say burgers and pierogis are the stars of the food menu (which I ordered both), although there are some small plates and desserts too. We got the hamburger with cheddar cheese and caramelized onions and the pierogis with kielbasa and sautéed greens. The burger was good, but the caramelized onions made it better and the fries were the bomb. Could’ve used more fries! The pierogis were perfectly cheesy and doughy, with the perfect level of crispness on the outside. Again, the caramelized onions made it better. Sautéed greens were just kale and they were a hair too salty for me, still tasty though. The kielbasa was a nice touch and you could taste the quality meat. I also ordered the pickle back shot (as recommended by a friend who regulars here). Now, I’ve never had a pickle back shot and neither do I know if most bars will serve it, but Butterjoint has it for $ 5. It’s just a shot of whiskey and then a shot of pickle juice. If you like pickles (and whiskey, separately), the shot is delicious.
Overall, the food was pretty good and the service was excellent. The space is small, though. We lucked out and came across only two empty seats at the bar.
Quick note: I overheard one of the employees talking to some other patrons that they plan on opening another restaurant across the street? If this is true, I’m excited to see what else they come up with!

We came here on our first visit to Pittsburgh. My husband and I both had burgers and both thought they were the best burgers we may have ever had. I had the fancy burger of the week which had pimento cheese and fried onions and even though it had all that fancy stuff on it, I could still taste the quality, juiciness and flavor of the meat. The service and drinks were great too. Highly recommend!

I come here way too often, but it really is the best burger in Pittsburgh. Always get the Fancy burger, no matter what — you will not regret it.
Happy hour specials are great, and they stock excellent drafts which rotate frequently.

Like this joint, it can be a great place for a cocktail, wine, a snack or dinner.
Have stopped by in the past for a cocktail/​wine but never to eat.
Was looking for a place to have a late meal but not looking for anything to big, so the small plates and burgers seemed appealing. While the menu is small it was difficult to pick between a burger and the pierogies. Ordered a burger but will have to stop back for the pierogies sometime in the future. My burger was one of the better you are going to get and the fries that came with were great.
Was able to have a nice glass of wine. The wine list has some nice options.
The bar staff was very nice and busy but was able to spend a little time talking.

Nice atmosphere. Decent selection of wine and cocktails. The aioli was magnificent, very smooth and garlicky. The burgers were cooked perfectly to order and delicious. I had the «fancy» burger with crispy onions and butter and onion jam that was unbelievable. Wonderful dining experience, can’t wait to come back and try more stuff like the perogies with Kim chi.

Although I live a few blocks away from this place, I wonder how I have always managed to miss this gem! We headed here last night, after watching a show downtown for drinks and dessert!
I absolutely loved it. The service was excellent, the atmosphere was that of an upscale bar and for a Friday night, we were able to find seating pretty quickly. I had the Imperial Daiquiri which had a fine blend of Two Indies rum, cherry and lime. We also got the bread pudding for dessert, which was absolutely delicious!!! Baked to perfection with candied citrus and accompanied by ice cream with caramel, this was incredible. Reminded me, that I should head back to an amazing Legume dinner soon!
Overall, totally coming back here as soon as I can find the next chance!

holy sweet buttered heaven! the food is brilliantly well thought out. it’s approachable and sophisticated.
beef tartare small plate is perfect. the plate was bordered with four different traditional companion condiments. each quadrant was delightful, the capers being my favorite.
the burger was phenomenal. a perfectly composed delicate-​yet-​hearty bun cradled a fresh formed and well seasoned patty. add a smear of mustard and some dank Gruyère and it’s like heaven. steak tartare was a hard act to follow but the burger and fries managed to do it.
the non traditional pavlova was also unbeatable. I fell in love with baked meringue because of this dish. every bite of whipped cream, ginger custard, crispy meringue, and pear was dreamy.
good cocktails, great service, pleasant ambiance, & the full menu from legume is available too (not like you’ll need it). definitely try it!

BEST BURGER IN THE BURG!
Hi My Loves!
Myself and «Porty McFreedom» hit Legumes sister restaurant/​bar and happened to kiss-​kiss «Hello! How are you darling?» with Dollar Bill Flanagan… how can you meet and interview captains of industry on your KDKA show but dribble on your tie?! JESUS CHRIST MAN!
ANYWAY…As my core group of (3) fans know, I have a foodie love crush on Tate, a waiter, at Legume. So to honor him, I decided to try Butterjoint.
Genius move on my part. Tallow french fries! Yes please! :pops some Lipitor and Metformin:
The «build your own gourmet burger» is for real. Very unique and delicious options that aren’t just the standard junk. I selected caramelized onions, Gruyère cheese, brioche bun and delicious beef burger. Just perfect! Only downside is that I cannot eat this meal daily without turning into fat Dolly Parton.
Props to the bartender who worked with me and was kind enough to find a drink that worked for me when I made a misstep with my first choice (I’m not a gin drinker).
I will go back… you should too!
Love you!
Muah

I’d read some good reviews of this place on Unilocal,so my date and I stopped by for a bite after work.
Our server was quite nice. He answered our questions politely, and I swear, if he wasn’t so nice about everything I wouldn’t have bought a $ 10 pink lemonade cocktail. Sigh.
I would say that our food was okay, but it didn’t really meet my expectations. We shared some pierogis with sauerkraut, which were tasty enough, but just barely whet our appetite. My fancy burger involved sausage and sauerkraut, and it was decent. My date made his own burger, and he mentioned that the meat was not as hot temperature-​wise as he wanted. At the end, we had a delicious panna cotta dessert with raspberry sauce and a shortbread cookie.
As my date brought up, I think the reason we were underwhelmed is because it’s hard to compare our burgers here to ones we thought were equally good at Stack’d or Purgatory for a fraction of the price (especially Stack’d $ 3 burger deal).

I’m embarrassed to admit that despite living pretty close to here, I had not yet been here (and we eat out… A lot!). We didn’t have plans one night so figured we would go check out Butterjoint and see what it’s all about. Well, it’s all about the yummy in my opinion!
Upon entering, we were told seating was first come, first served so we grabbed a two top by the windows. Within seconds, we were greeted by a friendly server who took our drink order… And came back with drinks quickly. I was on fence as to what I wanted to order and he informed us that we could also order from the Legume menu. I wanted to see it, and he got us one super quickly. My husband ordered from the Butterjoint menu — the corn fritter soup and the fancy burger… Both were fabulous. I love the tallow fries that come with the burger. Yum! I ordered the mixed greens salad and beef tenderloin. It was perfectly medium like I wanted and it melted in my mouth, like butter. So good. I have to have it again. For dessert, we had the inauthentic pavlova (I think that was the name)… Authentic or inauthentic, it was amazing.
The service was awesome, the food was fabulous, and the environment was chill. I highly recommend it… You won’t be disappointed :)

I saw on the review on «next» where they thought the burgers are the best in the city… They are correct. I’ve had tassaros, brgr, burgatory. They are all good, but butter joint is the best.
The bar is cool stocked with local spirits, wigle whiskey, Maggie’s rum, and others.
The drinks are original and well made
Drafts are local brew and the wine list is excellent.
Plus, legume is connected so, there’s that too!
Great staff, very cool, very friendly, if they don’t know the drink, they will find it!

A great bar! I love the happy hour. You have to get there super early, because it gets packed. Show up right at 4 and you can even snag the nice booths at the back. If it weren’t for the fact that the staff clearly struggles to deal with the crowd, this place would get 5 stars.
The beer selections are good, and I always enjoy the house wine. Like Legume, there are not a ton of veg options for snacks (why must they be tallow fries??) but the pierogies are good, and sometimes they have arancini which are delicious.

Butterjoint’s sleek wooden bar and crisp $ 5 white wines provided a welcome respite from the 91 degree Oakland streets. We opened the place at 4:30, securing a coveted seat at the bar and were promptly welcomed and watered by a bartender. Happy Hour prices are a steal — $ 5 wines, house, but pretty good by house wine standards. Our group sampled a few of the small plates which left us all wanting more.
On the burger, «The burger was like meat-​butter. Caramelized onions paired with gruyère melted to make a French onion soup kinda-​burger, which was melt in your mouth good.»
On the pierogis, «A comforting mix of cheese and potato fluff. Filling and delicious with greens, onions and kielbasa creating a salty crunch.»
On the tartare, «A dippy egg laden masterpiece — the perfect combination of salty and savory.»
Learned that several of my favorite menu items are seasonal, making Butterjoint a regular on my ‘must-​visit’ list.

Butterjoint wasn’t on the top of the list of my places to check out in Pittsburgh, but it was Monday and a lot of places weren’t open. That ended up being ok, because our experience there was pretty good.
When we arrived there was a wait, but they have a tasteful beer selection and it was still happy hour. Eric was our server; he was very professional and friendly. No issues with the service at all!
For an appetizer we ordered the pickled radishes. We wanted something that wouldn’t fill us up too much before dinner. This was a very simple appetizer with some amazing, bold flavors. The radishes were lacto-​fermented and served with a perfectly contrasting creamy chili mayo.
We ordered the pierogies which were served with caramelized onions, sauerkraut (our choice), and sour cream. A good chunk of the menu is taken up by pierogi options which was surprising to me at the time, but then I finally put it together given the strong Polish roots in Pittsburgh. These pierogies had a nice chew to them and all the components worked nicely together. Would I order it again though? No. I was curious to see if there was something I was missing out on. Don’t get me wrong, who wouldn’t like potato and cheese stuffed dough? I just have a feeling there were stronger, more interesting menu items that should have been had.
The other item we ordered was the hamburger with Goot Essa cheddar. This was prepared well– and you can tell that it is ground in house. Really good flavor.
I’m giving Butterjoint ⁴⁄₅ stars, but I have a feeling if I chose more adventurous menu items it could have easily been 5 stars. As far as food that I had on my recent trip in Pittsburgh, it definitely was at the top and if in town again I would definitely go back. Little side notes: atmosphere was hip and who ever was playing the music was playing some excellent tunes.

Wow! This place was amazing. Went here last night while visiting Pittsburgh and will most definitely be returning. From service to food to the vibe this place is fantastic.
My husband had the fancy burger which he said is one of the best burgers he has had which is incredibly high praise coming from a man who has eaten burgers throughout the land. I had the pierogies and they were better than a lot of the ones I ate while in Poland. The real five star bump came from the fries which were the best I’ve ever had. Seriously magic. We started the night with a pickle back (shot with pickle juice chaser) and even that was delicious. Cannot recommend this place more.

I came here last night during happy hour (which apparently encompasses Wed. after 10pm, who knew?) for a drink. My drinking companion and I were able to get seated without a problem, which is nice because it usually seems to be packed. We didn’t order any food, since he just came from dinner elsewhere, and I’d had dinner earlier. I ordered the house white blend, and it was «citrusy and refreshing,» as our waiter put it. My drinking companion ordered a cocktail with tequila, fortified wine, and orange bitters, which I took a sip of, and it was quite refreshing, as well.
Service was excellent, as I’ve come to expect in establishments such as Legume, and our server was great at explaining the various drinks and suggesting them based on our tastes. The atmosphere was laid back and classy, and quiet enough to actually converse with my drinking companion – much better than the average Oakland bar. The only downside is that the drinks are a bit pricy, but the happy hour discount helps, and hey, you’re paying for quality. To be honest, I don’t feel that I can fairly rate this place until I order some of the cocktails or food, hence why I’m going with my default «I liked it» 4-​star rating. I’m sure I’ll be back, though, given how close I live!