Dinette

Undoubtedly some of the best authentic pizza in Pittsburgh. These excellent thin-​crust pies are sized for one, and could come straight off of a plaza in Florence or Rome. The menu is short, well considered and delicious. A favorite with the kids that will leave even serious foodies delighted as well; complimented by unfailingly gracious service. Very highly recommend.

My hubby and I just came here last night, and when our waiter greeted us with a «welcome back,» I knew that I simply had to update my review of Dinette!
When I’ve had a long week and need some comfort food, Dinette is my go-​to spot. I love how innovative their menu is and that it changes constantly. I can come here once/​month and still have a new, fun, seasonally appropriate pizza to try. Plus, with $ 1 Yuenglings and two of my other favorite beverages (Full Pint White Lightning and white wine), I always leave happy as a clam.

I have been here several times over the past couple of years. Yesterday i want for a family dinner. We went early on a Tuesday and had no trouble getting a table. In the past I have had to wait, but I guess 5:30pm on a Tuesday is not prime time. Be warned– they do not take reservations.
As you can gather from the reviews, this is an a pizza joint. I have had most of their pizzas. Most recently I had the pepperoni which was fine. I mean it is hard to completely screw up pizza. That being said, there was nothing exceptional about this pizza other than it was single serve and cost $ 15. There are several other places in the city that do a better brick oven/​wood fired pie for less. My sis had the Brussels sprouts pizza. The list of ingredients sounded quite good, but somehow they did not work together and I was overpowered by the salty taste.
For starters, I had the red new potato salad. Now this was probably the best part of the meal. It was essentially a deconstructed potato salad. The addition of avocado really made it. Of course at $ 9, it is one pricey potato salad.
As for the drinks, they had $ 1 Yuengling cans so you cannot complain about that. One could complain about the wine. The cheapest glass was $ 10 which I think is a bit much for pizza.
As for the service, I cannot complain. It was prompt and curteous. The server knew the menu and gave appropriate recommendations.
To summarize, the pizza is average but the prices are above average. Will I be back? Sure because I have friends that like to go there because it is close to their house. Would I choose it on my own? Unlikely.

My experience with Dinette… well, lets just say i was extremely unimpressed with both the food and the service. The inside decorations left me feeling like i was dining at IKEA. If you are going to charge an average of $ 16 for a small individual pizza it better be good! This was not the case as toppings are odd and barely present, the dough was tasteless and chewy, and the presentation leaving much to be desired. Appetizers were not good and overpriced, and the wine list makes no sense with the food being served. BTW, $ 12 average price for a glass of wine that sells for $ 10 a bottle at the store… seriously? Another urban hipster smoke and mirrors restaurant that a couple can go to and spend $ 100 for cheap pizza and bad wine.

As my mission to try all brick oven or wood-​fired pizzas in Pittsburgh continues, I stopped in here after a coworker recommended it as his go-​to. Upon walking in, I immediately noticed the place was tiny with a bar surrounding the kitchen/​oven. And it was packed.
The food was alright but just a bit overpriced. My husband and I ordered the Grilled Shishito Peppers to start and the Pepperoni and Salt-​Cured Anchovy pizzas for our entrees. The Grilled Shishito peppers were delicious: they’re served on a plate of olive oil alongside fried almonds and bits of goat cheese. I’m not usually a huge fan of goat cheese but theres was very mild. The peppers were sweet, almonds were salty and cheese was creamy. Overpriced though. You only get seven peppers for $ 9. The crust on the pizzas was super thin. The pepperoni pizza wasn’t all that great, according to the hubby. It was a little too greasy with both the pepperoni and the addition of chili oil. On the plus side, they’re generous with the pepperoni. I really enjoyed the anchovy pizza, although really salty since it didn’t have much to contrast the saltiness of both the anchovies and capers. However, the freshness and spice from the jalapeños were nice.
The service here was quick and overall, the food was decent but overpriced. I can’t say for certain when I’ll be back, but I will say that you can’t find anything like Dinette anywhere else in Pittsburgh. None that I’ve tried, anyway. They have quite the special, one-​of-​a-​kind pizzas with their paper-​thin crust and unique offering of toppings. Plus, they have $ 1 Yuenglings all day, everyday.

The breadsticks here are actually sticks! Taste– (presumably) and appearance-​wise.
I got the banana peppers pizza not because I like banana peppers but because I liked everything else on the pizza: spinach, egg, feta cheese. It was not bad. Boyfriend got the mushroom + bacon pizza and liked it. Each pizza is made from scratch, comes out faster than you might expect, and comes in six thin slices. Although they recommend one pizza per person, I was only able to finish half of mine.
The bright orange chairs and all the children at Dinette kind of reminded me of a daycare center. There were these gray fluffy-​looking objects hanging from the ceiling, which we thought might be flour or dough or something. Cute!
Taste | 3
Atmosphere | 3
Presentation | 3
Service | 3
OVERALL | 3

I have been coming here since 2009 or so and I have never had a bad experience. The staff has always been friendly and happily answer any questions you have, and the service is quick. It is a smaller establishment so sometimes there can be a wait, but the atmosphere is so nice that I never mind grabbing a glass of wine and standing by the windows and enjoying the view down Centre Avenue. With all of the developments happening in this area, it is nice to appreciate it from a different view point.
The food is consistency good and they have an array of choices to please both meat eaters and vegetarians, as well as the adventurous and the not so adventurous. I usually get the ricotta pizza but last night I switched it up and had the sunburst tomato and pesto. It was delicious! I have never experienced some of the complaints that others have made on this page regarding special requests. I often ask for extra sauce on the side and never once have they told me no. However I have never and would never ask for a substitution. The chefs and owner put a great deal of thought into planning their menu, if you want a custom made pie go somewhere else. They do however accommodate those with allergies, and I once even ordered a pizza that had meat on it and they gladly held it off to make it vegetarian, which was very much appreciated.
Over the years I have tried various appetizers and desserts, all of which have been fantastic. One of my favorites is the peppers, almonds and goat cheese.
Over all this is a great sit down pizza place with modern décor and great atmosphere. The food is wonderful and they seem to push the local, fresh ingredient approach. The prices are a little higher than your average pizza place, but the food is definitely not average. Highly recommend for a fun dinner spot.

Every time we go here the food is delicious and fresh, the wines well-​priced and yummy, the service prompt and attentive and the overall vibe is just great. The appetizers and salads change often and are always worth trying out – sometimes, as much as we LOVE the pizzas, we love the starters even more. they are inventive and fun and always so good. It is lovely to have the pizza oven right behind the bar and to see the pizzas being made. The space itself is fresh and clean and delightful. We love Dinette and recommend it to everyone we know.

I have mixed feelings about dinette. $ 1 beers are amazing, but other things seemed overpriced for what you got (peppers and cheese app, desserts). :-/​The pizzas, which are their main food, were amazing! I would say, stick to the pizzas if you go, because anything else is going to be twice as expensive as it probably should be (for the amount that you get). Oh and of course try the $ 1 beer… Duh

I loved this place! No reservations, but also no wait for an early weekend dinner. The place is minimal, clean, and open (open kitchen!!). Some of the ingredients are harvested right from the rooftop garden! Blistered shishito peppers were amazing, packed with all 5 flavors — definitely making this at home. Lightly breaded and fried lemon slices were refreshing. Calamari was perfect — lightly breaded with crunch without being weighted down, cooked just right before turning rubbery. «Individual» pizzas were great also, except the anchovy one was too salty and way too spicy. I love eating at places that inspire me and expand my own repertoire.
The menu does change daily. I heard their rice pudding is amazing. I don’t eat the biggest portions, and had 2 pieces leftover for snacks the next day. Probably plan on 35pp with one drink. Our service was on target.

I’ve been to Dinette twice now and the second time was a big improvement. I ordered the asparagus pizza and I was wary. Asparagus, Ricotta, Eggs, Mozz… somehow it works! It was amazing and delish. The crust is thin and really complements the fresh toppings they use (roof top garden to boot).
As usual, I ordered two desserts and pretended one was for my H. I had intended on crushing the chocolate pot de crème and the rice pudding solo. Alas, as soon as they put the pot de crème down in front of H, I knew I didn’t stand a chance. He barely came up for air.
The service was pleasant and the food top notch. Highly recommend.
The reason I dinged one star was because I ordered sparkling water and received a Soda Stream canister (with no cap) of said fizzy bubbles. As a result, I paid for air.

Tried this place for the first time with my family today. Such a bummer. The food was great — so on food alone, I’d give it 4 stars. But holy crap — we thought we were being pranked or something by how crappy the service was!
I mean — bad. I don’t think our server said a word to us the entire time we were there.
For the price — not worth it at all. There are plenty of places in Pgh where the food is as good and the experience is a hell of a lot better.
Save your money.

A+pizza! Lots of flavor and unique pizza combinations, wood fire, fresh ingredients, my rating would be 5 if I were only rating the pizza.
The atmosphere could be a positive for some, but a negative for me, personal preference. It is clean but very very small, crowded, and noisy. You are eating practically next to other guests, trendy vibe.
Complaints: no fountain soda, only cans and they are 2.50 $ each so kinda high. 2^nd, they serve drink with a reusable metal straw. Gross and weird.
Nice wine list. A neat little place, the pizza is worth the annoying atmosphere.

Dinette has good food but I’m not overly impressed. My husband & I will eat here usually a couple times a year. I really like that they are always changing up their menu so it’s a chance to try different pizzas each time you go.
The food is a bit pricey, almost $ 20 for a small pizza.
The service is middle of the road, not awful but could be better.
I’d say Dinette is definitely worth trying but sometimes its better than others.

Definitely a fan! The appetizers and pizza were delicious, the atmosphere is trendy yet cozy, and the yuengling cans are only a dollar! Great spot for a later mid-​week dinner, as they had plenty of availability.

It got two stars because «Meh. I’ve experienced better.» is an apt description of this place. I probably would have upped it to 2.5 if that were available, but that’s it.
So why the low rating?
Strike 1 — They don’t take reservations. I could get over this for a place that’s stellar, but I had a party of 8 and it’s tough to walk into a small place with a crowd like that without one. And… they didn’t mention when I called ahead about the reservation that coming early to get my name on the list wouldn’t help because they won’t put your name on the list unless half of the party is present.
Strike 2 — My party of 8 was whittled down to 5 since 3 didn’t want to deal with the no reservations thing. So they stuffed the five of us at a table for four. We were pretty cramped and chose not to order appetizers with our pizzas because there wouldn’t have been room. The bar area was also cramped — you can’t sit there without getting hit every 5 minutes by someone walking to the bathroom.
Strike 3 — The first two strikes wouldn’t have mattered as much if the food had been spectacular, but it wasn’t. It was actually pretty bland overall. The complimentary «breadsticks» were more like crackers — no flavor or anything special about them. I then sampled three different pizzas — the sweet potato, the mushroom, and the prosciutto. The prosciutto was great, but the other two were lacking some punch. I dressed them up with the little bowl of red pepper flakes, but then they were just spicy.
The menu describes the pizzas (ranging from $ 12-​$ 16) as «for one», which is a little off. It’s definitely more than one person should eat, and not quite enough for two unless you order an app. I’d recommend sharing one and getting an app if you choose to try this place.
There were a few good things about this place. The service overall was decent, albeit a little slow for a pizza joint. There’s plenty of free parking. The wine list included some good selections — 5 oz pours just so you have an idea.

Typically I would give this place 4 stars but tonight was different.
My wife and I decided to sit down at the «bar» (observatory) to eat and wait the usual 5 or whatever minutes to get a drink. This is per the usual and were fine.
Ten or so minutes pass. I’m looking at the menu wishing for something a bit more spicy and ask the waitress if I could add jalapenos to the pepperoni pizza… NO
Then comes questioning angry blonde lady whom appears to run the place. I also asked her for jalapenos for my pizza. NO. Angry woman. Don’t like customers. go away. Are you kidding me??? (the latter couple sentences were my interpretation)
The woman goes on to tell me «You’re not welcome here» in front of my wife and every other patron in the place. Are you kidding me?
Terrible experience for me and my wife.
Have fun people.

It took me a long time to try this place, but I am so glad that I did! It’s a cute little place and I had a great experience when a couple of friends and I spontaneously decided to stop in for dinner.
We started by sharing the marinated olives and the grilled shishito peppers with chèvre and fried almonds. I could not get enough of the peppers. So freakin’ good. They also brought these thin, crispy breadsticks for the table. They were unusual, but we were starving and polished those off as well.
I ordered the prosciutto pizza (arugula, tomato, parmesan, and fresh mozzarella). It was great and piping hot! The pizza was thin (in a good way) and everything was so fresh. Apparently they grow a lot of ingredients on the roof, which is pretty awesome in itself.
Our server was very friendly. We sat outside, but I did venture inside to use the restroom, and restaurant’s interior was simple but pleasant and trendy. I’m hoping to return soon and try some of the other items.

Not the best brick oven pizza in the area that I’ve had, but a wonderful experience overall.
Affordable prices including $ 1 yuengling cans which I thought was a mistake. Good appetizers and an excellent waitstaff.
We’ll definitely come back again.

I finally tried Dinette for the first time last night!
First impressions: super tiny, nice staff, funny looking breadsticks, small water glasses, decently varied menu choices.
My date and I sat at the pizza bar, as there were no seats left in the house. We had good, friendly service, and we got to watch them cook the whole time. The cooks are professional, clean, and look like they are enjoying what they are doing. I love eating at a place that lets you watch while they cook (I’m looking at you, Salt of the Earth!).
I got the mushroom pizza, and my date got the salami pizza. Mine was really good, perfectly cooked crust, not too dry, flavorful, and a good size. My date said his was excellent and that he really liked the scrambled eggs on top of the pizza. It’s weird because the eggs don’t look like eggs on top of the pizza. We were trying to figure out how they did it. I think they have raw egg in a squirt bottle. Haha.
Consensus: above average food, nice atmosphere, and I would definitely come back and try some other things. I think as far as the food goes, Mercurios does it slightly better (at least with the pizzas, but Dinette appears to have the appetizers beat), but Dinette provides much better service.