Penn Brewery

This review is purely based on a trip to the brewery and the beer. No food was had.
We sat outside and wanted to order a flight but were told we would have to go inside for that. Okay… then I’ll just have beer XYZ please. Sorry, we don’t serve that beer outside. Alrighty then, I guess our plan to sit outside on a nice day isn’t happening.
So we end up inside sitting at a long table and ordered the flight. It was brought out with no explanation. Most places explain the beers or at least tell you which are which. We had to flag down the waitress to ask her and she stumbled through a little unsure of herself. I think she was wrong on a few of them. Regardless all but the seasonal beer on the flight was flavorless and tasted watered down. The 3 of us in the party all agreed that this was the most disappointing stop on our brewery tour that day. There are much, much better choices around Pittsburgh for my tastes. That coupled with lackluster service and silly rules for sitting outside pretty much assures that I won’t be returning to try the food. 2 stars because the brewery itself looks nice and they do have a nice outdoor area. Apparently we just couldn’t use it.

Excellent! Will definitely return when we will be in the area. Our group got a large variety and loved it all.

If you want a good German meal– seek no more. This is it.
Absolutely superb.
The spaetzle is the best I’ve ever had. I’ve been to other German restaurants in the burgh and this puts them to shame!!!

I’ve been to this restaurant twice. The first time was good enough to warrant a second trip, but it’s unlikely I’ll make a third. Most recently I went on a Saturday night. The server informed us that only two beers were available on tap and the others were bottled, which considering the restaurant is at the brewery reflects poorly on the way the place is managed.
Incredibly loud music that sounded like top 40 country radio played over the speakers, which isn’t the sort of atmosphere I want if I’m going to a German style brew pub. My saurbraten was very tough. The pretzel appetizers were OK but were typical chain style food and overpriced for the quality. The server didn’t inquire how anything was and generally seemed annoyed to be there. The beer is available elsewhere and the service, atmosphere, and food were mediocre at best. I see no reason to go back.

Stopped in on a Sunday afternoon and we were one of just a few tables sitting outside. Sometimes during slow periods, servers can forget about you, but we had great service from start to finish.
We had the fried pickles as an appetizer and loved ones the aioli sauce that accompanied them. For our main course we split the Bier Mac n Cheese and oh-​my-​god was it delicious. Really rich. My husband is a native German and Penn Brewery is definitely somewhere to head if you’re craving good German grub.
Can’t end a review without mentioning their beer selection– it is great!

We were very excited for our first trip to Penn Brewery! Our server was helpful, informative, and attentive! The beers were great and the food was amazing! The atmosphere was up beat and we even had football to watch! I will be back when I’m in Pittsburgh!

Great beer with seasonal selections and authentic German food (my favorite is the schnitzel) with portions big enough to share.

As a tourist I would say this is a must see if you like drinking in old cool buildings. Go at night, go outside and take a pic by the Heinz factory then eat some food and go home.

They have a nice array of beers, and the historic building just takes you back in time. It has a great feel especially in the outdoor alley.
I come here every oktoberfest where it gets really crowded and you get your beer in milk jugs. Some people dress up and their is a band and food and of course tons of beer. Fun time for sure.
I have eaten here a few times, i like the Wieswurst and pretzel, nothing spectacular but the food is up to par.
Their best beer is the Hefeweizen in my opinion

Excellent place to visit when in Pittsburgh! Beautiful place, great service, and an excellent selection of beers.

Service was terrible. Waitress barely came to our table and was not very friendly. I got bier cheese macaroni and it tasted like nothing but yeast. My boyfriend got a chicken sandwich and the chicken wasn’t even seasoned. Got an Oktoberfest beer that tasted very cheap and had no flavor.

We LOVE this place! Beer in authentic German style, the pub food follows suit. All food offerings tasty and exhibit deeply savory developed flavors that shine!
The staff is attentive and customer friendly. Most especially Chad the bartender! He is funny, friendly and so kind. The Penn beer samplers are the wtg for first timers. We love the seasonal offerings as well! A must are the pretzels & beer cheese.

I have been meaning to come here for a while and seeing them on groupon finally gave me the kick I needed to check it out. We went on a Monday evening around 7:30. I was shocked with how small the place was. Maybe I am just comparing it too much to Hofbrauhaus, but it is teeny in comparison. The beer garden area was empty when we arrived– probably due to it being overcast. I LOVED their beer garden– it felt like we weren’t in Pittsburgh! We were sat right away in the beer hall, in a typical German style table. Our server was friendly and told us about their beer. Considering I have had their beer on many occasions (and honestly am not impressed), I skipped ordering one. Instead, we went straight for the food.
There were three of us and we each ordered our own appetizer– hot wings, fried pickles and hummus. The wings were average– the sauce didn’t stick to them (probably too much butter in the sauce), but they were ok. The fried pickles were awesome! Decent amount for the price and they were huge. The hummus wasn’t good. I am not sure what I was thinking, ordering hummus at a German restaurant, but now I know not to do so again. It was flavorless and the pita was very greasy.
We each ordered a different sandwich for our meal. I ordered the BLT with house candied bacon (how AMAZING does that sound?), my boyfriend ordered the German style Reuben and our friend ordered the steak sandwich. They each had fries with their sandwich but I upgraded to the mac & bier cheese. The BLT was awesome– TONS of sweet, delicious bacon, fresh mozzarella slices, tomatoes, lettuce and balsamic, with a soft and tasty bun. I loved it. The mac & bier cheese was disappointing– the bier cheese didn’t have a lot of flavor, but I ate it anyway. The portion was HUGE and was enough for dinner the next day. My boyfriend said his Reuben was good, but didn’t love it. Our friend really liked his steak sandwich.
We all agreed that we would like to come back but I won’t be rushing here anytime soon, unless it’s to hang out in that adorable beer garden!

Penn Brewery had been on my list of places to try for quite some time (plus I had a groupon to use!). I’m kind of sad that we waited this long to finally eat there. Our food was delicious and the dinner portions were very filling.
The atmosphere and building itself are pretty neat, as well as the outdoor Biergarten area.
Only complaint of the evening was our so-​so waitress, very nice, but very scarce and not assertive at all when I had some questions about the menu, and how to properly pronounce Jaegerschnitzel.

Spaetzle! Spaetzle! Spaetzle!
Okay, so they have other good food and beer. But I just really like their spaetzle. It’s almost as good as Max’s Allegheny Tavern.
The atmosphere here is really fun, and they often have live music. The tables are set up family-​style, so get used to being close to your dinner guests. While you eat, enjoy checking out the brewery (indoors) or the fun courtyard (outside).
Sadly, they’ve recently removed a couple of my favorite menu items, and while there’s always room in my heart for spaetzle, that’s now just about the only thing I *love* — the rest is just okay.

Came here with a coworker and let me say I love the look of the place– has a beautiful courtyard and the inside definitely sells an old look but is pleasing to look at.
The inside was clean and the waiters/​tenders were attentive. Drinks are very good, I tried multiple and do not think there was one I would not drink again– absolutely delicious.
Food was pretty good– the pretzel was tasty– a little salty but I enjoyed it still– most people love the salt– I go easy on it. The cheese dip was perfect though– the kind that makes you close your eyes and savor the moment when you bite into it.
I got the cheesesteak– it was okay, nothing to brag about, but was decent.
I will definitely come back. But the highlight of this place is the liquids not the solids.

I have been coming to the Penn Brewery for most of my life with my Dad and it will always be one of my favorite places to get a bite to eat and now as an adult a fresh pint.
Before you walk in the door you know this is a very unique place in the city. Sitting on Troy Hill this building looks down on historic Deutchetown. The Beer Garden outside is gorgeous cobblestone and a wonderful place to eat in the summer and an even more fun place during Oktoberfest.
The moment the wide wooden doors swing open to reveal the Beer Hall you can’t help but admire the beautiful brass brewery equipment peering in through a glass barrier at the charming bar. The long tables call to mind the Prancing Pony and the Green Dragon bringing out my inner nerd.
On my most recent visit I had just finished washing down a delicious soft pretzel with beer cheese and a tall pint of Penn Pilsner when my Cheese steak arrived. I have traveled all over the city looking for the perfect cheesesteak and this is it friends. I have had it more times than I can count and the only plate that can take me away from it is maybe their homemade pierogis.
The prices are extremely reasonable for what you get and the experience is unlike any other this side of the Atlantic. I’ve never had their mixed drinks but only come here of you like beer.

YUM! I’ve been to Penn Brewery a couple times and have to say, I really, really enjoy eating at this place and I am so glad it’s part of Pittsburgh! Well done German food + authentic German beers: what’s not to like?
The first time I stopped in was for lunch and I fell in love immediately. The place wasn’t hopping but that was fine by me — my dining companion and I had plenty of room to stretch out in their tavern/​hall-​like dining area as we peered into the brewery and tried remembering which flags on the walls and in the rafters represented which countries. For our meal, we ordered their ginger beer — an excellent brew! — and a specialty veal sandwich (which I wish they’d add to the menu full-​time!), amazing pierogies and an absolutely delicious green salad. Seriously, you know you’re doing something right when I get super happy about a salad — what’s not to like about being able to eat well without giving up taste? This one had smoked pork belly, dried cranberries, mozzarella, and almonds dressed with garlic oil vinegar. Talk about yummy!
My second visit was during dinner hours with a group of friends, and I honestly think I’ll be sticking to lunch only visits. The place was much more packed in the evening and once you added in loud music, it was impossible to talk to anyone at my table aside from the person right next to me. Not cool — if I’m out with friends, I want to be able to talk to them. Still, the food was as awesome as ever — we split the fried pickles (quite unusual in this city, I think, but not bad) and I continued my streak of ordering «healthier» options here by getting the portobello stack. Given it’s price I wouldn’t have minded a bit more food on my plate — but it was still VERY good. Well cooked (but not overdone) mushrooms plus tomatoes plus creamy goat cheese and dressing — what a simple but delectable combination. Seeing as I’d eaten beer and pizza at work that day, a dinner of just vegetables sounded perfect, and it’s good to know that Penn Brewery’s menu isn’t entirely comprised of heavy German food, a common sin of restaurants that offer it.
I definitely plan on stopping in to sample more of their sandwiches, appetizers and burgers the next time I want to go out for lunch — just thinking about trying their Deutschtaun Burger and their flatbreads makes my mouth water!

I am a huge fan of the Penn Brewery and if you don’t know me I am a bit of a booze hound. I love beer! All types, all colors, all ABV’s. So I ran in here today for lunch but I am not allowed to imbibe during work hours. Woe is me… the world is not fair! My point is if you enjoy a beer, just about any type… this is the place to start. I have been here 10+ times and this was my only non-​drinking visit.
I enjoyed the Braumeister Steak Sandwich with fries. The food, service and atmosphere were great. Try to find the time to visit this place. Well worth the stop.

Given the mixed reviews, I wasn’t quite sure to what to expect when I came here recently. And fittingly, I’d say my experience was mixed, although overall positive.
We went on a Saturday evening, and I thought the place would be hopping, but it was sort of dead. The space is beautiful though, and it was a shame that their charming courtyard beer garden was not being patronized by more people that evening. We were seated indoors in their downstairs area, which was cozy, but a bit dark and dungeon-​like. The evening started off on an annoying note when it took about 15 minutes for a waiter to come by and take our drink order (though he was more attentive after that).
Our waiter was hilariously blunt. Several times when we tried to order something, he shot us down with his unsolicited (though actually appreciated) opinion:
Us: «We’ll try the mussels to start.»
Waiter (with horrifying look): «No, you don’t want to order those. They are really sandy.»
Us: «Umm, ok, thanks for the heads up. How about the peanut butter and jelly wings?»
Waiter (gives knowing glance): «How do you THINK wings with peanut butter and jelly would taste? Don’t get those.»
Later for our meal order:
Friend: «I’ll have the rabbit for dinner.»
Waiter (same horrifying look as before): «No, no good. Literally ANYTHING else would be a better choice.»
Though it was a bit odd, we did appreciate his candor about the food and I know he was just trying to be helpful. Also it gave us plenty to giggle about every time he left the table.
Anyway, speaking of the food, waiter man’s tips were fairly solid, because we were pleased with almost everything we ordered. To start, we sampled the Black BBQ wings, which were meaty, juicy, and crispy. We also tried the pierogies, which were good, though nothing noteworthy (I can think of about a dozen places off of the top of my head that serve a better pierogie). On the annoying side, they only gave 3 pierogies in the appetizer serving, which for $ 7 bucks seems a little stingy. Also, 3 is an odd number of anything for an appetizer, as most dining parties are 2 or 4 people (ours was 4). Thanks for creating an awkward sharing situation, Penn Brewery. Anyhow, we also tried the pretzel and bier cheese, which everyone at the table liked except for yours truly (I found the stiff mousse-​y texture of the cheese to be unappetizing).
For our meal, my husband and I split the chicken kasespaetzle, which appears to be Germany’s answer to mac n’ cheese. It was really tasty, with a rich, creamy, tangy and flavorful sauce, plenty of juicy chicken, and tender pasta dumplings. Our friends split the roasted pork, which they reported to be delicious as well. Entrée portions were generous and more than enough for us to split and still feel full and happy (especially given the appetizers we had). For dessert, we shared the apple strudel, and our waiter was quite pleased.
«GREAT choice, that’s the best dessert we have!» he exclaimed a little too enthusiastically after we ordered it.
Thanks, waiter, glad we finally could nail it on the first try. And nail it we did — the strudel was heavenly. Flaky pastry crust and warm, soft apple filling paired with melty vanilla ice cream was the perfect way to end our meal. Very good experience overall. Or should I say, «sehr gut» experience overall.