Simple Ingredients

I wanted to give this a shot since it’s closer to my office than Earth and let’s be honest, Earth can get expensive. Now, however, I am really upset that I just wasted $ 10 here. I got the super food salad and there was sand all over the kale. SAND. I’ve never seen that before! I removed all the sandy kale and keep going. Grape tomatoes were mushy and my piece of bread was stale. They were out of the salad dressing. Less salad than I was expecting for $ 10.
When I first ordered I tried to get a veggie wrap — mid way through making the wrap the employee noticed the veggies were rotten. It happens wasn’t going to say anything about it. One thing or two is fine but everything?! I’m grossed out and concerned that I ate some of that food. Don’t be deceived into thinking it is fresh.
Looks like I will continue to patron Earth. Will not go back.

Every other city in the US has tons of places like Simple Ingredients, and it is really hard to get a great salad in this town. Simple Ingredients fills a much needed hole in the Pittsburgh lunch and dinner scene, and it is a few doors down from my new job. Perfection.
The options are very simple. You can get a wrap or a salad. I ordered a Caesar Salad ($ 6.99) from the Make-​Your-​Own Salad, and I added some cucumbers and tomatoes as well. The ingredients were super fresh and wonderful. They will put the dressing on the side or on the salad, which is great. Additionally, the salad comes with two small slices of whole grain bread. The bread wasn’t anything special, but I really enjoyed the combination. Great quality and portion for the price.
The best part is that they give you plenty of napkins and decent plasticware. There is nothing worse than to-​go places that don’t automatically put this in the bag for you!
Credit cards accepted.

I got the super food salad, which was okay, but nothing like the pictures that other people posted, and I’m not sure why I didn’t get that piece of bread in those pics. They took the packaged salmon directly out of the fridge, cut it, and put it on the salad, so I don’t think the ingredients where that fresh.
I also tried the smoothie, which was a disappointment. Especially that there was a sign saying «real fruit smoothie», but they just mix some berry juice and ice for you. Of course it’s very thin, and does not taste fresh at all.
Over all it’s a okay place to grab a quick lunch.

Great little café on Liberty in the middle of Downtown. The salads are great, and at the same price as other comparable salad restaurants in the city, but the ingredients taste fresher and they put more ingredients than filling the bowl with just greens. The smoothies also aren’t bad, but a tad pricey.
Overall, a great little shop that’s fast, friendly, and super tasty.

This place is excellent! What stood out to me the most was the level of customer service. When I arrived, there were 2 people behind the counter (a girl and a guy) — both greeted me and smiled. After staring at the menu for a while, I said that I couldn’t make up my mind. The guy asked a couple questions, then suggested the manderin chicken salad — and he was right on the money! The salad was delicious, the ingredients were fresh, and the dressing was flavorful and not heavy or oily at all! The only negative thing I could say is that it’s a little pricey — $ 9.52 (I think) for my salad. Maybe they should consider a «Frequent Salad Eater Card.» You know… buy X number of salad and get one free. That would definietly motivate me to go back more often!
Also, they didn’t have it posted anywhere that they’ll mix & chop your salad with or without your dressing before you leave. For people like me who often eat at their desks, this is a super perk!
A suggestion: It would be nice to know the fat/​calorie content of the dressings.

I have been here twice and have been impressed with the simple and tasty options. It’s a small place, located on a stretch of Liberty Ave. that I usually don’t wander off to for lunch.
The employees are quite friendly and helpful. Of the two options I tried:
Southwest Chicken Salad: (⁹⁄₁₀) This salad was delicious! They provide generous portions and the flavors mixed together very well. I’m not a big salad eater and I would definitely go back and get this one again.
Chicken Salad Wrap: (⁸⁄₁₀) This was really good as well. They do it a little differently in that they mix all of the ingredients in the bowl in front of you and then place it in the wrap and wrap it. My only gripe here was that they kind of drowned it in mayo, but next time I’ll ask them to go easy. That, and some of the pieces of celery were clearly beyond fresh. They were super busy, so I’ll chalk it up to a rough day for them.
All things aside, the prices are good for the ingredient quality and the portions are good size for lunch. I will definitely be back, because this place blows Hello Bistro and Earth out of the water when it comes to salads.

This place has very fresh, friendly and quick service. The portions are really big, but it is a bit pricey. I would honestly rather have a smaller portion and have it be little less expensive. It would be nice if they had a half a salad option. There are a ton of ingredients which is great. It would be nice if they chopped the salad though.

I usually get my salad fix from Earth (formerly known as Toss’t) but after reading the reviews here, I decided to give Simple Ingredients a try for lunch today. I was greeted warmly when walked into the little place and I didn’t feel rushed as I looked over the menu to decide what I wanted. I was feeling more in the mood for salmon than chicken so I choose the Super Foods Salad with the tomato basil dressing. The people behind the counter were personable and while I my salad was being made, I learned that this place is owned by the same people who own Sal’s.
As one other person on here pointed out, there is no seating in Simple Ingredients (part of what makes it so «simple» I suppose) so I took my bagged Super Foods Salad to my office and enjoyed it at my desk. My first impression was how fresh everything in the salad tasted. The tomato basil worked well with the spinach, kale and edamame and the serving size was just about right. I was really surprised by the slice of bread that I got with the salad. It seemed stale… very uncharacteristic of the rest of the meal.
It seems to me that there are mainly two salad joints in the Downtown area both competing against one another: Simple Ingredients and Earth. Let me contrast the two.
Simple Ingredients seems to have slightly fresher produce than Earth does; but only very slightly and maybe I just caught them on a delivery day. Earth on the other hand offers strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, something that I really enjoy with my salad and I kind of missed them today. I think you get a slightly larger serving of salmon and it comes in one piece at Simple Ingredients but I like the way Earth crumbles it up for you. Also, Earth applies and mixes the dressing of your choice for you which is good if you’re going to consume the salad shortly after purchasing it. Whereas Simple Ingredients gives you a tub of their dressing and you can apply it when you see fit. Good for those purchasing now for later.
Both places have their pros and cons but all in all they both produce a very good product and there’s enough of a market with the Downtown crowd to support them both.

A great place to grab something nutritious, light and quick! I travel to Pittsburg for work, so it is nice to have a reliable place with fresh and healthy ingredients. The staff is always happy and friendly too!

I had passed this place a bunch of times on my commute into work every day… and definitely was excited to see a healthy/​fast spot open up (we need more in Pgh!!)
Have to be honest though that my salad tasted like a McDonald’s salad. I had some yucky pieces of lettuce in mine, the chicken was kind of spongey and the tortilla chip crunchies just didn’t taste good… I dunno, not for me. I had the southwestern chicken salad.
I’ll definitely give it another shot. Hopefully my next one is better. I’ll be rooting for this place!

I had an awesome freshly prepared wrap and delicious soup! If you want to eat healthy, easy, and delicious this is the place downtown. This seems to be the only place like it in the area and I’m so glad to have this option for a quick lunch or a dinner pickup on the way home.

I’ve been wanting to try Simple Ingredients for a while and finally got my chance. While home recovering from appendicitis surgery, I walked the few blocks from our apartment and was glad I did.
I walked in and told them I needed something light with chicken and they immediately suggested a chicken salad wrap. They made it quickly to order and chatted with me about my health issue. They were friendly, polite and the price was decent.
Overall… This is a great addition to downtown!

For a new person living in downtown Pittsburgh (and PA in general), as much as there are great regional and local food options, let’s be serious… there are not many «healthy/​fresh/​raw» restaurant options. I was excited to find Simple Ingredients for I was desperately seeking heathy/​green/​fresh options outside the confines of my kitchen in downtown Pittsburgh.
I have only been once. I had the Super Foods Salad. Simple, healthy, fresh, raw. Salmon was good. Fit the bill on exactly what I was looking for. I will absolutely be back.
No seating, so you order and they make fresh, you pay for it, you eat it somewhere else (desk or home!). SIMPLE!