Smithfield Cafe

the closing of the café is surely a sad thing.
i first went to the café when i was in college, then when i took my first job downtown in 1977. and i «found» it again when i started working downtown again several years ago after being out in the burbs for years. i loved going here for lunch as it was quick, it was not pricey, and the food was consistently good. nothing fancy. no tofu. no edible art. just the kind of comfort food your mom would make.
since i moved to arizona and come back monthly for business trips, it is still on my list of places to hit while i am here. i was scheduled to meet a friend there today :(
i am so sorry to see that John lost everything in an attempt to keep his dream alive. and i am sorry for pittsburgh as yet another independent is lost. hopefully, the building will not turn into yet another fast food joint or over-​priced noveau cuisine establishment. no matter what — it will never be able to replace the café.

I can’t believe it. Just a week after I’d been there, the Smithfield Café is closed for good…

This has to be the best diner setting Downtown, a complete archetypal flashback of the greasy spoon meal alternative. I’m pretty much a regular (2x a week) now so I wanted to update my review to point out that they’ve made a couple changes (maybe a different food purveyor) and the food is even better now. The bread is fresher than ever, the turkey is nice and tender, and the bacon is scrumptious. Service is still that «make yourself at home» but «don’t take yourself too seriously» that I truly enjoy.

It’s nice to find a diner in the middle of downtown. I went with friends and had one of their breakfast specials (eggs, bacon, home fries and toast). Good and cheap, with the cost of my drink included in the price of the meal. However I was a little saddened by only getting two strips of bacon. The attentive wait staff never let my cup get empty, though, which starts to make up for it.
If I’m ever downtown, I might stop by again to try something off their lunch menu and sit at the comfortable counter.

I love this place! Sure it isnt the nicest restaurant in Pittsburgh but it works for me. I usually frequent this bar when going to penguins games since it is right next to the deck I always park in. Good drink specials on game nights.

Love getting take out from the Smithfield Café. They have all the comfort food you can want and at a fabulously cheap price. The décor inside leaves a little to be desired but it’s perfect for a diner. The service is always friendly and helpful. If you are looking for some quick cheap comfort food, this is the place to go!

What can I say about The Smithfield Café??? It is what it is.
Is the décor nice? Of course not.
Are the floors sticky? Of course they are.
Is the waitstaff well versed in the latest culinary trends? Hell no.
Do I love this little diner? OF COURSE!
They’ve basically got some great lunchtime staples (the Pittsburgh Salad, a really great burger, and some mediocre chili). I have a soft spot in my heart for the tuna salad (open-​faced on an English muffin topped with half a slice of a Kraft American cheese single).
Above all else, they have EXCELLENT bleu cheese dressing. This is how you can weed good establishments from bad, in may cases. This stuff is CHUNKY and CREAMY and downright deelish.
Also good for a cheap Friday happy hour (complete with Karaōke!).
Give it a try. It’ll grow on you… like fungus.

I’m taking a megabus today, so I looked on Unilocal for a good spot to eat in Downtown Pittsburgh, and so I went here based on the reviews of other Unilocalers, and my goodness, the burgers here ARE Awesome! Thanks Unilocalers!!! The fries came out piping hot, and the server was really friendly. The cook even came out to double check how one of the customers really wanted her burger. When the cook came out, he said «I just love to cook» so there’s love that goes into this food.
I would definitely recommend this place to anyone wanting a good burger. I haven’t tried any of the other food, but I’m sure it’s good.
Definitely a good quick spot for good food.

Oh this place.
This is the greasy spoon that is sooo convenient it is worthwhile. Would I travel more than 3 blocks for this place, probably not.
Would I ride an elevator down and run over across the street in the middle of winter — without a coat — for it. Of course.
I’ve done every combination of their salads — all solid choices. And they are pretty flexible regarding adding/​avoiding — so go ahead ask. (BUT — if they really wanted my opinion, I could write a dissertation on what they could do to improve their salad choices)
When I’m having a horrible day at work and I can’t stand the idea of a salad. Their hamburgers are top notch. They will frequently remind you that they won an award (ps none of the waitresses know which award). But no joke — solid, straight up excellent burger and fries. None of the glitz of every new burger place that has rolled into town — but really… This is a GOOD burger.
The décor… well it borders on the bad, but in the right light (dim) it’s fine. It’s a diner.
Wait staff is a surly bunch of no nonsense ladies, with an accuracy rating of about 85%, but I like them. They mean well and they keep my glass of diet coke filled to the brim.

It’s been a crazy week in my office, what with it being the end of our fiscal year and all. So I just had to get me out and have me some good old comfort food for lunch today. Alone!
So I had me a good ol’ fashioned cheeseburger and fries with some coleslaw. It really hit the spot so I’m upping my rating to four stars.

I don’t know why this place got such low ratings but I was pleased. I am not used to a place with cheap and good breakfast… I mean $ 6 got me eggs, bacon, toast, potatoes. It wasn’t the best but it was really good.
I thought the service was really good as well. If they had this place in Cali I would probably eat there more often. Much better but the same price as Mc Donald’s.

Well, it’s food! That’s about all I can say for The Smithfield Café.
I had the «daily special» which is pretty much the universal way of condensing «two eggs, bacon or sausage, and toast» into two words. Sausage was room temperature, eggs were decent, and the greasy home fries contained the flavor of the dozen meals that were cooked before mine this morning (not i’n a good way). Coffee was plentiful, but not flavorful.
The waitresses were grizzled and archetypal for their profession.
To surmise; meh…

The waitresses are surly. It’s kind of annoying. But the food is decent. I especially like the spaghetti with oil and garlic. I always forget not to order salads, though. They need to invest in a salad-​spinner, if they’re not watering down their dressings.

Great food at very reasonable prices. Waitress said it’s been open for 75 years. They’re playing oldies on the sound system. Service was prompt and courteous. This place works for me.

Food was only just ok and service was even worse.
There’s plenty of other places you can go to for breakfast — even Eat’N’Park would be better but hit up a place like Ritter’s instead.

Our experiences at the Smithfield were mixed. On the one hand the food was quite good (both Friday and Saturday), but the service was very, very bad.
On friday, we walked in and ordered coffee. The waitress then asked us what we wanted. I said that a menu would be nice. That pretty much set the tone for our time there.
Saturday, we got menus (different waitress) but the woman was pretty surly and somehow managed to get our order wrong.

I ate breakfast at the Smithfield Café. The menu wasn’t extensive, but my order was spot on with my eggs cooked perfectly. The waitress refilled my coffee, cup after cup. I sat there with a co-​worker for over three hours and nobody seemed to mind.
I liked this place because it wasn’t pretentious. It’s local and it was great food. If you’re thinking about going, you should go.