The Isaly Company

New owners about a year or so ago. I’ve been working in West view for almost 20 years and haven’t eaten in there for the last six years. It’s too pricey. You can’t beat young house Chinese restaurant across the street. They have a six dollar lunch special and you can’t even eat it all. If I owned this place I would offer a daily six dollar lunch special and advertise outside on a sandwich board. How about offering a nice grilled chicken salad lunch for all the women that work in the bank? (something healthy) This place is very poor on promoting their business. If it was me I would have that place packed lunch time. 2 stars for poor management.

Way too expensive for a sandwich and soup. We rolled in a little b4 closing but there were other folks in the joint. Didnt seem like the two employees were digging us being there but whatev. Choc Chip pancakes — average at best. Soup was good — Oriental beef but cold. Good milkshake — Chipped ham sandwich tastes better at home and a lot less expensive. That could be the coolest diner in the North Hills if they wanted it to be. Check out the ceiling tiles and the memorable pics from West View Park.

When we first walked in, we weren’t exactly sure what to expect because everyone inside just kinda swiveled their heads to stare at us. (Maybe we just reallyyy looked like we weren’t from around there? Which we weren’t. har har. :x) But we were seated quickly and our server brought us our menus.
All of us were in the mood for burgers, but we were informed that the burgers couldn’t happen that day, and that she’d understand if we wanted to leave. Since we were all ravenous to the point of being hangry, we decided to stay, and all of us were able to find something we wanted on the menu.
Aside from burgers, they also have sandwiches, salads, soups, and traditional breakfast items (e.g. pancakes, toast, eggs, omelets, etc.). Our server came back looking kinda like she wanted to crawl under our table, and informed our friend that they didn’t have regular shrimp either, but that they did have popcorn shrimp. (From how distressed she looked, we kinda thought she’d come back to tell us that all they had was bread and cheese for the day.)
I got a chicken salad sandwich on toasted wheat bread and homefries on the side with green peppers + onions, and was very happy with my order (~$ 7). They don’t skimp on the chicken, and it isn’t super mayo-​heavy, which I really appreciated. (Our server came back to tell us that the toaster had blown up, and that she couldn’t toast our bread, but she’s a terrible liar and was trying really hard not to crack up, so none of us believed her.) I also got to sample the onion rings that my friend ordered, which were super delicious!
Soooo, all in all, the food is great, especially for the prices they’re offered at, and the staff is super friendly with a great sense of humor. They have ice cream on either a sugar or waffle cone, or milkshakes (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and the flavor of the month in March was Thin Mint), so we decided to each order dessert, and they actually gave it to us on the house to apologize for not having some of the things we’d wanted to order! :O
If I’m ever in the area again, I’d definitely come back here for inexpensive comfort food!
(They close at 3 p.m.!)

Wow! There’s still an Isaly’s left in the North Boroughs?! That in itself is amazing!
This is a nice place to grab breakfast or lunch if you’re in West View. The food was good and well priced. Sides are extra with sandwiches, but the sandwiches are typically on the inexpensive side. The best deal is probably the hot dog; it’s a huge dog. The hot dog and beer battered onion rings run about $ 5. Also, the milkshakes are also pretty tasty and inexpensive.
The atmosphere is meh, but definitely has that «old school» vibe. The seating isn’t very comfortable. Overall, it was good and I’ll go again.

Old school awesome! If you like chipped ham, very good chipped ham omelet! Reminds me of being a kid.

Food is good and it’s a neat throwback kind of place. Unfortunately the deli dude who has been there for years is a complete jerk. He should not be in a customer service role anywhere.

:)
Yes, this place makes me smile.
When you walk in, it’s classic deli/​diner feel that hasn’t been updated since who knows when (maybe never?) makes me feel right at home.
Every single time that I have dined here the super friendly waitstaff has gone above and beyond for us. They talk to us, play with our daughter, make sure our food is brought out quickly and that everything is correct. Even the other diner patrons are wonderful!
The amount of food you get for the cheap price is crazy and awesome. The cheese steak sandwich that I’ve fallen in love with is huge! Haha, but you better believe that I eat almost every bite ;)
I’ve heard amazing things about their chipped ham sandwiches, perhaps one of those and a delicious milkshake will be tried next. Probably this weekend :)

My boyfriend is from pittsburgh and he took me to breakfast to one of his favorite places: Isalys!
He knows the staff and we were treated so well. The food was amazing, i had a the pecan pancakes, huge and delicious!
Try their shakes, amazing.
The staff here is super friendly and kind. Wish i could transport them all to
California.

Let me just say first off, I don’t think I will be able to say enough good things about Isaly’s in my review.
Once I verified their hours (7am-​2pm but closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays) I planned a visit with some friends after an overnight shift. Isaly’s has a classic diner feel and the staff is very welcoming. One of my friends was looking over a list of breakfast places I had created. (i.e. a spreadsheet that included the names of places, their location and any helpful hints or recommendations. This spreadsheet was created as part of my New Year’s resolution to try different locally owned breakfast spots.) Our waitress/​one of the owners told us she and her husband (our cook/​the other owner) do the same thing, but she was impressed with my list because they «just write things down.» She also complimented me on my shirt and asked me where I bought it (online at LOL Mart). It has a drawing of a sunny side up egg and a strip of bacon holding hands and underneath it says «BFF» — and it has become my designated breakfast shirt. The owners were very friendly and accomodating, engaging us in conversation during our meal about other breakfast spots in the the Pittsburgh area. They joked about how we would rate them and our waitress paid special attention to us, perhaps nervous of what we might tell others. A few other patrons came in, but only for take out orders or to pick up some chipped ham.
They bragged about using real butter — one of the few places to do so. When I got my meal, it was beautiful — the real butter from my bread was dripping onto my bacon. I think I shed a tear. I asked how many eggs are in their omelettes because they were pretty big. The answer I received was, «We don’t know, we just crack and pour!» They pride themselves on not measuring anything. I have no complaints because my food was delicious. After eating our meals the three of us decided to order the chocolate chip pancakes to share since we had heard so much about them. When the owner brought them over, she had individual plates for each of us with one pancake each. And the best part? She told us they were on the house.
I think we spent close to 2 hours there, which really says something about a place. Especially when you consider that we had just worked a 12-​hour overnight shift and exhaustion was setting in. It was comfortable and a good time, perhaps the best breakfast experience ever. We left telling the owners we would pass the word along and that we would definitely return. They were happy to hear it, but told us not to expect more free panckakes.

This place is not going to wow you but also will not disappoint. Their famous ham sandwich was too huge for us and bit salty. Their french fries are alright.

I ate breakfast here with a dining companion this past Saturday. Upon entering the restaurant it is easy to see that it is set up like the classic diner including the counter. Around the restaurant are classic photos from when the area used to be West View Park that my dining companion and I enjoyed looking at.
Having been here once before to get a hand-​spun milkshake many years ago, I once again ordered one even though it was breakfast time. It was as good as I remembered it and was generously portioned since I was able to twice fill up my drinking cup from the metal cup that was placed at my table. For my entrée I ordered an omelette that was filled with swiss cheese and kielbasa. Once again the portion was generous and it came with two pieces of toast and a side of hash browns. All of it tasted good and by the end I was forcing it down in order to clean my plate.
The bottom line for me is that I will definitely be back to Isaly’s in the future. The amount of food that you get for the cost is tremendous and even though I am too young to have even been to West View Park, the pictures were great.

Everytime, I come back home to Pgh to visit, I almays make it to Isaly’s for the best breakfast in the burgh! You think Primanti’s is good, well you havn’t had the «Riser» or the Isaly’s chipped ham sandwiches. You want to experience authentic Pittsburgh, this is the place!

Probably pretty good, but don’t be late. Pittsburgh traffic was horrible and got us there about 5 minutes before closing (instead of an hour) and the grill was closed. Cured me of ever wanting a «slammer». Might be more concerned about getting the the grill closed out than serving customers. Just my opinion tho, and you know what they say about those. ;-)

One of, if not THE, last standing Isaly’s is right here at the mouth of what used to be West View Amusement park. Yunz older guys and gals from da’Burg know what I’m talkin abaht… the originators of the Klondike and White House Ice Cream (maraschino cherries in vanilla). And, what’s a Stillers’ party without Chipped Ham BBQ sammiches?! The pressed tin ceiling, old West View Park photos, along with the same great products and ever friendly service makes shopping at the place I used to spin on lunch counter stools while waiting for a skyscraper cone as a child — a great experience every time.