Sewickley Speakeasy

First off there is valet parking. Found it kind of odd since the lot is right there next to the bldg. My husband thought maybe they have it since the size of the lot isn’t very big and this way it can be controlled when it was busy. We happened to have a very early dinner so it I’m not sure how busy it does get.
Décor definitely needs updated. Seems like it may have been a residence at one time.
Dinner was very good. I had the 6 oz filet and for an upcharge had it prepared w/​as gorgonzola crusted and served with a roasted garlic demi glaze. Very good and served medium as requested. Husband had the surf & turf and enjoyed it, Both of us liked the soup as well. Only complaint was the crème brûlée. As this is usually our favorite dessert we were very disappointed with it. The normally hard ‘crust’ of sugar on the top was soft. Not sure it it had anything to do with the large amount of whipped cream on it or not. Plus it had an odd taste.
Server was very attentive. With one soda beverage meal was only $ 70 plus tip.

Looked at this place for wedding reception, a few years back mind you, but while showing us the rooms upstairs, a cat walked across the bar. As I’m allergic to cats, that’s was all I needed to see and we left. Had eaten there prior but won’t be returning.

Old building of I79 w good service and a good variety. Seafood special was exceptional, chicken Romano done very well. A decent stop on our wandering west

Mediocre food high price. Just because you have the Sewickley address doesn’t allow you to get away with over charging and under delivering.

Big fan of this charming restaurant. Friendly staff. Took me some time to pick from a great menu. Decided on the steak Zurich. Great choice. Perfectly cooked, wonderful flavors. I had my meal at the bar and chatted with the wait staff. I was by myself but never felt like I was alone. I was talked into fried cheesecake for dessert. The inventor of fried cheesecake should be in the hall of fame! If you’re staying near the Pittsburgh airport, take the trip over the river and have a wonderful meal and this warm and inviting place. And try the fried cheese cake.

Don’t delude yourself into thinking this is fine dining at its glorious best — or anywhere in the same zip code. For both food and ambiance, this place is about as overrated as the Titanic’s unsinkability.
The positives: the «speakeasy» décor is pleasing and somehow comforting. It could probably use some better accent lighting to really develop the mood and highlight some of the wall art — but overall it’s nice when you can see it in the ambient daylight.
Also, the window seats afford a nice vantage point over the Ohio River (woo…), except the trains going by below actually interfere with conversation (unless you enjoy talking over locomotives in a restaurant… LOL!). Thicker drywall and better windows would really improve the mood.
So, dinner started off with Oysters on the Half Shell ($ 8.95) — one of my favorite appetizers when it’s done right. (Yes, raw oysters are delish!) Except, you know that taste that oysters have when they’re just on the edge of turning? That was about half of them here. Obviously not fresh — something I expect unequivocally not just at a fancy place like this but ANY place that dares to offer raw oysters for consumption. For me this is a BIG NEGATIVE since it doesn’t require any cooking — it speaks only to the quality of the kitchen!
Three of us ordered off the light fare (price fixe) menu ($ 16.95) while I ordered from the regular dinner choices.
The Haluska appetizer as part of the price fixe menu was tasty, but the portion size was barely enough to fill a petri dish.
One of us had the Frog — feedback was that it was decent. «Tastes like chicken,» was the comment, just as expected…
Another had the Chicken Romano — feedback was that it nothing spectacular and lacked seasoning.
A third had the Pot Pie — same feedback as above. Biggest complaint was that the chicken pieces were chewy (overcooked) and the actual comment given to me was that, «Giant Eagle makes better pot pies.»
As for me, I had their Alfredo ($ 16.95) — a dish simple enough. Unfortunately, the pasta had way, way, way too much cream, not enough cheese, and not enough flavor.
Sorry, some may feel this place is the fancy or sheik place to go for this area but when I think of Sewickley Speakeasy I hear that big «you-​overpaid-​horn» from Price is Right and Drew Carey telling me I can’t have the new set of lawn furniture from Blammo. For the prices asked and the level of culinary prowess they try to portray, the experience just isn’t worth the money.

I had such high expectations for my experience at this place as it seemed to come highly recommended and the reviews really made me think it would be an awesome experience. The $ 300 it was for 4 people (plus tip so more like $ 360) was not money well spent to say the least.
We had the frog legs (nothing to write home about according to the rest of my table), the French onion soup (which was pretty good), basic salads, and filets. Just nothing to write home about unfortunately. If I wanted the same décor, and food, I could easily go elsewhere.
The staff was great and friendly, but for the most part, that only counts for a few portions of a rating. I was truly disappointed given the spectacular reviews that I have seen on here.

If I could rate Sewickley Speakeasy on how nice the staff is, they’d get four stars, but unfortunately, there’s more to reviewing a restaurant.
The vibe when entering is very unflattering. It feels like you’re walking into someone’s house… and not in a cozy, welcoming kind-​of-​way. The dated décor needs a major overhaul, and it really just doesn’t FEEL as semi-​fancy as the prices, staff attire, and menu would suggest.
We initially sat at the bar while we waiting for the rest of our group to arrive, and the initial experience was okay. Decent whisky selection, and my wife’s wine was pretty good. The bartender, who was also our waitress, was really nice, but we found it odd that her and one of the waitresses started getting a little argumentative in front of us. It felt about as awkward as the old kitchen-​turned waitress station that you had to walk through to get to our table.
As for the food? A few hits, but mostly misses. We started with the frog legs, artichoke bacon dip, and the baked five onion soup. The frog legs were really bland, and drenched in plain garlic, wine, and butter sauce and battered. They sounded much better on paper than they tastes. Too much butter, not enough flavor. The artichoke bacon dip, on the other hand, was pretty good. The bacon adding a nice salty taste to what otherwise is a pretty common artichoke dip. Definitely our favorite of the three apps. The five onion soup was decent, but I probably wouldn’t order it again. The cream-​based onion soup would’ve been just as tasty and healthier without the cream. The creaminess really didn’t add anything to the soup for me.
For the main course, I got the 8 oz. filet with a side of smashed potatoes. The filet was done perfectly to my liking, and was basic. Not over seasoned or anything. Just a well-​cooked, medium temperature steak. The smashed potatoes were good, too, but definitely a bit too rich with butter. The side salad was basic, and I didn’t even touch the bread that they gave us. That’s probably a testament to the amount of food they give you, which IS quite a bit. Or maybe it’s because we ordered too many apps. Either way, for the price, the amount of food they give you is good… too bad the flavor couldn’t stand up to the price.
The waitress was attentive (even though she poured me the wrong Scotch), and even allowed us to move to the bar to watch the Penguins game after our meal (easy since she was working both our table and the bar). At the bar for the 2^nd time, I decided to order dessert. Again, hit-​and-​miss. The crème brûlée? Awesome. The apple puff pastry? Awful. Essentially over sweetened, but uncooked and crisp apples, with thin pieces of pastry dough on top. That’s one dessert that I hope to never come across again. It sounds harsh, but it really was that disappointing.
Overall, I really, REALLY wanted to like the Sewickley Speakeasy, but when it was all said and done, there was simply nothing memorable about the experience or the food. For $ 28, you can get a good filet and decent smashed potatoes at a lot of restaurants, and nothing surrounding the main entrée was good enough to make us eager to return. I feel bad saying that, but it’s an honest review.

My fiancé and I dined here doing our tasty research for rehearsal venues for our wedding. Hands down, we know this is where we want to have our food.
I had driven by this place for years and never really thought that this kind of food would come from this building. After reading Unilocal reviews, we decided to give it a try because it’s perfect distance between our church and hotel for our guests. We were met at the top of the hill by a gentleman for valet parking. He was nice and polite. Inside, we were met by a hostess who basically let us have any seat we wanted since we got there right after the doors opened.
Our waitress was very personable and knowledgeable about the food. I also appreciated that she recognized I was cold and turned on the fireplace and turned up the heat for me. I’m used to being cold in restaurants (because I’m cold everywhere) so it wasn’t a requirement for me or any bearing on the temperature of the building in general, but I can absolutely appreciate the wait staff recognizing this.
They have a «value» menu for a five course meal which we were set to try; however, the features that night sounded too good to pass up. I’m glad we didn’t. I tried the pan seared duck with a cherry sauce. My fiancé had cod and crab. He raved about the crab and the duck was probably one of the best restaurant meals I’ve had. I’m still salivating for it days later. We also tried the bacon artichoke dip which was phenomenal.
I think the building itself is interesting since its a converted house that overlooks the river. The inside is decorated like an antique house. While some may find that «old», I think it makes it interesting. I do agree with other reviewers that near the fireplace, you do smell the gas. So I recommend sitting away from it. But really, this was my only complaint. And since we sat across the room, we had no issue with this.
Absolutely recommend to anybody looking for a different night out and look forward to our return. (I also just finished my leftovers while writing this… and am pretty sad I have no more duck.)

Very good food and servers are friendly. Great place for families including menu items even your grandmother would love.

We had a small family gathering here last weekend, and it was a wonderful choice. The menu has great variety, but like many have commented most of us tried the (now) $ 16.95 price fix five course meal. What an exceptional value! The food was excellent and although the portions are smaller than a la carte, by the time you get through five courses you are pleasantly full — not overstuffed and sitting there with a foam carton in your hands. There are some unique items here — I had a haluski (regional cabbage & noodles favorite) appetizer, and steak Zurich (steak topped with Gruyère bordelaise onion & Buerer blanc). While there’s no substitutions on the prix fixe, the appetizer and soup specials are available choices, and a wide variety of entrees are available as well. We might have liked more adventurous wine selections, but they also do carafes which fit the size of our party well.

We went to the Sewickley Speakeasy for the annual Clam Bake. It’s an all you can eat and drink event that they host every year. This is the second year that we have attended. Although the weather was a little hot, the outside patio is surrounded by trees, and just beautiful. They had filet, chicken kabobs, ribs, cod, mussels, oysters, soft shelled crablegs, whole lobsters, shrimp, scallops, corn on the cob, macaroni salad, and potato salad. I didn’t hear a complaint from everyone. I am not a big seafood eater, so I can speak for the non seafood. My steak was tender and very tasty, the chicken was moist, the ribs had an amazing sauce on them (and I don’t like sauce), and the shrimp… well let’s say that I am taking a hiatus from shrimp until I go to the beach next weekend. I ate way too many. But when you are tired of meat and seafood, you can take a dip in the chocolate fountain. The strawberries dipped in the chocolate were beyond heavenly. I ate way too many of those too.
Besides, the annual Clam Bake, the Speakeasy serves it up. The staff is friendly and the food doesn’t disappoint.

I had dinner here last night and was much more pleased than the first time I went here. This is a good spot for groups because of the private dining rooms upstairs, which makes it feel like you are having dinner at an old friends’ house. I believe this is a house dating back to the 1700s that was converted into this comfortable restaurant. It’s located off of Ohio River Blvd up a windy road. They have complimentary valet parking, which I find interesting because the lot is only a few feet from the entrance and the few times I’ve been there it has never been packed. You enter from a door that probably resembles the same in your home. Their is a small bar with about seating for eight and a small tv in the corner. The bathrooms are very nice in this place, because they resemble bathrooms in a nice old house and not the type with metal doors that you see in an airport for example. We had a relatively early dinner seating at 6:30. There were 12 of us and we dined on the top floor in a private room with a fireplace and an old radio with a selection of cd’s for us to choose our own mood music. The server was nice and I think her name was Christine. There were a few of us who had some drinks and she put up with our antics pretty well. The prices I found to be quite reasonable, with no entrée I noticed over $ 30 and all entrees’ including side and salad/​soup. We started with a large selection of appetizers which we all shared. I’d call this menu classic american with a few more interesting options. I’d guess this menu would have worked not only today, but 100 years ago. I ordered the warm brie, which was served perfectly warmed with a nice berry glacé and a few pieces of crusty french bread. Grant ordered the stuffed mushrooms, which were average I’d say lacking much flavor in the breading. Anna ordered the escargot, which was very good served with plenty of garlicky butter and not served in the shell, which made it easier to eat. I also sampled the bruschetta which was super tasty with lots of chucnky tomatoes and basil, olive oil, and good aged vinegar. There were a few other options, but I can’t recall all right now. They had a pretty big menu with several veal options. I think they must «specialize» in Veal and seafood. I ordered the rack of lamb, which was a huge portion served encrusted in some type of almond or nut breading. The flavor was pretty good, however I asked for medium and it was closer to well, so much of the flavor was lost due to this overcooking. I also ordered a «lobster» tail for $ 12, it was more like a langostino. I’d guess about a 3 oz. serving. It was cooked perfectly and I was very glad I added this option. Oh yeah, the soup I ordered was new england clam chowder, which was very rich and delicious. The wine selection was not that great, but the prices were reasonable. Overall good traditional menu, decent service, and a fun unique out of the way place to go. I’d say you’ll have the most fun if you go in a group.