The best kind of restaurant out there is the type that is casual, has fun food, and has a cool atmosphere. BRGR has all of those things. You can look forward to a bunch of unique styled burgers, and thick, spiked (or not spiked) milk shakes. This is my favorite place to go out to with a group of people, or even just my partner and I. The place is always rockin’, and so is the food.
My mom likes when I pick the places to eat when she’s in town, and I usually have a couple weeks notice to make sure I get reservations at a cool place. This time, I had no idea there was going to be six of us, and I was informed only five days before the dinner.
My entire family and some tag-alongs were coming to Pittsburgh for my sister’s “Accepted Student’s Day”, at Chatham (Yes! My sister is coming to Chatham!). I still wanted to impress everyone, but all of my favorite restaurants, or the ones I’ve been meaning to try, scoffed at the idea of my reservation for six people. Come on, Pittsburgh! It’s not like six people is an unmanageable number.
Anyhow, I knew that I was in a bit of a pinch. BRGR is hard to get into sometimes, because it is so popular and they don’t take reservations. Even so, they have a nice bar and are in Shadyside, so we were fine waiting for an hour for a table.
Even though it’s technically a burger joint, they really do take it up a notch. I always get the veggie burger, and then I try it with all different toppings. This time I got the veggie burger patty on the Greek Burger. In the past I’ve gotten the Santa Fe Hippi, with guacamole and pepper jack cheese–so delicious!
All of the burgers have fun toppings on them, and they are really created with care. Most of the burgers are around $10, which might seem a little pricey, but they are not just any ordinary burger.
Sides don’t come with the burgers, but they make up for that in taste and size. The sides are large portions, maybe enough for about two or three people. They have spicy tater tots, French fries, onion rings and more. They are the perfect fix for something crunchy and greasy, and are usually around $4.
The service is always friendly–it’s a bunch of young enthusiastic people who probably love burger food just as much as we do. A secret that I was told by a waiter last time I was there was: you can get any kind of burger patty (salmon, beef, veggie, etc.) on any style of burger (Greek, Santa Fe Hippi, Shrooms). That made me like the joint even more!
You won’t be spending a lot of money at this place, but you will leave completely satisfied. Be sure to get there around six if you want a short wait, though. This place is my favorite casual restaurant I’ve been to so far in Pittsburgh. The fact that it’s not too far away from Chatham doesn’t hurt either. Get a group of your girls, and hit up BRGR!