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    Big Jim's Restaurant & Bar

    4.2 (365 reviews)
    ModerateAmerican, Italian
    Closed 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Big Jim's Restaurant & Bar Photos

    Business Info

    BIG JIM'S RESTAURANT & BAR ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Divey
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Big Jim's Restaurant & Bar

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    My turkey Reuben.
    Richard J.

    I've wanted to try this place for a few years now but never seemed to have an opportunity. So yesterday I was heading in a completely different direction when I decided to turn around and drive another hour and finally give it a shot. I'd never make that trip again, but if I happened to be in the neighborhood I might stop by. It's a real dive bar in a shady neighborhood the place was exactly what I expected, our sandwiches were huge and the ingredients were very tasty, I had a Turkey Reuben , and the meat was fresh roasted turkey and lots of it, my friend had a corned beef Reuben. They're were very good and we both had half to take home for dinner. Their staff were very friendly, attentive, and helpful. Food was great and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a unique experience.

    Gnocchi
    Roseanne W.

    If you are super hungry, you are in luck at Big Jim's! The portions are ginormous, especially the calzones! I was with 12 friends and everyone was happy with the food, portion size, and service. We were surprised at how crowded it was at 1:30 in the afternoon...but, with the state of the economy, people are happy to get so much more for their food money. For the restaurant to be so crowded that they could not fit one more person in on a Wednesday afternoon, says a lot about this neighborhood secret. Even the bar area was crowded with locals, and it reminded me of the "Cheers" bar. All patrons that I saw in the restaurant had a to-go box. I don't know how they do it!

    Whole chic parm
    Denny V.

    4/11/26- Popped in for lunch today, and the place was nearly empty but the hostess, bartender and waitress were super pleasant. Ordered the Fried Jalapinos and they were good, but the basic Sysco product. I don't think anyone makes them from scratch- do they? Anyway for $6, I wasn't disappointed. My son ordered the Big Jim's Club and could only finish half. Look at the size of that sandwich! Then I ordered a side of fries to go w his other half so he could take it home w him. Thanks Big Jim's..! Keep on, Keeping on...!

    One server wearing an Imaculate Reception T-shirt
    Fellman B.

    I went to Big Jim's with my brother and a friend after running the Pittsburgh Great Race. I was very hungry. We knew the restaurant had hearty dishes. I ordered the cheeseburger with Swiss cheese, with the burger cooked medium rare. It came back perfect, served with tomato, onions and lettuce, with a dill pickle on the side. The server, Toni, was very accommodating. My friend had a strange request for her Reuben sandwich order. She doesn't eat meat, so she asked if she could give her corned beef to me and just have her sandwich include sauerkraut and cheese. "No problem," said Toni. However, when the order was served, the cheese came on top of the corned beef, and my friend's sandwich had no cheese...just sauerkraut. The cook had gotten the special request wrong. The bread was a hearty, thick Russian rye. Toni agreed to have the sandwich sent back for cheese to be added. And there would be no extra charge for the cheese already on the corned beef. My brother requested extra sauce for his eggplant Parmesan. No problem! The restaurant is very sports-oriented. Games in the TV, and the servers were wearing Steelers-related clothes. It's a homey place to go for good bar type food.

    Layers of corned beef in this Reuben
    Peggy H.

    The food here is amazing! Big, delicious portions. We had Reubens, fries with gravy, and open roast beef smothered in gravy and fries. They use Mancini bread- big flavorful slices, large amounts of tender, seasoned corned beef, with dressing on the side. The fries are submerged when cooked in some type of oil which brings every bite more delight to your tastebuds than ever before. The flavorsome bread on the roast beef is toasted, which is a nice touch, and compliments the thinly sliced tasty meat. The gravy is just like your grandma's- full of rich flavor. The staff is friendly, quick and thoughtful. This place has your hometown bar, restaurant appeal. We will be back!

    Pepperoni, extra cheese, and jalapeños, please and Thank you
    Gretchen U.

    Finally came in for an early dinner and had the best service possible. As the folks started coming in there was a great smell of all the delicious options for lunch, dinner and just a lovely time. As always a big thank you.

    Italien sub & Iron draft
    Johnny K.

    Great ole school Pgh bar! Iron City on tap & bottle. Big, delicious italien hogies and fun locals.

    Open face Open Faced Roast Beef Sandwich
    Brooke H.

    Always a treat. Food is always amazing no matter what you order. This place is busy so offer grace because those servers are RUNNING! If you want a real Pittsburgh dinning experience, this is it. You are elbow to elbow with your neighbor and everyone is here to have a good time. When one table sings happy birthday, or cheers, you ALL do. It's just a happy experience all around but if you are looking for a quiet meal, this isn't it. You can't get prices for the portions anywhere like Big Jim's.

    Homemade Lasagna
    Sarah G.

    Classic Pittsburgh spot! Portions are generous, food is old school and delicious, and the staff are friendly and make sure you are taken care of. Feels like you are in someone's home! Will absolutely be back.

    Interior - bar area
    Trish T.

    Great dinner the other night in this hole in the wall in Garfield. We popped in last Friday around 6pm, and the place was packed to the gills! Not even a couple seats at the bar. We didn't have to wait long for a 2-top. The hostess was really welcoming and entertaining while we waited. It was clear the place has a sizable regular crowd. Everyone knew everyone, it seemed. The atmosphere is very "old Pittsburgh" - energetic and almost like being in someone's old, paneled living room. A server took our order pretty quickly. The beer selection was quite varied (happily there was a hazy IPA!). Beer seemed a popular pick judging by all the tables and bar top around us. We waited a long time for our food, but I don't think that's usual. Our extremely apologetic server explained that the kitchen had been overwhelmed by 3 huge, unexpected parties. We were fine. The food was really good. My husband had their Reuben which he said was quite flavorful. He loved the Thousand Island dressing. My Alfredo pasta was crazy rich and dotted with roasted broccoli (you can have it plain, with broccoli &/or chicken). The surprising standout of the meal, though, was our basket of fries! I mean, they were the real deal - fresh, some skin on, and super tasty. The portions are large at this place - so come hungry! I took home 1/2 my meal. A nice evening. We'll definitely be back!

    Hot Sausage Hoagie
    Jack R.

    Saw this place on Diners Drive in and Dives and figured it would be a must go to spot. The staff was definitely very friendly and you definitely get the old bar restaurant vibe the second you walk in. Pretty decent menu. I didn't get anything that was tried in the show, but I got the hot sausage sandwich. I wasn't overly thrilled piece of sausage on a large piece of bread that was toasted and pretty dry a lot more bread than there was sausage.

    Mike M.

    Multiple reviews below of how this is a nostalgia childhood spot for me. But first time getting a spread in one sitting...and most impressively each item is consistent every time after all these years! Chicken parm, fish sandwich where I add creamy slaw and thousand island for a Reuben style, and "side" of Italian hoagie

    Italian Hoagie

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    3 months ago

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    29 days ago

    Food is always superb! Great staff and prices not too expensive. Love the vintage style

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    3 months ago

    Great food for decades served with service smiles and more. Cozy environment . If in area stop simple bar approach and dinner room in back.

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    10 months ago

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    1 month ago

    Great staff and excellent calzones. They also had Iron City in bottles. Now i have to add letters to make at least 85 characters

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    9 months ago

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    8 months ago

    Always get the chicken parm. Sometimes its very fishy tasting from the oil I surmise. Otherwise portions are enough for taking home.

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    Page 1 of 10

    Ask the Community - Big Jim's Restaurant & Bar

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    Girasole Restaurant

    Girasole Restaurant

    3.9
    (758 reviews)
    1.8 mi
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    So this location was only about a 10 minute walk from our hotel and we are so glad that we checked…read moreit out. It is a very cozy Italian restaurant that's serving homemade Italian food like your Nonna would make for you. We showed up on a Tuesday night and it was packed. It was around six or 6:30 in the evening and when we first got there, we were told it would be about a 20 minute wait before a two top was available. But the host came back and asked if we didn't mind sitting by the kitchen they could see us right away. We chose to sit by the kitchen, which honestly was probably the best option because it was actually a little bit quieter because there was a very large party that was celebrating a birthday and they had live music going on so it was hard to hear when you were in the main dining space but back by the kitchen it's a little bit quieter and we could actually hear ourselves talk. My husband got the penne with meatballs and the penny was nicely cooked with a beautiful tomato Bass sauce and the meatballs or some of the best Italian meatball he's ever had. His only complaint was that there were only two in the order and he wished there would've been three. I got the spinach and ricotta, stuffed ravioli, and by far one of the best raviolis I've ever had. The ravioli are large so there's only about five in a dish but they're packed fully and the flavoring and seasoning is absolutely spectacular. It's got a beautiful sauce like accompanies it and the chew you can definitely tell it is handmade pasta/ravioli. Our server, Emma was absolutely spectacular and was so kind. We truly enjoyed our experience here and would highly recommend anybody to check it out if you're in the area. But we also do recommend make your reservations ahead of time. This place gets packed quickly.

    Very, very good Italian spot near Walnut Street, very close by all the top shops. The ambiance is…read morevery nice, both inside and outside. Pretty tight space though. The waitresses are friendly and have great recommendations. I got to try their linguine rustica (essentially the clam pasta dish), a cappuccino, some cherry soda, and soup of the day, as well as complimentary bread. They got that bread out very quickly! Very soft, and served with quite high quality olive oil. The bottle has both olive oil and balsamic! The soup of the day was quite good as well. It was some sort of beef broth, I think may a beef and bean soup. Chickpeas in there as well. Next time, I might try the salad. The salad they have as a side is so good, an amazing portion and seems so fresh and tasty. The mains were excellent. Very good pasta with clam sauce. Lots of clam meat and a flavorful oil based sauce. My friend had some red penne with chicken and enjoyed that as well. Great portions, pretty fair prices. Finally, great drinks as well. Very memorable cherry cola that I believe the company is owned by the owner's son. Real cane sugar, very good. The cappuccino was great as well. Definitely come here!

    Photos
    Penne with sausage
    Penne with sausage
    Beef Tenderloin over Risotto & Spinach
    Beef Tenderloin over Risotto & Spinach
    (Mediocre) spinach and ricotta

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    (Mediocre) spinach and ricotta
    Saint Ravioli

    Saint Ravioli

    5.0
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    2.5 mi

    Every year my girlfriend and I find a cooking or baking class that is local in Pittsburgh to do…read moretogether. This year we decided to down our robes and become disciples of Saint Ravioli. Getting a spot in a class is very hard since they are limited to 6-8 people, but if you get the chance I absolutely recommend it. The classes are 2 hours long each and are extremely intimate. Bryan and Justin will meet you at the door and will introduce you to their workshop. There is a spread of antipasto to snack on which was curated very well. Each person gets to make 4 (four!!) dozen raviolis each. The class is extremely informative and fun. I personally haven't ordered any of their ravioli drops before, but from eating the batch I personally made, I know I will in the future. Highly recommend ordering their raviolis online or taking the class if it's available.

    Although it takes some planning to order ahead, then pickup your order, the Ravioli is amazing…read more When you pick up your order, it's frozen. To prepare it, simply drop into boiling water, then after it floats to the top, wait a few minutes. I also ordered the Marinara sauce which was delicious. The owner friendly and helpful. He noticed that this was my first order, so he took some time to explain a few things and answer questions. Parking is on the street, and I had no problems finding a spot. It's a fun experience and I will definitely do it again.

    Photos
    Saint Ravioli
    Wedding soup ravioli
    Wedding soup ravioli
    Saint Ravioli

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    Alta Via Market Square

    Alta Via Market Square

    4.3
    (175 reviews)
    3.0 mi
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    Great food. Very attentive service. Happy hour menu was perfect. A very welcoming place.read more

    Yet another entry in Big Burrito's generally excellent collection of restaurants, not to be…read moreconfused with Alta Via Pizza in Bakery Square. Same idea, different focus. AVP is excellent, by the way. We have been twice in the last couple of months. Front of House Team was excellent both visits. Our bartender/servers have been gracious and attentive. First visit was carbonara and beet salad; good but not life-changing. Second visit started with Frito Misto. Excellent. Bright, crispy and perfectly finished. The linguine is served with crab meat. I found it to be a glutinous mess. I'm not sure what happened in the kitchen. The mushroom side plate was under seasoned. Our friend who got the spaghetti loved it. Mushroom pasta was excellent with nicely cooked pasta and thorough mushroom taste. Our friends were very pleased with this plate. The chopped salad is perfectly dressed and is completely delicious. It was a treat. My lovely counterpart had the halibut piccata. She commented that it was "slightly overcooked." This is charitable: it was completely hammered. "It had the texture of chicken." The sauce was conspicuous by its sparsity; just not much flavor going on. She also observed that first bite was gritty, as if greens were inadequately cleaned. This dish has enormous potential, but it just wasn't delivered. This dish was palatable only by having the tomatoes on the vine as a side. My lovely counterpart on the Tomatoes on the Vine side: "I didn't love it, but it was necessary." She generally loves this sort of preparation but again, it just wasn't there. Cheesecake was great. Our server was excellent and attentive. Amanda, the assistant manager, was too busy to chat with us even though the house was mostly empty. Our table had two bottles of wine, ordered by the glass instead of by the bottle. The wine pours are staged outside of the bar, so the bartender wasn't involved. We are still at a loss to understand why Amanda was not willing to consider giving us even one of the bottles' worth at the bottle price and why she shut down our waitress when she asked. It seems like a weird hill to plant your flag on, and entirely inconsistent with our more than 30 years experience with Big Burrito. This is the first time we have experienced anything like this in a Big Burrito restaurant; truly bizarre and our poor server was clearly uncomfortable relaying the decision. We hadn't made any observations about the food to her and were having a great time even with kitchen's inconsistency. We might try again at some point: some of the dishes were great and there is clearly potential.

    Photos
    Inside
    Inside
    Bread
    Bread
    Chocolate Budino

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    Chocolate Budino

    Big Jim's Restaurant & Bar - tradamerican - Updated August 2026

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