Yup, it's a gay bar. I'll be honest, I'm not much one for bars/clubs/nightlife; I was here as part…read moreof a contest weekend for the Pittsburg area. They hosted part of the festivities, and it was perfectly adequate for the task. I appreciated that they'd put up some spooky decor for the October season. The thing that I gotta say sets this gay bar completely apart from any other gay bar I've been to is the bathrooms. They are REALLY NICE and CLEAN and there are many of them, which is practically unheard of. I gotta believe that the owner was as sick of that stereotype as I am and was purposeful about making this place's bathrooms great. So that was extremely appreciated. Other than that, they do have a decent sized parking lot for the area (most of the nearby establishments are stuck with just street parking and on a busy Friday night, good luck), though it's on a pretty severe hill.

excellent time! Mikey behind the bar was wonderful and great drinks. Good prices and a lot of fun…read more Three floors are really good exploring too.

I have been waiting so long for this place to open!! But then I moved to Austin and now it's open…read moreand I'm here on a visit. And OMFMary!!! I'm in love. Am in Garfield or NYC?!? Amazing space that makes a mean cocktail...or two or ten. Most are only 8 bucks! Everyone is welcome here! Well, you know, unless you're phobic or racist. They have drag shows (the bomb), deejays, dance nights, etc. The decor is so beyond Pittsburgh and I'm happy they're in my old neighborhood (adjacent). I can't say enough things about this bar. Everyone who works here is so sweet and fun. Bathrooms rule! Mary's RULES!!!

Love the ambience, intimacy, and great mocktails. The bartenders are very sweet and the shows so…read morefar have been great. I felt safe being there and there was a nice mix of people coming through on a Saturday night with heavy emphasis on sapphic folks.

You could imagine how excited I was by the name since Jamie W and I had our very first trip to the…read morereal P-Town just a year ago. It was fun hanging at the boatslip during balmy weather. But now here I was in Pittsburgh struggling in near-freezing conditions and without Jamie. I was staying the night at the Hyatt House down the street and decided to brave the cold to come here. Mind you, it was a weeknight, and the place was fairly empty at around 8PM. I remember there were three guys at the end of the bar and a couple of loudish girlfriends blathering on about the lack of available men in Pittsburgh. Struck me they were minimizing their chances in looking for them here. I just sat at the bar waiting for the bartender to show up and probably would've left had it not been cold. Besides, it wasn't like I was in WeHo where I could just go next door. He finally arrived and took my order, the $5 Tequila Sunrise (Photo 9). Definitely a nice price, and he mixed it with the right potency. A little chit-chat would've been nice, especially as an out-of-towner, but alas, this was not a Tokyo mama-san snack bar. This was Pittsburgh, and this left coaster felt a bit out of place, even at a gay bar. DRINKS - 3.5 stars...the right price for my libation AMBIANCE - 3 stars...pretty standard gay bar decor SERVICE - 3 stars...a bit more welcome would've been nice TOTAL - 3 stars...not the P-Town I knew RELATED - Exploring Pittsburgh? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://yelp.to/8Xrj8idpd8

Absolutely love this bar... I love going to any neighborhood bar and being treated like a local…read more Super nice bartenders and locals alike. Drinks are super affordable and made well. I was visiting from Long Beach, CA, and this bar made me feel like I was at home as it was the epitome of a dive bar and very inclusive. Went on a Wednesday night but had more fun on Thursday night as there was karaoke. can't wait until my next visit to Pittsburgh as I now have a regular bar to call my own.

I'm from Long Beach, Cali, and our gay scene, for the most part, are gay dive bars. Well after…read morecoming here, I can say that my gay dive bars are not true dive bars! This spot is a DIVE! Came on a weekday night and there was a decent crowd there. Bartender didn't seem to notice is for a while but once I interacted with him, I noticed he may have a diagnosis and I was super happy. In a past life, I worked in high school special education and finding jobs for my students was the most fulfilling part of my job. So glad they gave this kid a chance. Drinks weren't that strong but were fine. Music was great and took me back to high school. Lastly, as a Californian, it's always so weird to me to see smoking permitted inside of a business lol.

this place was so fun…read more eric was a delightful bartender, the music was great and he really went the extra mile to make us feel welcome :) will be coming back next time i'm in Pittsburgh!!

Great fun, solid food. The dance floor is great. The music they play is always fresh and the live…read moredjs get the crowd going.

've been coming to this bar ever since I moved to Pittsburgh, and I've never experienced anything…read morelike what happened last Friday (January 30th, 2026). My friend and I come here every Friday for happy hour. Over the past few weeks, we noticed that our tabs didn't seem to match what we were actually drinking, so this time I decided to ask for our receipts. That's when we saw we were both charged for shots of Espolón tequila--something neither of us ordered. I was drinking margaritas and always ask for well tequila in mixed drinks. This makes me wonder how many times we've been charged for drinks we never had. Completely unacceptable. When we brought this up, we were told to speak with the manager to correct the tab. He was extremely rude and immediately accused us of ordering the shots, even though he wasn't present. He was more focused on watching RuPaul than helping. He then claimed my card had been declined weeks earlier, which forced me to call my bank and dispute a double charge. Thanks for the extra hassle. You come here expecting a good time and leave not wanting to return. Management clearly needs to address issues with staff to prevent this from continuing. That so-called manager has no business working in customer service. I've only seen him on Fridays and Saturdays--about 5'10", skinny, wearing sweats and a gray Carhartt beanie. He's always rude, but this encounter was beyond the limit. This happened around 9-10pm in the middle bar. If you decide to come here, be careful and always ask for your receipt--otherwise, you may end up overcharged.

I like brillobox and I want to give them 5 stars. Alas, on our last trip there, there were only 2…read morepeople behind the bar on a busy Saturday night, and all food and drinks had to be ordered at the bar. So service was very limited. In terms of food, the standout dish was the basket of French fries, with the creole cauliflower bites in close second. My friends ordered the nachos and they said they were good. The bummer dish of the night was the Mac and cheese with bacon--it came out as a congealed, unappetizing blob. My friend who ordered it described it as "dry." I hope the next time we go there will be faster service and wetter cheese.

Brillo is super chill. Visited with my bro a couple nights ago and had some snacks (onion rings and…read morebuffalo seitan wings) and beers. It's just an awesome place to hang out. The service is great and staff are super friendly. I highly recommend the onion rings. The seitan bites were ok, I probably wouldn't get them again. Beers were priced as expected. I'd say that Brillo is a place you go for the vibes more so than the food. Also super queer-friendly. When I was in college about 10 years ago, Brillo was our de facto lesbian bar and it seems that the inclusivity has not changed since then.

Interesting and fun GAY bar for all the LGBTQIAs. Pitchers of beer are cheap. It is divey and divey.read more

Food is good but be careful because they say people was drugging the drinks so watch out but it's a…read morenice place to play darts

Pleasant slightly punky/alternative dive bar and music venue smack in the middle of a sleepy…read moreresidential street. I had spent a lot of time since moving to Pittsburgh looking for somewhere comparable to my old haunts (926 and Waterworks) that I used to frequent in Tallahassee. Cattivo was it. Namely, a friendly bar where you can go to dance to all the classics and weird music for sensitive, artsy types of a darkly poetic inclination, admirers of the likes of the late Anne Rice's (R.I.P.) Lestat and the crew from The Lost Boys. A place to feel the energy of '80s New Wave and Post-Punk, classic Gothic Rock, Darkwave and Industrial, and so on. The features of the first-level bar are pleasant. Quality sound system, at least two pinball machines, a digital jukebox, round bar table lined with illuminated glass tiles, and decent selection of cheap beers and standard bar cocktails at about the prices you'd expect. Bartenders are pleasantly cheery and talkative, and will sometimes cue up a series or movie on Netflix (another similarity to my former haunts of long ago that I appreciate) to provide background visuals. Much like one of the former haunts I was looking for a substitute for, Cattivo has an ambiguous and possibly vestigial reputation for being a space that attracts LGBT+ clientele. On that: a few of the reviews here are slightly old and from a time that Cattivo advertised itself as a gay bar oriented mainly towards women dating/seeking women. To my knowledge this is no longer Cattivo's "main thing", although it is at the very least queer-friendly and does still sometimes sporadically host events intended for people who date or are seeking others of the same sex. Should anyone ask, however - I have no idea at present even from hearsay what someone's chances would be of hooking up with someone or finding a one-night stand here based on their own gender and sexual orientation, or the gender or sexual orientation of who they might be looking to meet. Another review by another reviewer may be able to speak to that. The upstairs/main floor mostly hosts dance nights of the types mentioned above. The downstairs hosts a variety of events, ranging from EDM nights packed with people wearing kandi and glow necklaces to local DIY punk acts. As a result the main level/upstairs (chill and laid-back) and downstairs (always filled with a raucous din) give off two completely different energies. As a bit more of a hobbit than a dwarf, let me say I greatly prefer the creature comforts of the upstairs to the party animal attitude of the downstairs. This is clearly going to be a matter of individual inclination, however. At the moment Cattivo is open relatively limited days/hours and the kitchen is closed. That may be subject to change in the future. If this place sounds like somewhere that matches your energy, highly recommend.

This must be a joke.. 4 stars? The bathrooms are disgusting. Rings around the water lines. Looks…read morelike it hasn't been properly cleaned in a while. Be warned - smoking bar.