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    Golden Gai

    4.5 (61 reviews)
    Open 5:00 pm - 10:00 PM
    Updated 3 weeks ago

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    Angela L.

    Fantastic experience. Great hospitality, great food and even better cocktails. It is pretty difficult to get a reservation here for the end of the week. I've been meaning to come since it opened. I was finally able to get a seat on a Tuesday night and got a reservation just earlier that day. So that's probably your best bet. Seating is pretty limited. You'll likely be seated at the counter and able to watch as the staff makes the food and drinks. I had different types of sushi, every piece was fresh and delicious. I also tried the street noodles which was a nice carb to have. I got it to share but I do think it's a bit small, I would've been able to finish that and more on my own lol. I very much enjoyed the cocktails. You can tell they were intently crafted. The hospitality was top-notch. Was seated right away, there was a lot of communication, and presentation was fantastic. Just great staff all around. If it's not clear yet, this place is definitely worth your time

    Maki rolls
    Karen H.

    We went to dinner at Golden Gai in Bakery Square yesterday and going there is always such a treat! We started off the meal by ordering over half their cocktail menu and each drink was a work of art. We got four maki rolls to share and my favorites were the spicy scallop roll and the Rickroll'd. We shared five of their hot dishes and each one was perfection with my favorites being the flavorful shrimp tempura and the flaky miso black cod. We had to end the meal with some sweet treats and I don't even like chocolate all that much but absolutely loved the chocolate soy brownie! The inside consists of one long bar and two tables for four at the end. The inside is on the dim side and the ambiance is upscale. Our server, Jimmy, was super nice and the staff did a great job of coursing out our food!!

    Sushiiii
    Grace K.

    Really great sushi spot!! Just what Pittsburgh needed. Love the unique fish and how everything was prepared. Drinks were so fun! Our server made some great recommendations. The ambiance was great. Located right in bakery square with parking and walking around right there.

    Interior
    Tiffany H.

    I'm a big fan of izakayas, and the atmosphere in Golden Gai is unmatched. Located in Bakery Square, it feels like transporting to another dimension after stepping into the golden building. Seating is mostly available at the counter, but sitting in an open kitchen is an experience in itself. It's amazing to watch the chefs prepare each dish right before your eyes. We went all out this dinner and ordered: - Kaeru and the Red Thread of Fate for drinks - Miso soup - Spicy cucumber (love the sesame flavor) - Golden Roll (hamachi, cucumber, scallion, yuzu) - Sashimi plate (with added otoro and scallop) - Potstickers (this was SOOOOO crispy) - Grilled wagyu & potatoes - Nigiri special The service was top-notch! This was our first time here, so our server took the time to explain the drink and food menu. Overall, this was an incredible experience! I thought there was good variety of raw and savory dishes. Sushi was very fresh and clean! Would recommend making reservations!

    Kaylee L.

    Maybe my favorite spot of 2025 The ambiance of cooking right in front of you. The service was extremely attentive and had great suggestions. Everything we ate was delicious. Get a fun drink!

    Ebi Yakimeshi / SHRIMP FRIED RICE & Yaki Udon / STIR FRIED UDON NOODLES
    Brian H.

    Ambiance is phenomenal. Definitely requires a reservation and could be a good spot for date night. I will say the prices are a bit high for everything but the fish is fresh and great quality so that is one place they can get away with it. I have been here twice and the first time blew me away but the second time was more lackluster... my shrimp fried rice was pretty flavorless, minus salty. My gf said the same for her street noodles last time. The spicy tuna rice cake is a must try. They also have good cocktails.

    Tokyo street noodle
    Paul L.

    Great night at Golden Gai. But be warned - you will drop some serious cash here. My wife and I spent almost $200 and only got one alcoholic drink. That said, the entire experience was top notch. I loved sitting at the bar area and watching the chefs prepare everyone's meals. The decor is modern and elegant but not too fancy. We started with the spicy cucumber appetizer and the shrimp tempura roll. Both were very good. The shrimp tempura was a work of art and tasted as good as any sushi I've ever had. Next we got the nigiri special. It was good but not exceptional . And at $50 for 6 pieces (more than $8 per bite!), I was expecting exceptional. For our last course, we got the potstickers and the Tokyo Street Noodle. Both were delicious. The waiter was very friendly and did a great job spacing out the dishes so we didn't feel rushed. Is this place worth it? I'm not sure. But I'd much rather pay a few extra bucks for an A+ experience than save a few bucks and get something just average.

    Raquel Lynn H.

    Still a continually phenomenal experience all around. I love the variety of both hot and cold dishes

    Surprise 3% "service fee"
    Lacee E.

    We went to Golden Gai on a Saturday night. The space is very small with mostly bar seating and 2 tables in the back. Reservations can be hard to get so plan ahead. The restaurant is very cool. Once you get inside you no longer feel like you are in Bakery Square. The kitchen open concept behind the bar where you are seated so you can see everything being made, which is pretty cool. he food is small plates for sharing that comes out as it is ready. We had the spicy tuna rice cakes, rickroll, hamachi crudo, potstickers, Udon noodles, and coconut rice cakes for dessert. Everything was delicious, but the stand-out dishes were the tuna rice cakes, potstickers, and coconut rice cake dessert. One negative is that the restaurant adds on a 3% service fee that you do not know about until you get your check. I was highly annoyed by this. Not only is this a pretty pricey restaurant where an additional service fee to "offset rising costs" should not be necessary given the mark-up on the dishes, but it doesn't even go to the employees. It's just another fee to the restaurant/owners. One would think this type of thing was built into the prices already.

    Kaylie W.

    I've been looking forward to the opening of Golden Gai since it started renovating. It wasn't exactly how I expected it, as I was hoping for more of a traditional izakaya. The food and drinks are definitely more Asian fusion, but still not bad. The ambiance is great. I especially like the menu design for the drinks menu. Service was also friendly and fast. Their drinks are similar to gi-jin, in that there's some Asian themed flavors which I really liked. Can't go wrong with any of them but my personal pick is the ryujin. Non alcoholic drinks were also equally good. Food that I enjoyed were the maki rolls. My favorite was the golden roll. The sashimi was ok, wasn't the best fish I've had but not bad either. We didn't really like the hot dishes, such as the waygu and potatoes or the stir fried veggies. Overall wayyyyy too much sauce on it. The flavor was overwhelming and you couldn't really taste the food. The yakitori was also a bit mid, and was cold when it was served. Wouldn't really recommend.

    Erin B.

    I love an izakaya, so I am glad Golden Gai opened in Bakery Square! I love the atmosphere, very dark and cool and resembles the long alleyways of izakayas in Japan. We tried a bunch of items. The fish pieces on the nigiri were huge, great value and pretty fresh. The drinks menu was gorgeous and I enjoyed the ones we tried. I loved one of the specials, which was a torched hamachi. Also enjoyed the crispy tuna rice and the cucumber. The vegetables dish was so salty it was pretty inedible to me, so I'd skip it. Service was good, though my water glass was left empty for a while and I felt like I had to beg for water, which coupled with some salty dishes was a bit disappointing. I think they could work out some kinks and if so, the atmosphere, drinks, and food could make it one of the top spots in Pittsburgh.

    Fatty Tuna and Scallop nigiri
    Marla C.

    After seeing so many posts on instagram, it was added to my list of places to try in Pittsburgh. I will say I am not a seafood/sushi girl. But they still had a lot of options for me. I went with my friend who loves sushi and she said it was amazing and she will be going back to try more of the sushi. For starters we got spicy cucumbers, ginger salad, and my friend got the miso soup. I was not expecting the ginger salad to come out like it did, but I absolutely loved it. Then I got the gyoza which were amazing, the dipping sauce was good. There is also Japanese spicy mustard and a little goes a long way. My friend got the fatty tube and scallop nigiri. She also got the yakimeshi-fried rice which has pork belly in it. And I got the yaki udon- fried udon noodles with chicken. We sat at the bar and I loved that we got to watch them cook! The service was good. It was small in there so I see why you need a reservation.

    Sonal H.

    I am genuinely still dreaming about this meal. I would first like to start off this post with how amazing the service and staff at Golden Gai. I called on a Friday at 5 PM, asking if walk-ins were allowed because I did not have a reservation. After being told no I asked if the hosts could take down my name and number and give me a call if anything opened up. I definitely did not expect to receive a call back, especially on a Friday night, but I did and got a reservation at 7:30 pm. We arrived around 7:15 and the hostess said the chairs were still being used and gave us a coupon for a buy one get one free margarita voucher to be used next-door at their sister restaurant. By 7:45 we still hadn't heard anything from golden gai about our seats, so we went over to the restaurant to wait. The staff was so incredibly apologetic about the delay and we ended up being seated around 8 pm and we were immediately given a complementary glass of champagne and a complementary edamame starter. So just in general, the service was absolutely phenomenal, and the kindness and promptness of the staff was present throughout the rest of the night as well. OK now for the food. We got the specials for the Nigiri, and one of the Salmon and tuna nigiri's 's off the regular menu. I have NEVER had a piece of Nigiri melt in my mouth the way that did. I generally wanted 50 more pieces and woke up,l thinking about it the next morning. The Nigiri was actually scorched with soy sauce on top of it, making the flavor so incredibly rich. It genuinely was amazing and I'm counting the days until I can go again. The spicy tuna roll was pretty standard, and although it's still good, I would probably skip it next time and get way more nigiri. Oh, and how could I forget, the cocktails were AMAZING! Overall, this is just such a fabulous dining experience and the food was absolutely incredible!

    Miso soup

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    Best sushi in Pittsburgh!! Everything we tried was delicious I only wish we got more nigiri's!

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    Umami

    Umami

    4.3(515 reviews)
    2.7 miLawrenceville
    $$

    So I stopped in with my two godsons for a couple apps and a drink during an evening of food and…read moredrink tasting in the area. This is a super cool spot, and I'd say it's great for everything from a quick bite to a full meal. I'd also highly recommend it for a date night. My only very minor consideration, and probably more of a summer thing (because I run a little hot), is that it can get a little warm near the open kitchen. It's on the third floor and they are cooking with proper charcoal skewers, so I think that's probably just part of the experience. Having said that, they do everything possible to keep it comfortable. The atmosphere is chill, and the service is excellent. Since we had dinner reservations nearby, we just wanted a couple of bites. The otoro was melt-in-your-mouth awesome--fresh, with high-quality sushi rice(my nephew said it was the best sushi he's had in the city). We also tried the chicken and wagyu beef robatayaki, both of which were perfectly cooked and finished with a delicious sweet and umami glaze. I'd definitely come back for a full meal, but it's also a great option if you're looking for a cool place to grab a cocktail or beer and a couple of appetizers before or after other plans.

    Really Instagram-worthy place with an awesome ambiance and great natural lighting. The condensation…read morefrom the HVAC running throughout the restaurant was a bit off-putting, especially when the liquid would occasionally drip on you. I loved being able to see into the kitchen and watch them cook the yakitori. The food was good and fresh, but honestly none of the flavors necessarily stood out as particularly memorable. Overall, a fairly good experience with nice presentation and a really beautiful atmosphere.

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    Umami
    Umami - Miso torched salmon nigiri

    Miso torched salmon nigiri

    Umami - Sapporo

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    Sapporo

    Gi-Jin - Eel, spicy scallop, shrimp tempura

    Gi-Jin

    4.4(213 reviews)
    4.7 miDowntown
    $$$$

    I made a reservation for four people for 5:30pm on Thursday night. I walked in and was able to be…read moreseated right away. The inside consists of several tables for four and a long bar area and it's pretty small so I wouldn't bring a group bigger than four here. The ambiance inside is upscale and beautiful. They have an electronic toilet in the bathroom with a heated seat. My only critique is that the acoustics could be better - it's very loud and echoey inside. The food was incredible. It can be pricey but I think it's worth it for some of the fresh fish in town. The flavors were beautiful and I could not be happier with the food.

    I'm disappointed with how Gi-Jin handled my cancellation. Their OpenTable listing instructed me to…read morecall and leave a voicemail, so I did exactly that within the required notice period, but was still charged $100. I called five times in total: once to cancel, twice later to make sure the cancellation had been processed, and twice to return a call I received from them. The number has an automated "Thanks for calling Gi-Jin" greeting, but the only options are to hear the hours, make a reservation (went to voicemail if you selected), or leave a voicemail. There was no clear way to speak with anyone at the restaurant directly, and I never got a call back for the voicemails. I also tried several times to respond through OpenTable, but the conversation was read-only. So between five phone calls, multiple voicemails, and several attempts to message them, I have no idea what else I could have done. Honestly it shouldn't be this hard to talk to someone, especially for a self proclaimed "upscale" restaurant. I get why restaurants have cancellation policies, especially smaller restaurants with limited seating. But if customers are required to cancel by voicemail, those messages need to be checked. At the very least, there should be a confirmation or another working way to follow up. The part that really bothers me is the absurd amount of time I spent trying to reach them, following the instructions, and giving the required notice, but was still charged because their communication system doesn't work. Now I have to go through my credit card company because I STILL can't reach them.

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    Gi-Jin - Inside

    Inside

    Gi-Jin - Spicy Tuna Handroll

    Spicy Tuna Handroll

    Gi-Jin - Orenji Valley

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    Orenji Valley

    Golden Gai - izakaya - Updated September 2026

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