Penn Brewery HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! Authentic German Bier + GREAT food, especially during October Fest! Their Sour Weis beer is awesome as are their Pretzel app! read more

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Visiting Pittsburgh from Milford, Ohio. As a birthday present, I treated my husband to some Pittsburgh brew tour. The building was unique. I don't drink beer and wasn't thrilled when I asked for a glass of wine and the waitress giggled. But as far as hubby and his tasting, he felt the samples were good, the prices were fine. Would have enjoyed a more personal touch from the staff as far as explaining the place, how the tastings work,......you know, just some personal tidbits. read more

I had a groupon that was expiring, so we decided to try out Penn Brewery. I have heard mixed reviews from friends. I wanted to give it a try. This is what we ordered The bloomfield flatbread pizza- I'm a fan of goat cheese, so i thought this was really good. The buffalo chicken pierogi- This was delicious. It seems like you can't go anywhere in Pittsburgh with out seeing a buffalo chicken something these days. This was a pleasant surprise. veggie burger- not the best veggie burger I've had. It was sort of dry, with chunks of corn and red pepper (i think it was red pepper). it's not served with mayo, mustard, hummus spread or anything as a condiment for the burger. The waitress didn't ask, so I assumed it came with something...but for the price, I shouldn't really complain. It came with fries, that were super good. Perfectly salted, skin on fries that were cooked crispy. Yum! Pretzal w/ beer cheese- carbs and cheese...no complaints here! I enjoy the Penn Brewery Beers. I've had the pilsner, gold and dark. All 3 are easy to drink and tasty. The service there seems to allow you to enjoy your meal and drinks. It's feels like a communial, social, gathering place. The staff isn't bothering you a million times while you eat. Overall, I liked the place, and would recommend it. We didn't have any entrees, so I'm not sure how those dishes are but our appetizers and flatbread were worth trying. read more

The place is very nice. Beer and food are very good, actually I liked their food more that Hofbrahaus. They also have live music. The only problem with the place is the location and that's why it's not that crowded on weekends (some people may actually like this). At 10:30 pm there were only 3 tables and a couple of people at the bar. read more

Penn Brewery - Penn Weizen - German Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

This place serves good beer and good brew pub food. I had the sausage platter. Loved to kielbasa and the Penn Pilsner bratwurst. Thought the chicken sausage was bland. The German hot potato salad tasted sweat. I thought it would almost be a dessert. My daughter had the chili. Good flavor not spicy. Son had the pirogis. I tried one of his, there was nothing special about them. The two other adults had salads. They said they were good. I tried the nut roll ale. I enjoyed this holiday beer because of the cinnamon and vanilla. It almost reminded me of root beer. They sell beer to go. I took home a seasonal sampler. $19 for a twelve pack. My wife isn't into brew pub food. However, I would come back for the beer first and the food second. read more

Great food, great beer, great staff! I've visited Penn Brewery regularly for years, don't think I'll ever get sick of it. I'm neither a foodie or beer connoisseur, so I can't & won't speak in those terms. I can simply say that this place always satisfies. My favorite beers are Penn Weizen (mmm...bananas), Chocolate Meltdown (ahh...Betsy Ann Chocolate) & Hot Ginger (well, when I could get it. Don't know if they'll brew that again, but I REALLY hope so). My favorite food at Penn - Cheese Curds, German Reuben & Fish Sammich. Always a great atmosphere, inside the Bier Hall or outside in the Bier Garden. Love it when I can catch live music there, but not sure that happens too often anymore. The waitstaff & bartenders are top-notch, friendly folks - never a bad vibe here. I feel so freakin spoiled having Penn Brewery as my neighborhood watering hole! read more

Penn Brewery was my destination after a long day's work in Pittsburgh. I arrived around 9pm on a Tuesday and grabbed a seat without a problem. I sat at a table right near the glass separating the eating area and the fermenting tanks. Very cool view there. I forgot what I ordered, specifically, although I do know it was some sort of sandwich. The fries here were awesome and so was the Penn-Weizen! I had a 22oz glass and almost ordered another, but sadly declined because I had to leave quickly after eating. The view of the brewery is pretty sick once you arrive. It almost looks sketchy at night, but that's just because it has an old warehouse look to it and I walked down the alleyway to enter the brewery. read more

I use this venue to host my monthly networking group lunch meeting. Never a complaint and all 25 reps give good feedback. The food and service is excellent. I like the yinzer salad which is a chicken salad. Big and very good. Prices are standard. They give us the downstairs area which is perfect for this setting. read more

Food was sub-par, service below average...not our best experience here. It seems to have gone downhill, what a shame. We used to love this place...will not return. read more

Penn Brewery - German Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

If it is not Octoberfest, there is no reason to go. This place is completely overrated. The food is not good. I had pot roast and it was so sickly sweet. The schnitzel was overcooked to the point of mushy. It's not like the restaurant is supposed to be high end, but I expect more for $15 entrees esp. in Pittsburgh. Sure you can go for the beer, but Penn Brewery beer is widely available in many bars. It's not like the Octoberfest food is that good either.. You go more for the party. read more

They have a nice array of beers, and the historic building just takes you back in time. It has a great feel especially in the outdoor alley. I come here every oktoberfest where it gets really crowded and you get your beer in milk jugs. Some people dress up and their is a band and food and of course tons of beer. Fun time for sure. I have eaten here a few times, i like the Wieswurst and pretzel, nothing spectacular but the food is up to par. Their best beer is the Hefeweizen in my opinion read more

We sat at the outside bar to grab a few beers after an event. The bartender was very accommodating even with a limited menu of drinks outside. It was a really nice, shady spot to grab a quick drink and talk. read more

Just stopped in for a light lunch after going to the Warhol. Unfortunately the wait staff wasn't too interested in serving us? When they finally arrived they said they were busy but there were a lot of empty tables! Not sure how they would handle a real rush? Had heard goods reviews but will not be returning next time I visit Pittsburgh. We went to Fatheads instead and the food, beer and service were great! read more

Penn Brewery - German Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Went here as a group of 6 people, all with diff dietary restrictions, and all walked out of that place, satisfied, satiated, and happy. Food was beyond delicious and reasonably priced. We even walked away with 5 growlers of beer! My only quips are a. My bf ordered a well done burger, and it was given to him medium, at best b. All the food is well priced, except for mine. I ordered a pirogi dish, and was given 3 pieces, I know it's an app, but for 7.00 I expected more. Other than that, thank you for a delicious meal. read more

Penn Brewery tries really hard to be an atmospheric bar, good for family occasions as well as nightly celebrations. They surely accomplish that with more than decent service from on-point servers. Their beer is absolutely fine like most everything else they serve. However, I can't help but feel some menu items clearly need worked on. I've been to Germany and had Turkish Doner Kebab and moreover I work at a Mediterranean restaurant where we serve gyro, but this Doner at Penn Brewery just looked and tasted sad. The meat cracked off from what it seemed to be old dry "gyro". I should have sent it back. Though my family had an INCREDIBLE baked Italian sub and I couldn't help but feel slighted in the sheer effort that went into that. The Spätzle was good, Reuben did fine, etc. Overall the brewery does a generally incredible job with most everything, there is room for improvement. read more

I really like Penn Brewery. Nice location on north side and restaurant essentially an historic landmark and brewery. Great outdoor seating, German themed food. Always a good change of pace. Service sometimes slower but enough ambiance, character and history to make up for it while sipping a good beer read more

What a disappointment. Did not even want to give it a star...This had been my favorite restaurant from the time I moved to Pittsburgh back in 1992. I have since moved away, but try to make a stop here when visiting. Last night was an epic failure. The décor I loved is gone. Penn Brewery no longer looks like a beer hall in Germany, no colorful banners or authenticity...it looks more like a poorly designed event venue... the only holdovers are the wooden dining tables and long benches. Even the corner space once home to Oompah bands has been replaced with seating. We were a group of seven and had a lot of catching up to do, which was enjoyable, but our server was inattentive and absent for the better part of our dinner. There were 2 other servers and maybe 7 other tables with patrons. Tables were not cleared when patrons left and at one point I saw at least 5 tables covered with dirty dishes. I am one of those people who likes to order the same thing at "favorite" restaurants. For me it is starting out with an order of potato pancakes. Not last night, they were OUT of potato pancakes. Exactly HOW that happens I don't know. While I understand there was a festival this past weekend, potato pancakes are a staple of German cuisine, not that tough to make. I guess that means they don't make them fresh... On to the roast pork, which I always get with spätzle, instead of potato. My first clue that something was amiss with my dinner were the bread crumbs on the spätzle...but I went in...eager to taste the slow roasted, tender and juicy pork that so reminded me of my own German grandmother's cooking. Nope...not to be...instead what I had on my plate were 4 slices of what can only be described as someone's 3 days old leftover pork loin cover in tasteless gravy. I even tried a piece of each slice just to be sure, but it all had the telltale taste of meat left too long in the fridge. On to the spätzle...now I've made this at home - not tough... batter, a sieve to press it through and boiling water; drain and swish those delightful little guys in a pan of butter and voila! Nope...on MY plate was a haphazard group of odd shaped carb bombs. Many resembling some alien form of pasta. They were over seasoned with something... like thyme? And then there were the bread crumbs....a fellow diner actually commented that my plate looks like Thanksgiving gone wrong...I will say the green beans were fresh and done to perfection. Why didn't I send my dinner back you say?? Well, I would have if our server had seen fit to check in on us. Even when she DID return with our checks she never asked how everything had been, nor did she ask me about my obviously mostly-full plate; she did not even offer me a box to take my leftovers home, which I would have kindly refused. Honestly this meal was so bad I did not even want to waste more of my valuable "friend" time to speak to a manager. It is obvious that changes made need to be re-evaluated. The Help Wanted signs on the entrance door should have been my first clue. Come to Penn Brewery for the beer - the outdoor courtyard area is beautiful and thankfully the beer is still good. read more

Love penn brewery!! Came for the Deutschland music festival and it was super busy but Kaithlynn was such an amazing waitress!! Very friendly and attentive!! Always was there when we needed her. Would definitely return!! read more

Penn Brewery is such a fun and unique place! Inside and out. The food and beers are always fresh and authentic, I've never had anything here that I didn't like. The service is excellent, I've been here several times and never had to wait any longer than a few minutes. Their Oktoberfest is a blast even though it gets jam packed, there's live music and excellent food options and the beer comes in a half gallon jug! I definitely consider this place a Pittsburgh staple so if you're in the area, i vote that you check it "aht"! read more

Penn Brewery - The Deutschtahn Burger - German Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Excellent place to visit when in Pittsburgh! Beautiful place, great service, and an excellent selection of beers. read more

Penn Brewery - German Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Stopped in on a Sunday afternoon and we were one of just a few tables sitting outside. Sometimes during slow periods, servers can forget about you, but we had great service from start to finish. We had the fried pickles as an appetizer and loved ones the aioli sauce that accompanied them. For our main course we split the Bier Mac n Cheese and oh-my-god was it delicious. Really rich. My husband is a native German and Penn Brewery is definitely somewhere to head if you're craving good German grub. Can't end a review without mentioning their beer selection- it is great! read more

If you want a good German meal- seek no more. This is it. Absolutely superb. The spaetzle is the best I've ever had. I've been to other German restaurants in the burgh and this puts them to shame!!! read more

Great beers and food. Love the outside space in the summer. We've been several times and it never disappoints.

I had high expectations after looking them up online, seeing their friendly staff, tasty food, and great atmosphere. Unfortunately, the atmosphere and service was very disappointing. The food took a long time and the beers were tapped very messy. ALSO, you had to walk all the way around the building, then walk upstairs just to go back downstairs to find the restrooms. It was unacceptable considering they would not open a door that would have made the bathroom a lot closer. Overall disappointed. read more

We stopped here for the National Cheese Day specials and were highly disappointed. I sat down and ordered a flight and the server never mentioned the cheese special which was a specific flight plus a cheese board. When I asked her if I could upgrade, the answer was no because I had chosen different beers. Would have been nice to know before I ordered. My friends ordered the cheese boards, which were supposed to have 5 cheeses to go with the 5 beers. They were somehow out of gouda at 1pm and completely neglected to mention that there were only 4 cheeses. When we asked about it, they brought out an additional serving of one of the other 4 cheeses, but again, would have been nice to know. We then ordered the cheese spaetzle with schnitzel, and the schnitzel didn't come out with our order. They did take the schnitzel off the bill but the spaetzle was cold by the time it came out. Finally, there was a hair in the schnitzel and we just wanted to point it out to the manager (at this point we had already paid and the schnitzel had been taken off the bill anyway), and the manager said, "we'll have to look into to that to see if it came from the kitchen or out here," and gestured to the table. I'm not sure if she was suggesting that it might have come from us, but since it was fried into the chicken, I don't think that's likely. Overall the food was decent, but the service was terrible. The goulash was particularly delicious, and it's a shame because all of the problems seemed to be ones that could have been avoided with a little communication. read more

I've been to Penn Brewery more times than I'll admit, so I can confidently compose a fair and thorough review. Ranked simply on the beer, the Brewery would easily earn 5 stars. The "Gold" and "Pilsner" are consistently delicious and award-winning. Both have been recognized by national reviewers. The Brewery has added quite a few seasonal beers to its menu, though the two above stand out. Depending on the season, the Oktoberfest and St. Nick's Bock are also worth it. Penn Brewery's food does not score as highly, mainly due to a lack of consistency and quality. Some items are always good: the pretzels & bier cheese, the potato pancakes, and the appetizer flat-breads are excellent (especially if they are available at happy hour prices). The chili ($6 for a bowl) is big enough to be ordered as a meal and delicious and the goulash is comforting on a cold day. The sandwiches and entrees, however, are hit or miss. Some of the lunch meat (especially the turkey) is only okay and the presentation/taste fluctuate. The meat entrees also vary in size depending on the visit. Overall, I give 3.5 stars on the food, though I mainly order the things I know will be good. Execution at the Brewery could be stronger. For example, although the employees are kind and attentive, they seem to lack a strong grasp of the restaurant's menu and happy hour, which has changed frequently. Additionally, the check-in process near the bar area creates a congested and chaotic atmosphere. The Brewery is styled after a German beer house, but there is no strong plan for funneling people when they are waiting to be sat. On busy nights, it is not uncommon to eat food with a person standing above your plate. Also, the beer - although great! - is not always available. I've been to Penn Brewery twice this summer and the Penn Gold beer was not available either time. How a brewery runs out of its flagship beer during the summer months is beyond me and if I owned the joint, I'd do everything in my power to ensure it never happened. Lastly, I have to include mention of the Brewery's beer garden, which sits between the Brewery and a historic warehouse. Simply put, the garden is one of the coolest places to sit and enjoy some great beer. At times, there is live music, which makes the experience even more fun. Thanks for reading! read more

This is one of the best breweries we have been at. The beers were great tasting, and the food was spectacular!!!! Couldn't beat the location. Service was terrific!!!! read more

I took my dad to Penn Brewery for his first visit. We enjoyed a couple flights of beers and delicious apps. DJ was our awesome bartender who recommended some great beers. We will definitely be coming back again and would recommend to anyone. read more

Great beer, food and service. Very cool historical building. Indoor and outdoor seating. Plenty of different German lagers for everyone. Including seasonals. Had the brezel (Bavarian pretzel with a homemade beer cheese),sourcrout soup, and a huge schnitzel sandwich. Brian, our server/ bartender, was very friendly and helpful. Recommending beers to go along with our food, and sharing tastes of beers we weren't familiar with. Thank you Brian. Will return next chance I get! read more

Love this place. The atmosphere is great and so are the beers (highly recommend the 10 beer sampler so you can find out what you like). The German food is also top notch. Being of the Schnitzel loving persuasion, I was in heaven. The piece was as big (or bigger) than my face. The Kartoffelsalat and Spaetzle were really well done. Had to sit at a small bar table, as the place was packed, so maybe get there early? Not really an issue otherwise. read more

My boyfriend and I went during Oktoberfest on opening night...what a great experience for our first time attending! Penn Brewery Oktoberfest was a melting pot of Pittsburgh locals who enjoy good grub, tasty brews and a few fun German traditions (the bands, the songs and the dances). We both ordered German style entrees (kielbasa, bratwurst, sour kraut) and both were delicious. The best part? The seasonal beer was on tap AND came served in a milk jug. 10/10 would recommend. read more

Fine German lager style beers and European foods. Stopped by the restaurant while in town visiting family. There are no bad beers here. Weather was great so we enjoyed the outside biergarten for a round after dinner, too. Special thanks to Justin, our waiter/bartender/host/maintenance guy. He went above and beyond and did everything with a smile! read more

I love the food and the beer. If they made it more warm as far as atmosphere this place would be crowned every night. That said we had the Jaugersnitzel and it is amazing. As for the beer we get flights then you don't have to decide. read more

Penn Brewery - German Near Me - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Full disclosure, German beer and food is a personal passion. That said, Penn Brewery stands out among the really excellent similar establishments I've visited across the country. My wife and I visited Pittsburgh recently (I love the town BTW), and we made a point of having brews and dinner there; we were not disappointed. Food was very good; we had pork loin and the sausage platter as well as potato pancakes (delicious!). We sampled their different brews, but the dark lager was clearly the favorite and it compared quite favorably to the best German brews that I have tasted over the years. Our server was very attentive and we never had to wonder where he was. The food was presented promptly as was the beer. I'm looking forward to our next visit to this outstanding establishment. read more

Was there again with a coworker the food was 100 time better the same waitress was there again and she was awful she spend more time on her phone then taking care of her customers.! Owner please fix that and your place is amazing read more

Visiting from out today of town. After imbibing at Southern Tier the night before, this was a huge step down. Beer was watery, bland and flavorless and lacked carbonation. The bartenders demeanor was colder than the beer. We left after half our flight and went to Allegheny Brewery instead. read more

We had an unconventional wedding rehearsal dinner at Penn Brewery in the Ratskeller. Price - Compared to other options we quoted this was by far the most reasonable price for a rehearsal dinner of about 50 people (space, food, and drinks). This was partially driven by the fact that we did platters and appetizers only as their buffet and plated options were similar to competitors. This was way MORE than enough food and delicious. Service - Very accommodating for my mobility impaired grandfather. Lindsay, our event manager, was normally very quick to respond to the many emails we sent her (less than 24 hours). The day of the event all of the servers were wonderful and helpful with beer/drink selections for the guests. They allowed us to bring in flowers and set them up for us prior to the event (did not charge a setup fee). Our only complaint was that the food did not have descriptions for the guest. They did label all of the gluten free food per our request. read more

My husband and I are enjoying our first visit to Pittsburgh on a self-designed baseball tour. After going to a Pirates game, I scanned Yelp for restaurants in our hotel area and found Penn Brewery. We love German food and beer so decided to try it on a Thursday evening. We were very happy with all of our beer and food choices. Our server, Rachel, was friendly, efficient, and helpful in making choices. We ordered traditional pierogies to start, jagerschnitzel and the sausage platter as entrees. We ordered the dark and marzen beers to start. Later we got a flight to try others, all brewed on site. Prices are very reasonable and portions generous. We were too full to order dessert so will have to return. read more

Let me start off by saying the beer here is amazing. I frequently come to the Penn Brewery to grab one of their IPA or Ginger beers to enjoy in the outdoor area. Never disappointed. Do note it's not self seating and it's very easy to walk into the biergarten from the street and not be waited on. The food on the other hand, I find lacking. I ordered beer cheese and macaroni "I'm a huge fan of bier cheese and pretzels" but when my dish arrived, the cheese was watered down and seriously lacking in taste. For the price and what I knew from the quality of the beer, I was surprised and disappointed in the food. It's also quite loud inside on the weekends. read more

Spaetzle! Spaetzle! Spaetzle! Okay, so they have other good food and beer. But I just really like their spaetzle. It's almost as good as Max's Allegheny Tavern. The atmosphere here is really fun, and they often have live music. The tables are set up family-style, so get used to being close to your dinner guests. While you eat, enjoy checking out the brewery (indoors) or the fun courtyard (outside). Sadly, they've recently removed a couple of my favorite menu items, and while there's always room in my heart for spaetzle, that's now just about the only thing I *love* - the rest is just okay. read more