These 5 Pittsburgh Restaurants Deserve a Michelin Star

Did you know Pittsburgh was rated the "1. Food City" by Zagat in 2015? Foodies have no shortage of wonderful places to grab a meal, and they may ask themselves why Michelin has yet to enter the market to hand out some of their precious and coveted Stars.

The short answer is that Michelin, an iconic culinary-award rating system, is only in a handful of U.S. cities/states, as of August 2024, and sadly, Pittsburgh (and Pennsylvania) aren't among them. So, chefs and restaurants in the area have to rely on other culinary awards, including the prestigious James Beard Awards. While different from the Michelin Guide, the James Beard Awards are just as good an indication as to whether a restaurant is worth your time, palate, and money.

The James Beard Awards hand out numerous honors, including Best Chef and Best New Restaurant, among many others. Quite a few Pittsburgh chefs and restaurants have been honored, and we've listed five restaurants that could be just as worthy of a Michelin Star, should the Guide ever enter the city.

So, after your visit to the Andy Warhol Museum of Art or the Botanical Gardens, check out some of these Pittsburgh restaurants. Your appetite will thank you (and so will they). (Also check out this list of the top seafood restaurant in every state.)

Apteka is run by chefs Kate Lasky and Tomasz Skowronski, both of whom were up for a regional "best chef" in the 2023 James Beard Awards (via Pittsburgh Magazine). This wonderful eatery in the Bloomfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh serves a European-inspired vegan menu. Everything is plant-based, and they also have many gluten-free substitutions for guests who need them. Let's take a closer look at the Apteka menu that has made such big waves among the James Beard Award judges.

Apteka serves both small and larger plates, all of which can be easily shared. Start with a pickle plate that includes turnip pickles and pickled beet, or try a celeriac and potato soup. There's also apple pancakes with black currant preserves and a variety of salads to try. Larger portions include fried perogies, potato dumplings, and stir-fried buckwheat with carrot. Enjoy stuffed cabbage, schnitzel with beets, and boiled potato and cabbage pierogis. And not to mention their amazing desserts: spiced gingerbread cake, milky rice, and rolled crepes.

Fet-Fisk gained popularity for its pop-up events that started in January 2019 in venues all over the city and has since opened up a brick-and-mortar location. The name means "greasy fish" in Swedish, and their food includes a range of smoked meats, pickled vegetables, and bread. Their produce comes from an organically grown farm in the Lincoln-Flemington neighborhood. Fet-Fisk grows most of the greens and vegetables for their dinner menu in this 1/4 acre lot, sourcing their ingredients sustainably. Their head chef, Nik Forsberg, was a semifinalist for the James Beard regional "best chef" category.

Fet-Fisk's dinners are served in a casual fine dining format, and the dishes are best consumed family-style. The menus change depending on the seasonal availability but a sample menu includes options like fresh oysters, salt-cured king salmon (also called gravlax), grilled mackerel with horseradish, poached monkfish, and braised rabbit with spätzle.

For vegetable options, enjoy griddled cabbage with brown butter, roasted carrots, almond sauce, and mushrooms cooked with risotto, gouda, and truffle. This particular sample menu featured a walnut cake with orange curd and meringue buttercream. No wonder this place has caught so much attention; perhaps one day it will be one of the first Michelin Star restaurants in Pittsburgh. Check out their website for more sample dinner menus.

Chengdu Gourmet is another Pittsburgh eatery recognized by the James Beard Awards. Chef Wei Zhu made it to the semi-finals of the regional "best chef" category. Located in Squirrel Hill, this family-style dining experience serves American-Chinese dishes as well as traditional Sichuan dishes. Wei brings his roots growing up in Chengdu, China, to the food prepared and lovingly served at Chengdu Gourmet. At this establishment, you'll enjoy ingredients like mala, a combination of dried chilies, garlic, ginger, and Sichuan peppercorns. One of their most popular dishes is the Kung Pao chicken, which features a black vinegar sauce, or try their cumin lamb with stir-fried garlic and green bell peppers. Chengdu Gourmet is not just a restaurant, it's a culinary adventure and an experience all in one.

The menu features American-Chinese dishes, seafood dishes, and lunch specials, alongside their heartier dinner options. Enjoy classics like orange chicken, general Tso's shrimp, dumplings, Mongolian beef, scallion pancakes, and noodle dishes. There are traditional Chinese vegetable dishes like pan-fried hot peppers, bok choy, and water spinach. There's Lo Mein, Chow Fun, all kinds of roasted meats, and lots of fried rice options. To experience the full breadth of their food offerings, you may just have to pay Chengdu Gourmet in Squirrel Hill a visit on your next stop in Pittsburgh.

Chef Bethany Zozulaof 40 North was another semifinalist in the regional "best chef" category for the James Beard Awards. 40 North at Alphabet City serves drinks, brunch, lunch, and dinner, all of which are seasonally and locally inspired.

Start with in-house picked vegetables, or beet and yogurt. Other starter options include Khachapuri, a traditional Georgian grilled cheese bread, pan-fried peppers, fried lamb's liver, grilled wings, and fresh salads. Soups include borscht, a beet and cabbage soup with a soft-boiled egg and dill yogurt, and kelle paça, a lamb-based stew with lemon, yogurt, chili oil, and grilled focaccia bread.

Sharable options include falafel, roasted mushrooms, roasted half-chicken, rainbow trout, lamb, and spätzle. Enjoy their side options of smashed potatoes with chimichurri, grilled cauliflower, grilled broccolini, and pan squash. And, most importantly, check out North 40s desserts, like couer a la crème with blueberry, dark chocolate hazelnut tort with Chantilly cream, carrot cake, or an affogato.

Altius opened in 2014 with Chef Jessica Bauer at the helm. The restaurant with city views has since been given a Four Diamond rating by AAA and prides itself on using sustainable, organic, and local products.

Altius is the second restaurant concept from Bauer and B DeFrancis, the other being Bistro 19 in nearby Mount Lebanon. Altius offers a contemporary American menu, and the diner's unique journey begins with the appetizers. Chilled oysters with peach mignonette, horseradish, cocktail sauce, and a lemon wedge are on offer, as is grass-fed steak tartare served with baguette crostini, black garlic aioli, pickled mustard seed, caper and cornichon relish, and egg yolk. Other apps include Heron Point Crab Toast and Duck Bao Buns Banh Mi.

Mouthwatering entrees include Chilean seabass with heirloom pepperonata salad, lemon, artichoke and crab risotto, and tomato fennel compound butter;Colorado lamb rack with lavender honey jus lie, Parmesan and herb ricotta gnocchi, Roma tomato confit, broccolini, and whipped garlic labneh;Footprints Farm chicken supreme "avgolemono" with creamy lemon orzo, blistered tomatoes, pistachio pesto, and whipped ricotta; and vegan wild mushroom papillote with Fun-gal Farms mushrooms, stone ground polenta, asparagus, and herb chimichurri. There is also a selection of caviar on the menu — and don't forget to check out the desserts. (Also read about the one can't-miss restaurant in every state.)