Church Brew Works & Restaurant

Recommends

Hawkyfan99

Joined 2 years ago

Good food, mediocre beer. During our visit, I had the beer sampler and the meatloaf. In my opinion, the beer was only mediocre. Insufficiently carbonated, for starters, but there was just a quality to the beer that I didn't care for.

However, the meatloaf that I had was incredible, as was the ambiance. I'd be willing to recommend this to others, as well as return myself. I just won't be as adventurous with the brew.

Recommends

AMA3

Joined 2 years ago

cinco fromaggio pizza is the best. I organized a series of events, posted on two social websites, in which I led a group of people to 27 different pizza parlors in the greater Pittsburgh area, searching for the best pies that Western PA has to offer. My single favorite was the Cinco Fromaggio (five cheese) from Church Brew Works, but it was the only pizza there that I would even recommend. However, my overall favorite shop was Upper Crust on Dorseyville Rd; we tried many selections, and every single one of them was excellent! Rounding out third place, I'd recommend Fiori's just off West Liberty Ave.

Recommends

jonmac77

Joined 2 years ago

Great happy hour in a unique setting. The Church is always a good time when i can make it there. I go there for happy hour, when they have really cheap appetizers and beer. I have always liked the food and beer, though as a disclaimer, I have never ordered an entree there.

Service is usually good (slow occasionally), and the parking situation is outstanding for being in the city.

The atmosphere alone is worth at least one trip. It is literally a former church converted into bar/restaurant/brewery, and I can't imagine there are very many other places like this anywhere.

Recommends

psenevir

Joined 5 years ago

dunkel with pizza - great combo. the only food I order here is the mushroom pizza - it's made fresh in a brick oven and tastes very good. I love the in-house brewed beer too. love the dunkel.

Doesn't Recommend

BelleVon

Joined 4 years ago

Beautiful Setting, Lousy Food. We had wanted to visit this establishment for awhile and finely was able. Parking in the rear was great, the stained glass windows were stunning but the decor was over all very dingy. We ordered appe., entree and drinks. Never got the appe, buffalo meatloaf had no flavor, pasta was chewy. Beer was good. Service was not very good. Nice young lady but must have been her first job as a waitress. Clean up the place, maybe throw a little paint on the walls, train the staff, get a new chef, and drop the propaganda about the drink tax. Maybe we would return for another try.

Doesn't Recommend

rcheid60

Joined 6 years ago

not the best microbrew. Hadn't been to the Church Brew in many years...but after sampling "the sampler", I remembered why I never went back! The beer was not to our liking at all. It all tasted very smoky. We had friends in from out of town and visited a couple of micro breweries while they were here. Penn Brewery was excellent, as was the Rock Bottom. None of us liked any of the beer we tried here and there were varied pallets in the group. We (there were only 4 of us) were there on a Monday afternoon, so service was not an issue. Had a couple of appetizers that were nothing to write home about either. Despite the fact that none of us liked the beer, 2 of us still bought a souvenir glass to add to our collections. The waitress brought them out wrapped in paper bags, which we didn't bother to open. Imagine our surprise when we got home to find that the glasses had been used! How TACKY!

Recommends

mahitable

Joined 6 years ago

Good food, fun atmosphere, awful service. Went there on a Friday evening with a large party, fortunately we had reservations so we were seated promptly. It was crowded and noisy, but one must expect noise with the acoustics of an old church. The atmosphere is cheerful and the stained glass windows are beautiful. A little back lighting would be wonderful so that the stained glass could be enjoyed after dark.

The food was excellent. Well prepared and more than ample portions. More than one doggie bag was taken home in our group.

Prices were not out of line with most places who serve good food. Pricier than the local diner, but much less than the tourist spots on Mt. Washington.

As good as the food and atmosphere were, the service was equivalently awful. The waiter must have assumed that because it was a party of more than 8, he was assured an 18% gratuity. He did not even distribute the entire menu to some of the group. He gave everyone the main menu, but only a few received the specialty menu. He brought our drink order but never did come back to check for refills. He brought refills only if called over to the table and was specifically asked for a refill. Nor do I recall him asking if we needed anything or if everything was to our satisfaction, which is standard in the majority of eating establishments. And I for one was never asked if I wanted any dessert.

Fortunately, a complaint to the management got his tip adjusted.

I would eat there again, but I'd check the wait staff first.

Recommends

hurricane_hannah

Joined 6 years ago

Brewpub in a restored old church is unique.. This place is worth the visit just to see the way it was converted to a brewpub from an old church.

It had been a few years since our last visit and I must say the beer has improved substantially.

Excellent beer to be found here, on par with Penn Brewery. On the downside, the food is mediocre at best. Had the pierogies which were dry and overcooked. Also had the Kobe steak sandwich which contains very little beef and mostly green peppers. Salmon steak that my wife got smelled very fishy and was not very good. If they could get the food quality on par with the beer quality this place would be fantastic. Recommend going during happy hour for $1.00 pizza slices. About the only thing that I would recommend from the food menu.

Recommends

duqalum

Joined 6 years ago

Great pizza.. I dined here last night with my boyfriend. Upon arriving we were told there was a wait for the dining room. We could clearly see there were many open seats. The hostess explained that they were understaffed. Ok. We tried to seat ourselves in the pub and jostled with other diners and happy hour-ers for a seat. At this point we decided to forgo entrees and have side salads, pizza, and beer. Although service continued to be spotty, we really enjoyed our pizza (we had the five cheese - and it was somehow not greasy), salads (very fresh), and beer. The building is really neat. I would definitely return but would probably stick to the pizza and more casual stuff - this seems the establishment's strength.

Doesn't Recommend

hotpear

Joined 6 years ago

Oh.....My....... I absolutely cannot believe the service that we received at this restaurant. I find that the idea of changing a church into a restaurant is wonderful and am glad that it has happened here in Pittsburgh. But, to the point, when my companions and I dined here, we were more than appalled at our service. No lie, the wait staff did not check on us for more than 45 minutes & it was not busy in the least. Is this possible? You tell me. Perhaps they were high. I don't know, but that type of service is unacceptable anywhere in the WORLD. Upon complaining, we received nothing, no discount, no apology (but we now have a nice set of glasses which they did not provide). I do not recommend this establishment, but if you do go, I hope you receive better service...