The colder months of the year bring out hearty soups, hefty sides, and rich, warm dishes in restaurant menus. Gone is the plethora of pumpkin that appears each fall, replaced with soups and stews. TABLE has compiled some new menu items, as well as seasonal trends, to try during the rather gloomy Pittsburgh winter. After the Christmas decorations go down, it can be a challenge to feel good about, well…anything, so going out to eat can be a welcome balm for those first quarter blues.
Warm Up with Winter Menu Updates at Pittsburgh Restaurants
Square Café
Need a winter pick-me-up? Three words: Hot chocolate pancake. Square Café now has Hot Chocolate Pancakes, breakfast treats made with hot chocolate mix and chocolate milk, topped with whipped cream, marshmallows, and chocolate chip. If you’re not into all the carbs, try the protein-filled Chicken Sausage Hash with garlic, shallots, potatoes, mushrooms, and a kick from diced granny Smith apples.
Brothmonger
The newly-opened Brothmonger menu is always changing based on ingredients and customer interest. Founder Sarah Coppolo said recently that there’s been a strong interest in mushrooms, so she added Mushroom Farro Soup to her rotation. You can now also get a Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese at Brothmonger as well as Tabbouleh Couscous along with your soups.
Fet-Fisk
Fet-Fisk adds new items to their menu periodically without straying from the seafood classics they’re known for, but this winter you can order Beef Stroganoff, as well as luxurious mushroom dish Pan Roasted Chanterelles with white wine sauce and drizzles of chicken juice from their ever-popular chicken dish.
Polska Laska
Want some holiday pierogies for the Yinzer in your life? Beloved pierogi shop Polska Laska has limited time only Christmas offerings including a Christmas Cheese Ball Pierogi that, according to owner Olive Visco is “like the cheese-y, savory nutty thing in plastic wrap in your auntie’s fridge. But in a pierogi.”
Altius
Chef Jessica Bauer’s menu adds seasonally inspired meat and seafood with newer items like Hokkaido Scallop and Footprints Farm Pork Belly, Heron Park Crab Toast, and Ora King Salmon. That final item is in lobster fennel broth, shellfish risotto, broccolini, and crab croquette. Altius’s luxurious chef-driven menu makes it one of the best truly upscale nights out in Pittsburgh—consider it for a holiday dinner or New Year’s Eve gathering.
Sprezzatura
Jen Saffron’s Italian to-go business should be your go-to for holiday treats. Sprezzatura is serving classic Italian winter meals like Gnocchi Pork Ragú and Braciole. She also has festive holiday platters, Winter Greens and Caramelized Onion Tart, and her famous lasagne, plus pies and cakes, roasted and carved Chickens, and more.
El Colibri
To warm you up during the colder months, Mexican “ghost kitchen” El Colibri is bringing on the 32oz Birria Ramen with rice noodles. It’s amazing fusion dish that combines the rich, spicy flavors of birria with the comforting, chewy texture of ramen. The result is a deliciously flavorful soup that’s hearty and satisfying—and gluten free, because of the rice noodles. You can also now order Warm Tamales and the recent Birria Tamale.
Dish Osteria
Dish Osteria has been around longer than most of Gen Z has been alive, but Fettucce di Mare allo Zafferano features Fettucce “Setaro” with jumbo lump crab meat, shrimps and scallops in a saffron cream sauce with chives. The new Rigatoni alla Scamorza Affumicata is Rigatoni with smoked scamorza, prosciutto di Parma, peas and roasted and salted pistachio nuts, in a cream sauce with Parmigiano Reggiano, fresh ground black pepper and parsley.
Arriviste
This Shadyside coffee shop debuted its in-house food program in 2024 to celebrate owner Kim Lopez’s Filipino heritage. You can now get hot Pan de Sal as well as coffee—the egg and cheese Pan de Sal makes for an excellent middle-of-the-workday refuel (Ask me how I know). You can also get sweet Pan De Sal or unseasoned Pan De Sal with a side of butter and jam.
Fish Nor Fowl
As always, you can get the Trust the Chef charcuterie board at Fish Nor Fowl for a selection fromtheir all-star culinary team. The Duck Confit uses white bean ragout, pancetta, and duck fat pan fritto. You can also get their decadent Swordfish Puttanesca with celery root, Castelvetrano olives, capers, San Marzano tomatoes, and crispy kale.
Khalil’s
A new Mediterranean Charcuterie Board from Khalil’s allows guests to sample all the best of the restaurant’s offerings. For only $37.50, you get red, yellow, orange peppers, cucumbers, lifit (housemade pickled turnips) Syrian cheeses, Feta, imported olives, hummus, dolmas, spanakopita, pita, Syrian pickles, fried squash, fried cauliflower, fried eggplant, tahini, grapes, strawberries, blueberries, figs, dates, apricots, and macdouse (pickled eggplant, walnuts). A literal mouthful! You can also get a new side of Syrian Nachos for a deliciously shareable side.
Story by Emma Riva
Photo courtesy of Square Café
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