I’m guessing that if you’re not a regular then they pretty much ignore you. I Literally walked up to the cashier & the lady immediately started talking to people around me, looking right through me. clearly they come often because they had a whole conversation while I was standing at the cash register. Just rude I stay with Luke Wholes. They are super nice (at both location) and fish is fresher
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Jennifer Mai
I give Pittsburgh a hard time for its (let’s be honest) underwhelming food scene, especially coming from someone who’s lived in a big city like Chicago her whole life and spent plenty of time eating my way through NYC, LA, and Vegas. My two years living here were rough in the culinary department… but leave it to me to move out of Pittsburgh before discovering its hidden gem: Penn Ave Fish Co.
I was back in town for an appointment and to catch up with a close friend and finally tried this place and WOW. Easily the best meal I’ve had in Pittsburgh by far. The sushi, oysters, and seafood overall were the freshest I’ve found in the area (and most affordable on top of that).
They don’t serve alcohol, but the staff went out of their way to let me know it was BYOB (I had no idea) and even helped direct us to the nearest liquor store so we could grab a bottle of wine to enjoy on the patio. Huge bonus: they brought out smoked salmon for our pups, totally on the house 🐾💛
We might’ve overstayed our welcome (they closed at 4 and we didn’t head out till about 4:30), but the staff was beyond kind. They never rushed us, just let us enjoy the food and the moment.
Next time I’m in Pittsburgh, Penn Ave Fish Co is without a doubt where I’ll be spending my time. A true standout in a city that really needs one.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
D Hurley
Friendly atmosphere, good service, but poke bowl was simply unappetizing. It was just a couple pieces of salmon on top of salad soaked in a dressing.
Michael Payne
Great swordfish sandwich
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Calum Matheson
Animal lover’s dream! As long as the animals you love are rodents and flies.
The floors were disgusting, and there was food, waste and other trash under the tables. A mouse wandered straight up to us while we were eating, clearly not afraid of people. It stuck around for a few minutes, unless we were actually seeing its friends and family. There were flies too— not a ton of them, but how many flies do you enjoy during your meal?
The employee at checkout handed us a bill without even looking at us. When I told her that there were mice in the restaurant, she just stared at me, glassy-eyed and shiny-faced, said “okay” in a flat tone, then went back to talking to her friends.
It’s a shame. This place used to be good. And maybe you will still like it if you have ever wandered into Wholey’s and thought to yourself “I wish this place had a smaller selection and more rodents.” If that sounds like you, by all means enjoy Penn Avenue Fish Company!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 1
Q
Clam Chowder tastes/looks like watery chicken broth. Total joke. AVOID!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 2
James Rieker
Pleasant surprise in the strip. Easy going atmosphere a wide selection of fish based meals. The sandwich selection features new looks at time honored fish sandwiches. I had the teriyaki glazed tuna sandwich served with slaw. Seared to perfection and moist yet firm. Tremendous flavour and texture. There were three choices for bowls: chili, gumbo and shrimp/scallop bisque. The bisque was very good. Prices were very reasonable and service is fast. Highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sandwich
Julia Wright
Best sushi I had in Pittsburgh. Not too pricey for the quality you are getting!!! I had the salmon belly, tuna roll, and oysters. All out of this world. I love the atmosphere of this place. I ordered, found a table and was able to watch them scratch make my sushi within minutes. Amazing service. I also love the semi self serve aspect they do, you can order anything, however many times you want at a counter, grab your own soup and drinks and then pay at the counter after you’re finished. I highly recommend for seafood lovers. Will most definitely be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Freshest Fish, Spicy Tuna Roll
joe pagliarulo
Thank God they are not in the NY metro area, they would never make it. Placed an order a week and a half in advance and they couldn’t fill it
Michelle Schultz
I don’t know. We went here because we heard it was really good, but our experience wasn’t great. First, when we went in, no one greeted us and we had no idea where we were supposed to go. A sign would be nice if it’s self-seating. There was a counter with no line and a sign that said “order here,” but the people behind that counter were facing another way with a big line, which is supposed to be to pay(?) We weren’t sure where to line up but ended up being able to order and pay at the “order here” counter. Very confusing. Another man behind us also had no idea where to go.
We had 3 different servers come with food for other tables, and then they took our food to the table next to us. Again, very confusing system.
We got the lunch special flounder sandwich. It was not freshly fried. The breading was tough like it had been pre-fried and reheated. Other fish sandwiches in the strip are far superior.
We were seated next to the glass wall that divides the dining rooms. The glass definitely hadn’t been cleaned in a while.
Pros: They split our sandwich for us without being asked because we said we were sharing. The calamari was very good, well-seasoned and tender. Clam chowder was decent.
This restaurant has really fresh fish & seafood, great service, beautiful plating and we love the concept of the fishshop next to the restaurant. The self serve soups that you can try out were very nice too. We wanted to give this restaurant a 5 but there were a couple of dishes that were a bit of a letdown even though the produce was fresh. The dishes we loved were the benny roll, the seared ahi tuna, the grilled octopus & the fresh raw oysters. The unagi nigiri was subpar, and the spicy yellow tail roll was good but not great. The biggest letdown unfortunately was the main, which was the blackened snapper. Snapper portions were quite small for the price, underseasoned and could be better spiced, and dried out. Luckily the fish was fresh and so it was still edible. The asparagus & seaweed salad that came with were tasty, but the sauces we didn’t enjoy. We would definitely want to return to this spot if ever in Pittsburgh again to try out other things!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Oysters on the Half Shell, Benny Roll
alex
Fresh Fresh fish!
Rubab Jafry O'Connor
I love their food and service. Super good and fresh food. My only advice is that it is about time to clean the restaurant. It is filthy and I have seen mice running around there. I think with nice and clean place, restaurant ratings will go up.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 5
Service: 5
Perrymom
Soups are really good. This stop was part of a tour..... don't do the tour!! Just go get their soup.
I’m guessing that if you’re not a regular then they pretty much ignore you. I Literally walked up to the cashier & the lady immediately started talking to people around me, looking right through me. clearly they come often because they had a whole conversation while I was standing at the cash register. Just rude I stay with Luke Wholes. They are super nice (at both location) and fish is fresher
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
I give Pittsburgh a hard time for its (let’s be honest) underwhelming food scene, especially coming from someone who’s lived in a big city like Chicago her whole life and spent plenty of time eating my way through NYC, LA, and Vegas. My two years living here were rough in the culinary department… but leave it to me to move out of Pittsburgh before discovering its hidden gem: Penn Ave Fish Co.
I was back in town for an appointment and to catch up with a close friend and finally tried this place and WOW. Easily the best meal I’ve had in Pittsburgh by far. The sushi, oysters, and seafood overall were the freshest I’ve found in the area (and most affordable on top of that).
They don’t serve alcohol, but the staff went out of their way to let me know it was BYOB (I had no idea) and even helped direct us to the nearest liquor store so we could grab a bottle of wine to enjoy on the patio. Huge bonus: they brought out smoked salmon for our pups, totally on the house 🐾💛
We might’ve overstayed our welcome (they closed at 4 and we didn’t head out till about 4:30), but the staff was beyond kind. They never rushed us, just let us enjoy the food and the moment.
Next time I’m in Pittsburgh, Penn Ave Fish Co is without a doubt where I’ll be spending my time. A true standout in a city that really needs one.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Friendly atmosphere, good service, but poke bowl was simply unappetizing. It was just a couple pieces of salmon on top of salad soaked in a dressing.
Great swordfish sandwich
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Animal lover’s dream! As long as the animals you love are rodents and flies.
The floors were disgusting, and there was food, waste and other trash under the tables. A mouse wandered straight up to us while we were eating, clearly not afraid of people. It stuck around for a few minutes, unless we were actually seeing its friends and family. There were flies too— not a ton of them, but how many flies do you enjoy during your meal?
The employee at checkout handed us a bill without even looking at us. When I told her that there were mice in the restaurant, she just stared at me, glassy-eyed and shiny-faced, said “okay” in a flat tone, then went back to talking to her friends.
It’s a shame. This place used to be good. And maybe you will still like it if you have ever wandered into Wholey’s and thought to yourself “I wish this place had a smaller selection and more rodents.” If that sounds like you, by all means enjoy Penn Avenue Fish Company!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 1
Clam Chowder tastes/looks like watery chicken broth. Total joke. AVOID!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 2
Pleasant surprise in the strip. Easy going atmosphere a wide selection of fish based meals. The sandwich selection features new looks at time honored fish sandwiches. I had the teriyaki glazed tuna sandwich served with slaw. Seared to perfection and moist yet firm. Tremendous flavour and texture. There were three choices for bowls: chili, gumbo and shrimp/scallop bisque. The bisque was very good. Prices were very reasonable and service is fast. Highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sandwich
Best sushi I had in Pittsburgh. Not too pricey for the quality you are getting!!! I had the salmon belly, tuna roll, and oysters. All out of this world. I love the atmosphere of this place. I ordered, found a table and was able to watch them scratch make my sushi within minutes. Amazing service. I also love the semi self serve aspect they do, you can order anything, however many times you want at a counter, grab your own soup and drinks and then pay at the counter after you’re finished. I highly recommend for seafood lovers. Will most definitely be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Freshest Fish, Spicy Tuna Roll
Thank God they are not in the NY metro area, they would never make it. Placed an order a week and a half in advance and they couldn’t fill it
I don’t know. We went here because we heard it was really good, but our experience wasn’t great. First, when we went in, no one greeted us and we had no idea where we were supposed to go. A sign would be nice if it’s self-seating. There was a counter with no line and a sign that said “order here,” but the people behind that counter were facing another way with a big line, which is supposed to be to pay(?) We weren’t sure where to line up but ended up being able to order and pay at the “order here” counter. Very confusing. Another man behind us also had no idea where to go.
We had 3 different servers come with food for other tables, and then they took our food to the table next to us. Again, very confusing system.
We got the lunch special flounder sandwich. It was not freshly fried. The breading was tough like it had been pre-fried and reheated. Other fish sandwiches in the strip are far superior.
We were seated next to the glass wall that divides the dining rooms. The glass definitely hadn’t been cleaned in a while.
Pros: They split our sandwich for us without being asked because we said we were sharing. The calamari was very good, well-seasoned and tender. Clam chowder was decent.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Restaurantji Recommends
fresh and delicious
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This restaurant has really fresh fish & seafood, great service, beautiful plating and we love the concept of the fishshop next to the restaurant. The self serve soups that you can try out were very nice too. We wanted to give this restaurant a 5 but there were a couple of dishes that were a bit of a letdown even though the produce was fresh. The dishes we loved were the benny roll, the seared ahi tuna, the grilled octopus & the fresh raw oysters. The unagi nigiri was subpar, and the spicy yellow tail roll was good but not great. The biggest letdown unfortunately was the main, which was the blackened snapper. Snapper portions were quite small for the price, underseasoned and could be better spiced, and dried out. Luckily the fish was fresh and so it was still edible. The asparagus & seaweed salad that came with were tasty, but the sauces we didn’t enjoy. We would definitely want to return to this spot if ever in Pittsburgh again to try out other things!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Oysters on the Half Shell, Benny Roll
Fresh Fresh fish!
I love their food and service. Super good and fresh food. My only advice is that it is about time to clean the restaurant. It is filthy and I have seen mice running around there. I think with nice and clean place, restaurant ratings will go up.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 5
Service: 5
Soups are really good. This stop was part of a tour..... don't do the tour!! Just go get their soup.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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