Lidia’s Pittsburgh

Lidias Pittsburgh

It’s always fun when my cousin Laura visits from New York- the extended family has the opportunity to catch up, and enjoy a nice meal.  We usually visit the Grand Concourse, but this time Lidia’s in The Strip was our destination of choice.  I’ve eaten at Lidia’s several times over the years, and have always enjoyed the fare- the pasta is homemade, and the seafood is impeccably fresh.

Our party of 12 (with one super cute child) arrived promptly at 6:45.  We were immediately seated.   Our server stopped by with a large plate of cured meats, delicious cheeses, and took our drink orders.

Malbec

Small menus were on the table- we had three choices for dinner; salmon, chicken, or beef tenderloin served with assorted pasta.

Limited Menu

“Limited Menu?”

My cousin who made the reservation replied, “Yes.”

She went on to tell me that the management was quite adamant about the limited menu too- no room for more choices, it was Saturday night.  My cousin, who was also picking up the check, wasn’t pleased.  Why couldn’t our small party off order off the menu?  Good question.

We dug into the imported cheeses, and waited for our adult beverages to arrive.   The ricotta was sweet and filling.  Candied fruit, and toasted almonds were a nice accompaniment.

Cheese Platter

Creamy Gnocchi

Shortly after our drinks arrived, we were served Caesar salads.  The romaine was fresh and crisp; crunchy croutons added texture and depth.  Extra anchovy fillets were requested, and arrived in a small porcelain cup.  Delicious.

Anchovies

Entrees were served next.  Our meals were prepared with care- my salmon was a perfect medium rare (yeah, they take temps on fish in good restaurants), and the green beans were firm to the bite with ample salt and pepper.

Grilled Salmon

Our server did a good job keeping up, but probably could have used some additional help during the beginning of the meal.

Our dining experience at Lidia’s Pittsburgh was good- the atmosphere was pleasant and the food tantalized our taste buds.  Will we return?  Probably- but only if we can order off the menu next time.