If you spend your night out in the Southside, hopping from Local to Mario’s to the Flats and maybe ending the night with Benny Fierro’s, it might be a necessary evil to wake up the next day with some hair of the dog. If you stick to the stomping grounds and hang around the Southside the next day, The Urban Tap has an amazing brunch menu that just may cure your hangover.
The Ambiance
If you couldn’t tell by the name, the The Urban Tap is known for their beer. It’s a draft house and gastropub with over 140 draft beers between the two locations according to their site. I’ve only been to the Southside location, so I can only speak to the atmosphere there, but they do have a restaurant in Shadyside.
The Southside location’s brick walls, warm, dimly lit rooms, close wooden tables, make it a really comfortable space. If you have a large group, this is a great place for brunch. (There’s plenty of seating!)
Also, these newspaper style menus are the only ones to come close in competition with the book menus I loved at this restaurant in Portugal!
The Food
The brunch menu includes several savory and sweet classics with a twist. To name a few items, they have short rib Huevos rancheros, banana bread French toast, and Eggs Benedict. The Eggs Benedict features Pastrami style cured salmon on a bagel with cream cheese, arugula, hollandaise, fried capers, and, of course, poached eggs. (Drooling.)
Huevos rancheros is my favorite brunch meal, so I ordered that. The short rib was delectable. I also had a taste of my mom’s order – the avocado & eggs, with red skin potatoes, corn and black-eyed pea salsa, poached eggs, and a crispy tortilla.
The real show stopper was the order of donuts. It was my Grandma’s birthday so we asked the server to bring them out for dessert. They don’t do comped desserts for birthday’s but the donuts were a great alternative to cake. Urban Tap’s donuts are more similar to a beignet or a fritter.
Hot tip: The donuts were huge so there’s plenty for sharing with a small group!
The Drinks
Mimosas make brunch such a treat. At The Urban Tap, you can order a whole carafe for the table and the have a few juice options. Orange juice is always my go to but the server will share the options. The Bloody Mary menu has several delicious options – traditional, bloody Maria, Coastal Bloody, etc. Luckily for me, I didn’t choose between the Bloody Mary and the mimosa. I loved the Smoked & Spicy Bloody. (It has smoked tomato and smoked bacon…too good to pass up!)
The Urban Tap
Southside Address: 1209 East Carson Street Pittsburgh, PA 15203
Shadeside Address: 216 S. Highland Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15206
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