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Dish is a cute dark little restaurant/bar space filling what formerly was a a-typical mill run-down-town bar. The place is ran by a nice couple who worked service in NYC and built Dish off of their exposure and native flavours.
Where should I start? The bar. As you walk in you are at the bar which is both large (most of length of the room) as well as ornate. There is a good selection of the Belgians on tap. Bottles, well to find those you need to look up and to the right of the door. They are proudly displayed on a ledge. This place is also known for the Martini's and mixed drinks so feel to ask them about the inherited drink from the place that use to be there. That will give you something to learn while there.
Now onto food. Seating is in the other half of the space and divided by a doorway into two rooms. It's hard to miss, but the back side of the menu is covered with wine. Inside the menu you will find a mere 2 pages that are loosely populated. Don't worry, this is a fun place, they typically seem to have more items as daily specials than they do menu items.
This place is a bistro in all sense of the term. The food is fairly decorative in its arrangement and fresh.. Vegetarians and especially vegans beware but not discouraged, the menu has a mushroom pasta only- but it seems the daily specials usually have one or two things you can eat. If not, ask your wait staff they are more than nice and able to accomodate.
Wait staff is and has been in all my visits exceptional. They have been well informed and passionate about their jobs- now if we could only get the owners to train everyone else's staff. No I don't know whats on tap or you eat what here.
The foods is rich so you should consider not eating your full portion should you care for dessert. Although I haven't had a dessert yet there, they look like bistro fare and quite creative. The main dish meals are of a good portion size although you might not think so at first sight.
Now for what there isn't to rave about.
Parking - good luck finding a spot. The South Side is a nightmare for parking. Be ready to walk several large blocks at minimum as it is all street parking in an area that is residential.
Noise - This is one of those cute two people at a table type of places. The kind of place you go because of the low light and intimate atmosphere. The ceilings don't seem too high in the two room eating area - which resembles a living room and dining room in an old house. I say this because don't get me wrong, the interior is quite nice, its just small and with a few loud people the noise gets to the point that you can't talk to or hear the person across the small table from you without yelling.
Cash only- I really can't blame them for not wanting to pay the banks the outrageous fees to accept everyone's Visa/Mastercard/Amex/Discover debit and credit cards. Problem here though is that food doesn't come cheap. The mushroom pasta dish I mentioned is about $13 + the salad $5 + 2 beers... x 2 people.. You get the point. In today's paranoid world, a lot of people don't want to hit the ATM for $100 or $200 before dinner. I've seen three people need to run to the ATM (2 blocks away) to get money. Bring cash with you...
Check this place out midweek, they'll be happy to fill the space more those days and you'll be happy to be able to eat here. Reservations are accepted and recommended on weekends. This place still is the best example of a New York bistro in Pittsburgh- keep up the good work.
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