Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
The best coffee in Pittsburgh
Seven Pittsburgh cafés and roasters across the Strip District and Lawrenceville.
7 places
Pittsburgh splits neatly in two. The Strip District holds the highest concentration of established roasters and the more traditional coffee culture — including an Italian espresso bar that predates the entire third wave. Lawrenceville is the experimental side.
Do the Strip in the morning when the market is open, and Lawrenceville after.
1.De Fer Coffee & Tea
Strip District
Employee-owned café and roastery founded in 2017, roasting well and taking more risks on the drinks menu than most.
Order: an espresso tonic
2.La Prima Espresso Company
Strip District
In the Strip since 1988, serving authentic Italian-style espresso. Not third wave and not trying to be — go for the standing-at-the-bar version of coffee.
3.Commonplace Coffee
Roastery, bakery and several cafés. The most infrastructure of any local roaster, and consistent across sites.
4.Espresso a Mano
Lawrenceville
The tried-and-true Lawrenceville favourite, and still the first name locals give.
5.Standing Wave Coffee Roasters
Lawrenceville
Roasts everything in-house with a genuine sustainability programme. Locations in Lawrenceville and the South Side.
6.The Butterwood Bake Consortium
Lawrenceville
Open until 11pm, which makes it the answer to a question the rest of this list cannot help with.
7.Allegheny Coffee
A small local roaster that holds page one against much larger sites — usually a sign the product is doing the work.