Pittsburgh: Porch at Schenley (November 2012)

My spouse and I ate at The Porch at Schenley in late November 2012 for lunch. We dined on the Friday after Thanksgiving, and because classes at the University of Pittsburgh were on holiday, there was no wait for a table and we were seated immediately. We imagine that this restaurant gets quite crowded when the students are in town, in the evenings and weekends, and for school functions like Parents Weekend.

We visit the city of Pittsburgh often, but we generally stay in the downtown area; on this trip, we decided to stay on campus so that we could see how things had changed since we last visited campus about 15+ years ago. Much of the campus remains the same, but this restaurant, located on what was once a commuter parking lot, is an exciting addition to the university area (perhaps those students searching for a daily parking spot would disagree, though!). We understand that students can use their campus dollars/campus cash to purchase food here (which must be something like a meal plan or a credit card to which parents add cash for their children to draw upon). The Porch at Schenley is owned by the same restaurant group that owns the Eat ‘n Park chain, but this restaurant has an upscale bistro atmosphere with interesting food (we reviewed another of the restaurants holdings, Six Penn Kitchen, separately and favorably).

The restaurant has both indoor and outdoor seating; one area of the outdoor patio has a dual-sided gas fireplace and also has ceiling heaters. In warmer months, part of the dining room wall retracts to give you a view of the Cathedral of Learning and the grassy common. Outdoors, there are also tiny tables positioned near the front entrance; these tables are not under cover nor are heated by lamps, so are probably intended for a quick bite rather than a more lingering meal. We spied a large grill near the front door, so they must do some barbecuing in nice weather. A small counter/walk-up window serves breakfast during the week. The restaurant is large, with regular tables, high-top tables, and booth seating, as well as a large bar. Someone was really thinking when they designed the layout of this restaurant, because it can easily accommodate large groups of students or families. The restaurant does not accept reservations, although you can call ahead to place your name on the wait list. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner daily, with breakfast at the walk-up window on weekdays.

We ordered from the lunch menu, but we viewed the dinner menu, which was similar. We ordered one salad and one pizza; the pizza was enough to share (priced at approximately $14), but the salad was more of a lunch-size and suited for just one person (although it was not a side salad by any means, and it was priced appropriately at approximately $10). The presentation for the pizza was unique - it was delivered on a metal cookie sheet, accompanied by three "piles" of toppings (cheese, red pepper, oregano) that you could add yourself. We thought that the ingredients and flavor combinations of the dishes were creative.

We enjoyed our lunch at The Porch, and we look forward to dining here again next time we visit the University of Pittsburgh campus.