Pittsburgh: Grand Concourse (September 2016)

My spouse and I dined with a family member for brunch on a Sunday morning in early September 2016. (We ate here last in the year 2000.) The Grand Concourse is open daily for lunch (or Sunday brunch) and dinner. You can reserve a table by telephone or by using the online Open Table system. (Be sure to make a reservation if you prefer to sit in the opulent main dining room; otherwise, you may be placed in one of the overflow rooms.) The Grand Concourse has been awarded “Best Brunch” by “Pittsburgh Magazine” and “Best Breakfast” by “Savour Pittsburgh”, as well as an Open Table and TripAdvisor favorite. The adjacent Gandy Dancer Saloon offers a more casual dining option, with seafood and raw bar items as its specialty. Muer Seafood Restaurants operates the Grand Concourse, Gandy Dancer, and other properties including Charley’s Crab, Big Fish Seafood Bistro, River Crab at the Blue Water Inn, and Meriwether’s. Muer is associated with the Landry’s restaurant group, including Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, Fish Tales, McCormick & Schmick’s, Morton’s the Steakhouse, Rainforest Café, and Saltgrass Steak House, among many others.

Housed in the beautifully preserved Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad Station from the early 1900s, the Grand Concourse restaurant at Station Square represents the grandeur and elegance of a bygone era. With a stained-glass vaulted ceiling, faux marble columns, wood accents, antique clocks, hand-cut tile floors, and a dramatic staircase, guests are transported to the glamorous Progressive Era with its Victorian and Edwardian styles. The historical landmark restaurant is positioned on the Monongahela River with a view of the downtown skyline. In 1974, the facility was listed on the National Register of Historic places. In 1978, restaurateur Chuck Muer repurposed the empty and unused station into the breathtaking splendor it exhibits today, renaming it “Grand Concourse”. Valet parking is available for a charge, or you can self-park in the adjacent lot. (The cost for either type of parking is similar.)

Notable guests of the Grand Concourse include Vice President Joe Biden, actor Michael Douglas, Colonel Sanders (of KFC fame), Terry Bradshaw, and actress Olivia Wilde. Several movies have been filmed at The Grand Concourse, including “Dogma” (Matt Damon, Ben Affleck), “Promised Land” (Matt Damon, Frances McDormand), “The Next Three Days” (Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks), and “Love and Other Drugs” (Anne Hathaway, Jake Gyllenhall).

The Sunday buffet brunch (which costs approximately $26 per adult and $14 per child) includes juices (orange, grapefruit, apple), fresh fruit (watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew), salads (Caesar, green, carrot, potato), desserts (apple dumplings, sticky buns, trifle, bananas foster, key lime pie, cheesecake, brownies, cookies), appetizers (cheese, lox and bagel toppings, smoked fish), made-to-order omelets, pancakes, and French toast, entrees (lemon chicken, chicken pasta alfredo, salmon, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, potatoes, rice, roasted vegetables), carving bar (turkey, ham, prime rib), and a children’s table (chicken fingers, French toast sticks, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, dirt sundaes, and candy). Our server was friendly and attentive, refilling our water glasses and bringing drinks, and clearing used plates.

Although we are not generally brunch diners, and we are generally not buffet fans, we were pleased with our Sunday meal at the Grand Concourse. We arrived with low expectations, but we left satisfied and might return someday.