Pittsburgh: The Abbey on Butler Street (September 2019)



My spouse and I dined at The Abbey on Butler Street on a Sunday afternoon in late September 2019. The Abbey is open daily for breakfast, lunch/brunch, dinner, drinks, late night, and everything in-between. Diners can reserve a spot using the online Open Table reservation system, although outdoor seating cannot be guaranteed. (In addition, because the outdoor space is so desirable, patio dining is sometimes limited to 90 minutes at busy times, and may require a $25 per person minimum.)

The Abbey on Butler Street opened in April 2016 in a repurposed church meeting hall/funeral home in Lawrenceville. Guests can choose to dine indoors in a multitude of rooms: in the bar area, with high-top tables adjacent, in the coffee bar area, in a rear dining room at tables or booths, outdoors on the porch under cover of an awning, truly al fresco (albeit under umbrellas) in the courtyard within view of the swan fountain, or outdoors on the opposite side of the building in the self-service area. The outdoor courtyard is surrounded by an attractive fence, part of which is incorporated into seating for the tables arranged around the perimeter. Indoors, décor features high wood-beamed ceilings, exposed brick walls, and large chandeliers. 

The Abbey serves upscale international fare including pub curry chips, burgers, and sandwiches, fish and chips, shepherd’s pie, salads, macaroni and cheese, steak, seafood, and pasta. A full liquor license is available. We ordered the pub curry chips to start (fries covered in curry sauce and cheese and sprinkled with scallions), followed by the shrimp and grits (topped with a sunny side-up egg) and the smoked salmon hash (served with fingerling potatoes, feta, and spinach and served in a small cast-iron skillet). For dessert, the third time was a charm: the first two items we ordered were sold out, so the restaurant comped us a piece of their cheesecake instead. 

We enjoyed our al fresco brunch at The Abbey on Butler Street.













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