Eleven 

Overview:

Eleven is an upscale American restaurant located on Smallman Street in the Strip District neighborhood of Pittsburgh. It is part of the Big Burrito Group which owns a variety of restaurants throughout the city. Eleven is the flagship restaurant which provides the most upscale experience. They offer dinner, tavern, and happy hour menus. To take advantage of the happy hour you must sit to the left where the bar is and it runs from 4-6 PM Mon-Fri. The overall restaurant hours are as follows. Monday, 4:30–9 PM, Tuesday, 4:30–9 PM, Wednesday, 4:30–9 PM, Thursday, 4:30–9 PM, Friday, 4:30–10 PM, Saturday, 4–10 PM, Sunday, 11 AM–2:30 PM, 4:30–9 PM. 

Your dining options include dining-in or delivery through DoorDash, however I would highly recommend eating the food there.    In terms of the type of food served at Eleven, they offer a small, thoughtful dinner menu. This includes cheese plates, oysters, calamari, and scallops for starters. Some of the entrees include halibut, salmon, cavatelli, beef tenderloin, and braised short rib.    

The Food:

Jalapeño Dragonfruit Margarita 

Eleven Mule

I planned our evening so we could arrive at the restaurant an hour before our 6 PM reservation. This gave us ample time to enjoy the happy hour. First, we started off with the Eleven Mule and jalapeno dragon fruit margarita. Both drinks were excellent and carefully crafted. The mule was interesting as it was made with cucumber vodka. However, it gave the drink a refreshing new twist that cut through the ginger well. I ordered the jalapeno dragon fruit margarita which was fruity and spicy with a nice black salt rim.    We also ordered burrata as our happy hour appetizer. It came with corn, heirloom cherry tomatoes, basil, saba, prosciutto, and grilled bread. Additionally, they gave us a complimentary bread dish with focaccia, sourdough, and cinnamon bread. Our favorite part about the burrata was how creamy it was. It also paired well with the corn and prosciutto.  

Bread Assortment

Burrata

After ordering another round of drinks for happy hour, we made our way to the hostess stand to check in for our dinner reservation. We were escorted up a flight of stairs to the second floor dining area where I asked for our seats to be in the Open Table reservation. We were greeted with another round of focaccia, sourdough, and cinnamon bread as we browsed the dinner menu. I got the 6 count of Irish Point Oysters to start with, and we ordered beef tenderloin and braised short rib for dinner.  

Irish Point Oysters

The oysters were very tasty and delicious. Irish Point is a place in Prince Edward Island Canada which produces a distinct oyster. They are known for a clean briny taste and a texture which is firm but tender. It came with a side of mignonette (red wine sauce) and their house made hot sauce. While they were pricy at $21 for 6, it was so worth it and great to have high-quality oysters for the first time.  

Braised Short Rib

For our dinners, let’s start with the beef tenderloin. It came with fondant potatoes, sweet corn custard, zucchini, cherry tomato, corn, romesco, jus. All of this provided a great compliment to an already tender steak. The jus sauce was flavorful and delicious. The second dish was the braised short rib which included bacon & chive Parisian gnocchi, runner beans, zucchini, smoked peppers, and peach bbq. Normally I do not order short rib because I find it similar to pot roast. However, this short rib was tender and juicy and the peach bbq sauce added a tangy punch. Additionally, the bacon & chive gnocchi might have been the best thing I ate the whole night. They had a bit of a bite that I assume came from the chives and maybe sour cream. Hats off to the chef for cooking them so well. 

Beef Tenderloin

Service:

Our waiters in both the bar and second floor dining room were both excellent. They came over frequently asking if we needed anything or wanted refills. The speed at which we were able to get two orders of drinks and an appetizer at the bar area was astounding. I told the waiter there we had reservations at 6 and he made sure everything came out with plenty of time for us to be done. The appetizers and main courses came out in perfect order and the timing was great. Our waiter upstairs even got us complimentary chocolates for dessert after we said we were too full.  

Atmosphere:

The atmosphere at Eleven is truly amazing. I thought the vibe of the whole place was relaxing, comfortable, and modern. When you arrive at the bar, you are greeted by open garage doors, high ceilings, and contemporary minimalist décor. Everyone at the place seemed to be relaxed and having a good time. When we took the staircase up, we noticed the balcony looking down into the bar on one side and the first-floor dining area on the other. Our waiter sat us towards the left which was back from the balcony. Upstairs was dimmer and had a quiet ambience. This was partly due to us being one of three tables that were occupied during our dinner.     

Rating: Excellent |⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐|

Eleven is one of my new favorite upscale restaurants in Pittsburgh. I truly believe from the time we arrived until we left, our experience was spectacular. The food was delicious, our waiters were on point, and the ambience was relaxed and comfortable. I will say the dress code is business casual so make sure to wear something nice! If you are looking for an upscale restaurant for a special occasion, I would highly recommend trying Eleven!