The Smiling Moose

This place is amazing! The have the most diverse and delicious menu options. I have tried hamburgers all over the city and Smiling Moose has hands down the best hamburgers I have had. Their soups are out of this world as well. The staff is so great as well. I love coming here. The atmosphere and music are great.

Great beers. Awesome food. Friendly and funny bartender. Will visit again. Check out their specialty drink menu, I had the Captain Spaulding. Tasted like a strong rum piña colada stirred with an orange creamsicle.

A happy hour indeed! From 5pm-​7pm, all drinks are ½ price and slider plates are $ 2 off! We ordered the garlic sliders w/​roasted red pepper, greens, and lemon mayo (lemon mayo?! So good!) and the sweet bbq sliders w/​bacon, cheddar, and grilled onion. We were pretty blown away by the flavor and juiciness of the burgers! And our total bill was $ 20. For two full meals and 2 craft beers, you really can’t beat that!

Amazing soups, friendly service and a huge beer selection. And it’s inexpensive! I am hooked on this place. Bring a $ 20 bill and indulge!

Catfish tacos with mangos and dragon fruit. Amazing! Plan on making this a regular stop. Great service and food. Lots of craft/​draft choices!

I’ve been here a few times prior to my last visit, but never to eat. I usually would just have a drink or two here and then leave. This time, we specifically came here for dinner and to watch the pen’s game. We arrived about 30 minutes before game time & found a table by the big screen without a problem. Our server was the bartender, and he did a fantastic job of waiting on us while serving the bar as well. I ordered the grilled cheese with tomatoes and bacon and it came with a side of home made pasta salad. My boyfriend ordered their habanero burger with the pasta salad as well. My grilled cheese was average, but still very good. I wish the bacon was full strips rather than tiny chunks. The pasta salad was pretty delicious. My boyfriend’s burger was good– but not as spicy as the description implied. He loved the pasta salad. The large projector screen is pretty cool, especially when watching a game. I also love the horror movie posters all over the bar. Overall, this place is great if you want to escape the typical southside scene, have a good drink and some yummy food.

I’m not blown away by many bars/​restaurants in the South Side but I am constantly blown away by The Smiling Moose. Especially, knowing it’s earlier years and how much they’ve grown. Newly remodeled and the food is unbelievable! Seriously, everything I’ve ordered is so unique in flavor that they should have more awards then they already have. They’ve earned them! My favorite is the Po’boy. Plus, there’s always something going on upstairs and downstairs everyday of the week. Bands, trivia, karaōke. My new favorite bar on Carson St.

«What’s your happy hour specials?» I asked my friendly bartender when I sat down. She said whatever you want! So that means whatever you order is half off. Now that’s what I call happy hour! I decided on a white IPA and looked over the food menu. Quite a few cool looking dishes, mainly sliders and wraps, but a nice variety.
Mainly a dive bar, but these little bars are like hidden gems among all the bars and restaurants that gather all the headlines and Unilocal reviewers. I love finding these hidden gems that offer great drink specials and amazing for for very little money.
Stop in before heading to a performance at the City Theatre, it’s just a few steps away and worth crossing busy Carson Street.

This bar is all about live music, cheap and good beer, and has an cool and friendly dive bar vibe. They have live music upstairs almost every night. Check out their website for details or check their Unilocal and Four square for Band listings. Ticket prices are usually only $ 7 to $ 15 and rarely $ 25 which is the maximum they’ll charge. Rock on.

Used to be a crusty old-​school dive bar, but the place didnt sell out, it bought in. Has a really good kinda funky food menu with a hip twist. There is a second floor that still runs punk and metal shows with a separate bar. Occasionally they still do early eve all ages shows as well.
The downstairs bar has a great happy hr where every drink is half off. Good place to grab a few microbrews half off and grab a few shots with friends after work.
Although remodeled there is still plenty of cult movie memorabilia all over the walls — from Back to the Future to Hellraiser if you’re a fanboy (or girl) you’ll dig the décor.
Great bartenders, good drink prices. Cheers!

Have you ever been obsessed with an obscure band and you live your life with an internal struggle between telling everyone to listen to them and keeping them all to yourself because… let’s face it– they are TOO GOOD and God forbid if they ever make it to top 40 radio they are going to get played out and you’ll be annoyed because now everyone is talking about them and you loved them first? Anyone? No one?
Well anyway, that’s why it’s taken me so long to review my absolute favorite restaurant/​bar in Pittsburgh. I was selfish. Greedy. A low-​life. But now I’ve seen the light and I want to spread The Smiling Moose love to the masses.
Don’t be deterred by the Evil Dead posters and Pantera blasting over the jukebox. This isn’t your run of the mill metal head bar (although if you’re into that, they regularly host metal shows upstairs.)
The Smiling Moose is a legit restaurant with bar food prepared by a classically trained chef. So if you’re into unique and delicious soups and sandwiches, this is your place. Soups change regularly. Most sandwiches are bread heavy – served on a baguette, but it’s Mancini’s bread so it’s all good. Some of my favorites dishes include the Chinese 5 spice burgers, black bean sliders, and whatever burger they have on special. The grilled chicken/​sweet chili sandwich and tuna melt are great too! If you visit over the weekend you’ll probably be blessed with their pasta salad as the «side of the day». I would eat this pasta salad as my last meal on earth. My husband has said that he’s going to start bringing me quarts of this pasta salad in lieu of flowers because I get WAY more excited over the pasta than any bouquet.
The Smiling Moose has a great draft list and a huge selection of bottles. The service is always great as well. Out of the 15+ times I’ve eaten there, there was one time where my order didn’t come out with everyone else’s. In that instance, our server was so apologetic, immediately amended the situation, and bought me a shot of Fireball.
TLDR: great atmosphere, stellar food, copious drink selection, and attentive service = a 5 star experience at The Smiling Moose.

Friendly dive bar with a big screen TV, a long bar and a few tables. Probably would enjoy this more on a night where they have live music. I haven’t sampled enough to give a very informed judgement. This a neutral score. I love the name, Bullwinkle!

Great place to catch a show and meet friends. Fun atmosphere and people. I’d skip eating. Food has been hit or miss as of late. The bread is always awesome, it’s Mancinis, but the stuff on the bread hasn’t been consistent recently. Not sure what’s up with that. When you’re spending ten bucks on a sandwich and the filler is just eh, it’s not worth it. Especially when there are about 300 other places to eat nearby. Same w salads, snacks, and sliders. Skip the food and stop in after dinner for a show.

I usually have low expectations for bar food. The Smiling Moose is not making bar food. This is real cooking. The prices are reasonable and the food is out if this world!
Let me tell you, the shrimp skewers were delish! Eight perfectly grilled shrimp on a bead of lettuce and roasted onions and peppers. If you are a light eater it’s a delightful shrimp salad. It’s served with cilantro lime mayo to rival my mother’s. Please don’t tell her.
I also got the garlic sliders, and they were perfect. Usually they are over cooked since they are so small, but these were perfectly medium rare! The pasta salad side was also well flavored. However, I must mention the pasta was overcooked.
I went on a Wednesday night. This also happened to be karaōke nights with DJ T-​money. I flipped through the books and he has quite a selection. He also has 2 mikes and a laptop to sign up with. No needing to shout your requests! I have to say I was surprised that the singers were actually good at singing. There was only one person that was just painful to watch. That might have had more to do with her underwear hanging out and «sexy» moves. She is not the norm!
With their high caliber food larger draft selection and good happy hour options there is no reason not to stop in! I can’t wait to go back!

Kind of divey atmosphere downstairs, so I was surprised by how long and unique their beer list is. Seriously dozens of bottles and cans, and some solid draft options as well. We went with two delicious and strong southern tier drafts, the crème brûlée stout and choklat oranj stout. Both were phenomenal. Real cheap too at 6.50 a pop, plus if you come sundays they offer half price southern tiers all day. Live music Saturday nights. Huge projector showing the Pirates game. Despite the divey feel, it is very clean. I would definitely recommend this as a great spot to sit at the bar and enjoy a beer.

I visited the Smiling Moose with the illustrious Chelsea S. on Fri. for happy hour at 6pm. As Chelsea mentioned, they have a great happy hour – 50% off all drinks and $ 2 off sliders – it’s hard to beat that in PGH, let alone the South Side! Unlike some other bars, happy hour is valid wherever you sit, so we were able to sit at one of the tables, which was nice.
For my first drink, I ordered the Captain Spaulding, a fruity and creamy cocktail that includes vodka, rum, peach schnapps, triple sec, grenadine, pineapple, orange juice, and cream. For my second, I ordered the Mr. Freeze, another fruity-​tropical cocktail consisting of gin, Maui blue, blue cucacao, simple syrup, lemonade, and Sprite. Both of these drinks were totally refreshing but packed a nice alcoholic punch – I could drink them all day, but it would no doubt get me into a lot of trouble. Best of all, at happy hour, they were $ 6.25 together – you just can’t beat that!
Because I was hungry and needed something to absorb the booze, I ordered the black bean sliders ($ 6 HH price), which consisted of a black bean and corn veggie burger with pepper jack cheese, tomato salsa, and citrus sour cream. The order of sliders came with the side of the day, which was pasta salad with feta. The sliders and pasta did a good job of stemming my hunger and serving as a booze absorber, but were a bit bland in flavor, esp. considering the ingredients. I also ordered a cup of cherry-​papaya gazpacho ($ 5), one of the soups of the day. Although I’ve never had gazpacho before, it had a complex, satisfying, and refreshing flavor, and was a nice counterpoint to the drinks and sliders.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed happy hour at the Moose. Our service from our waiter was excellent, and the price (under $ 20) was right. I have no complaints about the atmosphere, either, which was smoke free and not overly loud (then again, this may depend on how many other people are there). I would definitely recommend checking out the Moose if you’re looking for a laid-​back bar with great drinks and decent food in the South Side – esp. during happy hour!

I stopped in for happy hour with a fellow Unilocaler! Despite visiting many bars on E Carson as a newly 21 year old plus actually living in south side the last year, I’ve never been to smiling moose. This was the perfect opportunity to check it out.
They have an amazing happy hour! I’m not sure if it changes daily, but on Friday it was half off all drafts & drinks. There was also a happy hour special of $ 2 off sliders.
For my first drink I went with the Pinheads Punch. I cannot remember exactly what’s in it– can’t seem to find the cocktail menu online. For my meal, I ordered the sweet bbq sliders which is a burger, bacon, bbq sauce, grilled onion & cheddar. The sliders also came with side of the day, pasta salad (which was delicious) I ordered another drink, the Phantasm. It was honestly hard to pick a favorite because both drinks tasted great & were strong.
Patrick was our server /​bartender & he was friendly & entertaining.
2 signature (strong) drinks, 3 sliders & a side for under $ 14 is a pretty cool happy hour. This will not be my last visit to smiling moose.

Let me begin by saying that I’ve been going to The Smiling Moose for as long as I’ve lived in the South Side (about 3 years) and I’ve never have a bad meal. The chef is classically trained and the specials change daily. My tried and true favorite sandwich is the Grilled Chicken, Cream Cheese, Sweet Chili, Red Cabbage, Bacon ($ 9) that comes with the side of the day. Usually the side is their out of this world macaroni salad. I don’t know what their secret is, but it’s the best I’ve ever had. Sweet, savory and slightly spicy. I could eat this alone! I’m also a big fan of their Crostini of Rosemary and Basil, Tomato Salsa, Fresh Farmer’s Cheese appetizer. This is like a very fresh and delicious bruschetta without the balsamic. There are options for meat lovers and vegetarians alike.
The atmosphere is great if you are a fan of the «hole in the wall» type establishment and loud music. There is also a small concert venue upstairs so there can be a crowd during a show. There is a large projection screen in the small dining area and quite a few televisions, so this wouldn’t be a bad place to grab a beer and a bite during a game.
Bottom line: make sure to give The Smiling Moose a chance, I bet you won’t be disappointed!

I wanted to love this place. I really did. After seeing all of the 5 star reviews I couldn’t wait to try it. It’s a Monday night and the bar is full but there are hardly any diners. We ordered the BBQ Chicken Sandwich, The Pulled Pork Sliders, and the Cajun Chicken sandwich. The chicken in the BBQ sandwich was a little dry and the bun was overwhelming. The Cajun Chicken sandwich was okay but nothing to write home (or Unilocal) about. The Sliders fall under the same category.
The food wasn’t bad but it wasn’t memorable or impressive. The beer selection is ok but wouldn’t impress a craft beer drinker. Watching the hockey game on the huge screen gained them a star.
Glad we tried it but not in a hurry to come back.

The Smiling Moose is my favorite bar on the Southside and one of my favorite bars in Pittsburgh. In addition to a bar/​restaurant, it also doubles as a music venue. There’s a small performance space upstairs. It’s not unusual for the bands to hang out at the bar afterwards. Johnny Craig (of Emarosa fame) sang karaōke one night after the Slaves show.
Anyway…the food is awesome. My favorite is the shrimp po’ boy. Comes with some kind of corn salsa that I’ve never had with a shrimp po’ boy before. The sliders are also phenomenal. During happy hour you can get them for $ 2 off.
They always have great beers on tap, as well as a hug selection of specialty drinks with a horror movie theme. Speaking of horror movies — the place is super cool because there’s horror/​sci-​fi memorabilia all over the walls. There’s about 4 signed photos of Sid Haig (Captain Spaulding in House of 1000 Corpses).
I could hang out here every night if I had more money. If you haven’t gone… definitely go.