church brew works

i want to rate the food excellent and the service terrible, but i'll round up, since the atmosphere is cool.

the food was wonderful. everything we got (especially the pierogi of the day, which was avocado, potato, cheese, and chives, i think) was great! the guys enjoyed the beer they drank (i don't drink beer), though they were out of a lot of the beers they tried to order. my hawaiian mimosa was yummy, but getting my second one took a lot of work. my friend actually went to track her down after it hadn't come in ages and we hadn't seen her. it's a neat restaurant and i'd go back, but apparently their pizza is reallygreatand though it's still on their website, they do not have pizza at this time. their oven burned. not sure if they're going to have pizza in the future or not.

also, many of our menus had extra pieces of menus for food that was no longer available that day and we only got 2 of the menus with the sandwiches on them for our entire party (6). another area where the service lacked in addition to the poor waitress.

what a rad place.greatfood for a really solid price. not a place you see everyday, but one i wish i could. only drawback is there is no gluten free beer.

awesome beer in a unique atmosphere. despite the disaster that was my break up with my ex last summer, i still keep coming back to the place we first met in person- cbw! i ridiculously love their thunderhop ipa and it is always my go-to beer if none of the seasonal varieties peak my interest. i'm not a fan of the celestial gold but my (new-er) bf, who is not much of a beer drinker and prefers wine or mixed drinks, enjoyed it and said it's "perfect for non-beer drinkers". since i last reviewed any of the menu options, i have sampled a lot, hence the need for an update!
as far as apps go, the spinach, feta, and smoked gouda dip isgreatfor sharing and has that oozy, cheesy "comfort" taste to it. this is always a winner in my book, particularly because gouda and feta are my two favorite types of cheeses. the chips are, well, just chips. maybe warmed pita bread would be a tastier substitution to the chips in the future. the bruschetta is also a solid appetizer to share. the ratio of toppings to bread (which usually annoys me when ordering bruschetta because i constantly feel like i'm left with either a lot of topping and no crostinis or the exact opposite) is perfect!
in addition to the wild boar bbq pizza (which will always be my favorite pie at cbw), i've also had the pleasure of enjoying the artichoke, spinach, and feta pizza and the chicken and sundried tomato pizza. both were very flavorful and served pipping hot right out of the oven. the ingredients were very fresh and evenly distributed throughout the pie. the sundried tomato pizza i enjoyed actually was "on the house" because the bartender (such a quirky guy but well-meaning) clearly forgot to ring in the order (the big clue was when it had been 25 minutes and he asked what we had ordered again). being the pizzas here are a bit on the pricey end, i greatly appreciated this generosity particularly considering the inconvenience as well.
i've also had the opportunity to sample some of their sandwiches, and i was pretty impressed with those as well! i've tried the buffalo burger, the chicken and brie sandwich, and the pulled pork sandwich. the buffalo burger, cooked to a perfect mr, was so flavorful in it's natural juices that i did not use any condiments or have any add ons (like bacon or sauteed mushrooms or onions-perhaps next time since all of a sudden that sounds amazingly delicious!) with the chicken and brie sandwich, i loved how the brie complimented the granny smith apple slices on the sandwich! it was cheesy yet not overly so-very delicious! the pulled pork sandwich was very tasty too-particularly the bbq sauce which i believe to be the same used on the wild boar bbq pizza!
and just a general statement on the atmosphere-pretty freakin' awesome! how many people can say they have drank beer in a decommissioned catholic church?! for that fact alone, you should take my word and check out cbw for yourself!

nice for group. best bets mussels, beet salad andgreat7 onion soup. good pizza and perogi. beer great.

they built a craft brewery inside a fully restored roman catholic church. the church brew works isn’t some gimmick though, over the years they’ve become a pittsburgh staple while achieving the holy trinity of restaurants: fantastic food,greatdrinks in a unique and beautiful location. plus, they brew beer on an altar!

nestled in pittsburgh’s historic lawrenceville neighbourhood, the church brew works opened in 1996 as the first and only brew pub in america to be located in a historic church. craft beer fans and christian historians gather in the pubs holy dining room to indulge in a thirst quench and cheers to their own personal pittsburgh pilgrimage. renovations to the 8,000 square foot former st. john the baptist church breathed new life into this turn-of-the-century architectural wonder. the refurbishment was so impressive that pittsburgh history and landmarks foundation bestowed an award of merit upon the church brew works for its adaptive reuse of the space. the original douglas fir floors, stained glass windows and hand-painted cypress ceiling were all painstakingly renovated to showcase their original beauty. cbw has also been awarded “best large brewpub in america” at the prestigiousgreatamerica

this place hadgreatfood. i had the filet and it was excellent. however when you get there know that if you sit on the "restaurant" side you can request a bar menu.greatbeer and very unique atmosphere. will definitely go back!

stunning service. a meet up group of about 15 initially that expanded to 18-19 over an hour period ate at cbw about 2 weeks ago. the food was fine. this posting is about the service.

excellent. the waitress, clearly experienced and helpful, did separate checks (not normally done), and managed the group's initial seating of about 15 to expanded to 18-19 over the next hour. this was a juggling act for her and she did it graciously -- the place was packed and very busy so for this to be so adeptly managed is testimony to a customer service focus. drink and food orders were managed without a hitch.

the beer sampler was fun -- highly recommend it.

cbw -- agreatpittsburgh venue.

love it!. defiantly give this place a try.greatbeer andgreatfood. you have to try the pulled pork tacos. service was good and the staff was knowledgeable.

underwhelming. my wife and i have been here twice now and we were, frankly, disappointed and underwhelmed. we went there for their valentines day specials two years ago. both meals were sub par. i got the lamb lollipops. the sauce wasgreatbut the lamb hadn't even been trimmed so all i got was fat and gristle. my wife got the pepper crusted parmesan steak and she said it was just way to peppery. at first i didn't believe her because she tends to be super sensitive to heat but i tried it and even i thought it was too much which is saying something because i love lots of pepper. definitely not worth the money which, if i remember correctly, was at least $70 before beer. speaking of the beer, i like that a lot. they have some unique brews. definitely not my favorite, but unique and well crafted.

the 2nd time we went, which was last weekend, we wanted to get some appetizers to go with our beer because we were sitting with friends and were going to be there a while. first we got the untraditional pierogie of the night which was a chicken and pork pierogie with a tomato sauce over the top of it. they were cooked well but were really really really bland. on top of that, they were $7 and you only got 4 very small pierogies. after that we got the spinach feta and gouda dip. it was delicious, but again they only gave you a small amount of dip. it was in a soup cup and was only half full so you can imagine that it didn't do much for the wife and i. keep in mind we are small people and they didn't even come close to filling us up. this appetizer was $7.75 and, again, i felt jipped. the one good food item i tried was a piece of my friend's pepperoni pizza. really good stuff from their brick oven and at $15.25 it's at a good price point for a scratch made pie. the only other thing i'd have to say is that our service was ok. they kept bringing me pints when i asked for glasses.

so, in summation:

the beer is good but not my favorite in the area
some of the food is good, some is not so good and, in general, is a little over priced.
service is average.

if you want to go to a brewery in the area, i'd recommend north country brewing in slippery rock for a less cafeteria like atmosphere and better food and beer. if you want something in the city, go to penn brewery any day over cbw.

i've been to this place a couple times and have enjoyed it every time. it has a cool atmosphere andgreatselection. the portions are big and the lunch prices are reasonable.

my husband and i loved this place. great, tasteful, atmosphere! food was delicious!greatselection of beer. in house brews were top notch. we will definitly be going back!

great beer...bad food. i have gone here in the past because they havegreatbeer. but their food is overpriced and not very good. the last two times i went here the food was too salty. in addition, i have found the wait staff to be rude and not very pleasant. if you like good beer and crappy food and service then this is the place for you. i will not be going back here.

great beer,greatsandwich, fries need help. i went to the church brew works for the second time. i love the beer. i really liked my sandwich. i ordered the crab cake sandwich. the crab cake was good, however the sandwich really could have used some sort of seafood sauce to bring it all together. the fries were disgusting. i know that the fries are just the side but i think it says a lot about a restaurant when the take the time to really make the whole meal work. a thing like bad fries and a sandwich lacking sauce is a very easy and inexpensive detail for them to pay attention to, but it would make me rate the restaurant at a 9 instead of a 7. it is a small price to pay for a much better experience. the food and beer was overall good but i have to say i am a little disappointed.

mediocre.greatatmosphere, unimpressive food