Starlite Lounge

After the reviews and some raving about the food, I had high expectations. I have to say that I wasn't impressed by any part of my visit. The service wasn't exceptional and the vibe was a dive bar type.They hang their reputation on a past visit from Diners Drive Ins and Dives. They certainly are covered in the 'dive' description. Reading the menu and seeing some of the reviews made me feel like I was in for a treat.I get that it is October, Halloween month, but what I got was more of a trick than a treat.The menu is almost boastful, but the food does not match the hype. The chili is nothing exceptional, and is actually pretty boring. When I have to add salt at the table to get any flavor, something is missing in their recipe.I expected some seasoning, chili peppers and the ingredients that elevate the flavor. I got nothing but a soupy mix of bland meat that tasted more boiled than fried, some soggy beans and onions and not much else. Even the sauce, made from tomatoes, was weak and uninspired.I was promised homemade meatballs, but what I got was a sandwich of frozen meatballs that tasted like a portion pack product. In fact, I watched a cook pull a bag from a stand alone freezer in the dining room. The cook came out and claimed to be out of meatballs before his freezer dive and also proclaimed that he was out of halushi, since he didn't have time to make any.I got some pierogi to take home, and got my son the Polish Platter. All told, I spent over $70 and didn't get anything I would return for. As much as we love this type of food, there were no stand outs in anything we got for our investment.My son told me that the kielbasa was the best part of the food, and even that was unimpressive.For over $70 before tip, I feel ripped off.The food was sub par, the place dingy and the service less than average.Even the soft drink had a chemical taste to it.I won't be returning to give them a second chance.

Wanted to come here for a while now (literally live 10 minutes away) so went with my parents and tried a ton of different things on the menu (wings not shown) I loved the fried shrimp and how thick and stuffed the pierogi were. Atmosphere was a divey bar feel which I loved and it was a Saturday in which they had a band. They had a ton of reservations so highly recommend making one if able!

Been here a few times now and we especially like to go around Lent season- they have a lot of meat free options/fried seafood options. The perogies are INSANE- HUGE they are 1/2 a pound each! Awesome food. Great fish sandwiches. This place was on Guy Fieri's "Triple D" I feel like he goes to a lot of restaurants and a lot of places around PGH are on his show- but this spot is great and worth a visit. The service was great also. Super slow cook time though and can be so crowded and a long wait for your meal- that's why I removed 1 star. We had to wait like 45 minutes for our food before - worth the wait though

I saw this place on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, and as one who is always ready to try a dive, I had to give this place a try! When you walk in it's truly an eclectic Pittsburgh dive. Fun decorations in the dining room that make you feel like you're at a yinzer family member's home. I got what Guy Fieri got - pierogis and pasta diablo. Two words of advice: come hungry. You get so. much. food. And this is a great thing!! Pierogis were huge and tasty. Plenty of butter and perfect textures from the sear on the outside of the pierogi. Cheesy potato deliciousness. The pasta has a ton of fresh peppers and had good flavor. Carb overload but well worth it. It's a Triple D joint. It's a dive. It's a fun spot to pig out!

Very impressed with my time at Starlite. I heard they have the best fish fry Friday and that is an understatement. Absolutely freaking incredible fish sandwich. The waitresses are so nice and never stop working. Pro tip: make a reservation! And do it ahead of time. If they get too slammed (which is a lot) they will turn the phones off. Just a great vibe all around. Wish I lived closer but next time I'm over here, I'll be back!

Starlite pierogis are still my favorite. Huge!!! And it's fun to just buy them frozen to make at home. Starlite has been spruced up over the years, but it's still old school Pittsburgh dive. Lots of regulars. Lots of older folks. Service can be very slow. Only one cook, often Moondog himself (check out Moondog's next door for the best blues bands around-cash only bar there). But the prices are CHEAP for the amount of food you get. I got a big grilled chicken salad that came with grilled chicken, grilled peppers, onions & mushrooms over lettuce & tomatoes & pepperocini. I got a large Tito's & soda & my tab with tax was $16! So there's that. So even if you watched the TV show with Guy Fieri don't come here expecting some fake shi shi dive, this is real true Pittsburgh people & food & an actual dive. I've never had bad food, just very slow service, so always allow over an hour for dinner.

The place reminds me of the old bars I would go to in Detroit with my grandfather before we went fishing in the morning (yep, bars were open at 5am for those chronic drinkers who knew!).Its an unassuming place with little decor that hasn't seemed to change since the 80's. I can see where this would put some persnickety kale eaters off, but, for me, there is a nastolgic charm to it. The only things missing were clouds of smoke lingering just below the ceiling and a few old timers wearing their pants and liver out on their habitual bar stools.With that aside, I often find that these are the places where you can get some great honest cooked meals that do one or two dishes really well. Dishes that a corporate chain, with their stiffling adhearance to standards, could never recreate. Menu is typical for this kind of bar with a few gems that looked like the things to dive into: Meatloaf sandwich, fried fish sandwich, pierogies, Polish platter. I ordered the Polish Platter: 2 pierogies, keilbasa, sauerkraut, and haluski. This is not a light meal, mind you, wear your belt with the extra notches. I came here looking for some of those great pierogies Pittsburgh is known for. I don't know if I got them, but what I got really hit the spot. They were huge, fist size pierogies with a good ratio of dough to filling. The kraut was kraut (I like it in most of its incarnations). The haluski was decent and satisfying especially mixed with the kraut and keilbasa. The keilbasa was decent as well, better than what I can get in LA, but no keilbasa will ever compair to Kowalskis from Hamtramck Michigan, sorry. My only disappointment was that there was no horseradish. But that's me, its hard for me to feel completley satisfied with a Polish meal without horseradish. Staff was nice and friendly. They seemed to know everyone who walked in the door and had more than a cursory connection to them. I must have stuck out like a toad with three eyes! The cook (maybe owner?) came out to raz the staff and some of the guest. He made a point to check in on me too, which was great. That kind of sincere personalized service is something you can only get in a place like this (the insincere form of this in corporate food is called "table touching," the difference is palpable).If i ever get back to Pitt, I would definietly stop here again and try something else on the menu that looked good, probably the meatloaf sandwich...that looked great to me...mmm gravy!!!

Delicious food, great service and live music. Everything was just so good -- the pierogis, kielbasa, noodles, sauerkraut -- delish. We are from out of town, and the only thing I'd change is that two of us would have shared as the platter is enormous. Three enthusiastic thumbs up!

This is a local, family run restaurant. It was featured on one of Guy Fieri's shows and has some Polish dishes which is unique. I found out about it by chance by looking around on Yelp. I don't want to be too hard on it because I like to support local places and people if possible.The place has their own parking lot a few houses down and only has a couple of people working.This place is most known for their pierogies, but I did not get those. I got the wings. They give you the full wing, so 6 wings here is a dozen elsewhere. The wings are by far the cheapest wings in Pittsburgh as you can get 6 full-wings (or 12 wings everywhere else) for $7.50. The wings don't have any breading on them though, just sauce and are essentially plain wings with light flavoring.I also got the burger and fries. The burger was very big. It probably needed another piece of cheese or more bacon because it was so big that the cheese/bacon didn't cover it. I got a bad batch of fries unfortunately. The fries were all smaller fries and very heavily salted, so I ended up not eating them.My mom got a salad and wasn't a fan of it. Neither one of us really cared for it and we most likely will not be returning.

This place doesn't need a review or accolades. It's simply the REAL deal. We had the fish sandwich, the Reuben, the Rachel, the stuffed pepper soup, and sampled the pierogies. All amazing. Next time I'll stick with the spinach & feta pierogies as I'm a cottage cheese & chive purists and these came close. First time here and we will now be regulars.