Vegan
Beer/Wine
European
Polish

Central and Eastern European cuisine focused restaurant and bar, opened here Feb 2016. Had sprouted from a monthly pop-up called Pierogi Night. Contact via email for reservations and questions: aptekapgh@gmail.com. Open Fri-Sun 5:00pm-10:00pm.


Venue map for Apteka
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110 Reviews

First Review by jswiss

BorderlineSavage

Points +60

Mostly Veg
30 Mar 2024

Amazing!

Absolutely fantastic! The food is delicious, and the drinks are also excellent. Don’t sleep on the desserts - we ordered a couple and shared them and they were a perfect ending to the meal. Service is outstanding.

Pros: Delicious food, Wonderful service, Beautiful presentation.

hrn126

Points +591

Vegan
26 Mar 2024

one of my all time favorites

stopped here my first time in pittsburgh and fell in love so much that i decided to move here. this place is incredible. i would eat here every day if i could.

moshow

Points +86

Vegan
20 Mar 2024

Best thing about Pittsburgh!

Casual dining with quick turnovers but magically serve the prime dishes. From beginning to end, everything is fresh and full of surprising flavors. Vegan Comfort food never tasted so good. Reasonable portions too. Foraged leaf tea-sumac was great and they make there own sour cherry cordial.

Updated from previous review on 2024-03-20

Pros: Casual , Freshness , Desserts are life-changing

Cons: Wish I lived closer

TheresaJGD

Points +138

Vegan
16 Mar 2024

Great all around

We ate so well (and so much) we nearly couldn’t walk out! Don’t be afraid to sit out back in the cozy tent area. Heaters made it comfortable. Totally recommend the bark tea, pickle plate, golden borscht, and everything else we ordered. We loved the ice cream ball for dessert. (How do you get the seeds onto the ball?) Staff were so friendly and calm. I attribute it to 🌱’

Pros: Exploring new flavors, Calm, friendly, organized staff, The care you can taste in the food

amorgb

Points +18

Vegan
05 Mar 2024

Love!

Wonderful food & environment! The celeriac schnitzel is amazing!

Pros: Sałatka Polska, Nalewki, Poppyseed cream pączki

BDuffy

Points +20

Vegan
17 Feb 2024

100% vegan restaurant and loved it.

Cool concept with how you are seated and how you order. Unique inside - loved it. Food was delicious, staff was nice and super efficient. Would go here again and again.

BobKennedy2019

Points +48

Vegan
14 Feb 2024

Great food

Great creative food. Been there many times and can’t wait to get back.

Updated from previous review on 2020-06-20

Pros: All vegan-all the time

Eidolon

Points +496

Vegan
08 Jan 2024

My Pittsburgh Favorite

I wish I had got to dine in, but was able to get pick up twice which also seemed to be quite the feat. I hadn’t had a lot of this cuisine prior to changing my lifestyle, but I ordered a lot of the offerings during my visit to the city and it was all fantastic and comforting. #Veganuary

Pros: Fantastic food, Great customer service, Quaint restaurant

Cons: Place is wicked popular for good reason and small, Was difficult getting a spot even for take out

EvaliseDexter

Points +521

Vegan
03 Jan 2024

Never disappoints

Ive been here atleast 5 times and it is by far my favorite restaurant in pittsburgh!! Extremely long wait times to get in though. There is usually a line out the door.

Updated from previous review on 2024-01-03

Cobwebs64

21 Dec 2023

EvaliseDexter

03 Jan 2024

daalai

Points +2127

Vegan
27 Dec 2023

Delicious but pricey

Excellent food and I will definitely be returning. This is a high end restaurant. The portions were smaller and more expensive, but it was still worth it. We ordered the pierogis and kluski slaskie. Must go place in Pittsburgh!!

gwild

Points +1610

Vegan
24 Jul 2023

Made from scratch

This place was so delicious we went a few times on our trip to Pittsburg. New York Times named them as one of the top 50 restaurants in the US and I can understand why. We had the Smazone Pierogies $18 and the Kluski Slaskie $18 and both were outstanding! The fresh dill paired perfectly with the potato in the Kluski Slaski. The pierogies were far better than any we’ve had before.
Another day we tried the Kotlet Ziemniaczany, a stuffed potato and buckwheat patty which was surrounded with a generous serving of cooked greens.

Everything was freshly made from scratch.

There was a line down the street to get in but it was worth the wait.
Once you make it in the door you order at the front and take a number to a table. Then they bring your food out. There were still crowds of people outside waiting to get in when we left.

Updated from previous review on 2023-07-22

Pros: Outstanding flavor, Fresh made from scratch

Cons: Huge lines to get in

foon

Points +1361

Vegan
28 May 2023

Best meal ever?

Everything here is amazing—especially the weird sounding stuff. Let go and go nuts.

GoodNewsVeg

Points +458

Vegan
24 Apr 2023

Good for Eastern European Food

Excited to try this place while we were in Pgh for a night. Given all of the hype (national!), our expectations were high. Eastern European food is not our favorite, but as vegans, how could we resist? Rated as one of the Best Restaurants in the U.S. by the NYT last year. We were hoping it would wow us. The food was good, especially the sauces (better than "real" sour cream) and slaws and bread. The staff was friendly, competent, and efficient at moving a lot of people through and keeping them happy. The vibe was groovy. No reservations -- we showed up to stand in line at 4:30 pm for a 5 pm opening. If you are dying for potatoes and pierogis and fried food, definitely worth the wait. If not, it's a fine one-time experience. Cocktails were good. We were told the desserts were amazing, but after all the potatoes and pierogis and fried food, we just couldn't do it.

lulumcc

Points +209

Vegan
16 Apr 2023

Amazing

Delicious, unique food. The line was long but well worth it and the restaurant is very organized in regards to waits and quick service too

johnfaison

Points +34

Vegan
09 Apr 2023

Best ever

Pretty much the perfect restaurant, fair price too

schadana15

Points +89

Vegan
05 Apr 2023

Just Amazing

One of the very best vegan restaurants I have ever been to. If it’s an experience and offers really unique blend of flavors, so savory yet so sweet and just something you do not get a lot in typical vegan restaurants. Absolute recommendation, I will be back!!

I also really liked the look of the restaurant!

Pros: Delicious food, Unique , Great interior aesthetic

Cons: Sometimes there’s a little wait

Oliviathevegan

Points +151

Vegan
23 Mar 2023

Unique experience

Great food with a cafe style ordering system. On Friday - Sunday you can get their full menu of food and order it up at the bar. You will be able to keep a tan open to order more food at any time. The service is incredible and food is cooked and served very quickly. Menu is Eastern European style. I had pickle soup, a polish delicacy and it wasn’t overpowering. My favorite dish was the fried potatoes pancakes and small plate of the sprout salad!

Pros: 100% vegan, Amazing service , Beautiful interior

gavinislame

Points +124

Vegan
22 Mar 2023

Top 50 in the US for a reason

Delicious, any vegan must go.

Cons: Can get very busy because of how good it is

ahimsa4ever

Points +271

Vegetarian
25 Feb 2023

My favorite vegan restaurant

There are no words-you must try their delicious vegan food that is heavily influenced by the cuisines of Central, Eastern and even Southeastern Europe. Amazing restaurant, food and service are impeccable and you will enjoy the atmosphere of this special restaurant. I still miss it so much!

ndines

Points +833

Vegan
09 Jan 2023

Incredible food, don’t miss Apteka!!

Wow. What a feast we had at Apteka. Eating here was like taking your tastebuds on a classy, Eastern European vacation. I would eat here every day if I lived that type of luxury. Don’t sleep on Apteka! Do, however, be prepared for a length wait without a reservation. It’s well worth it though

Pros: Incredible food

Cons: Most likely a lengthy wait without a reservation

fluttercat

Points +389

Vegan
29 Dec 2022

Worth the wait!

We unfortunately could not make reservations for two and took our chances on a walk-in basis. It was very busy but the staff were incredibly attentive and welcoming and allowed us to order wine while we waited for a table. Our meals were flavorful - everything we tried was fantastic. I'm from out of state, but will definitely add this to my list of places to return to when in Pittsburgh!

guitargabe

Points +562

Vegan
19 Nov 2022

Amazing, creative Polish dishes

I grew up in a super slavic part of Central PA, and this place really sends me back to some of the flavors of my youth but in a perfected way. Every course, cocktails included, blew me away. I’ll be coming here every Pittsburgh trip from now on.

Pros: Absolutely amazing food, Great cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks, Cool ambiance

Cons: Can have a long wait (90 mins this time)

warose91

Points +32

Vegan
07 Nov 2022

Unbelievable food

The food is so incredible. Nothing like any other vegan food I've had and every dish (I tried about 5) is amazing. The atmosphere is also great.

SharpVegan

Points +410

Vegan
12 Oct 2022

Absolute perfection! The food never disappoints.

Absolutely genius eastern European food. I feel extremely grateful to have food that is like what I ate growing up with a mix of eastern European heritage but have it all be vegan.
I am always blown away by every course I get. The simplest salads explode with flavor. There is so much care put into each dish and it really shows.
This is by far my favorite restaurant.
Please keep up the exceptional work you all are doing over there!

Pros: Innovative food, Depth of flavor, Traditional Eastern European Vegan!

BeverlyOrnberg

Points +1209

Mostly Veg
28 Aug 2022

Amazing food!

Have you eaten a flower today? We did. A sunflower! Along with vegan pierogis and dumplings. The staff were very helpful, and they accommodate all types of food sensitivities. Can’t wait to go back. Be sure to get there right when they open as the tables fill up fast.

Pros: All vegan, Lots of gluten-free and nut-free options

Tabinda

Points +142

Vegan
27 Jul 2022

Delicious!

Authentic and vegan cuisine, hard to decide among all the delicious choices- you won’t want to leave

Updated from previous review on 2022-07-20

Sarah0496

Points +1363

Vegan
02 Jul 2022

Flavorful

Amazing food. Everything was flavorful and delicious. Would go back again!




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