APTEKA

This place is absolutely phenomenal - my friend and I got 4 dishes and all of them were extremely flavorful, unique, and beautifully presented. The wait staff was friendly and helpful navigating the menu/making suggestions. This was my friend's first full-vegan meal and she absolutely loved it! I am visiting from out of town but if/when I come back to Pittsburgh, Apteka will be on the top of my list for returning to especially as the menu changes frequently. The only constructive feedback is for myself which is to eat less dinner to save room for their fantastic looking desserts.

Came here for my birthday a few weeks ago and sat at the bar - great time and worth the wait! I’m Polish, and had recently traveled to Poland over the summer. This meal took me back “home” if you will and there was something comforting about the whole experience. They perfectly executed Eastern European cooking with vegan ingredients. Everything about my experience here felt familiar and cozy. Overall, great experience. I’d recommend the barszcz and pierogi for sure! Service was great too. About a 30-40 minute wait which was fine (we ran some errands nearby) and the bartender who served us really knew his stuff. Attentive and kind team over there.

Love that this trendy vegan Polish restaurant that is actually welcoming to families with small children! Our first time dining here while in town and we were excited to try the dishes. There was a queue when we arrived even before restaurant opened but the wait was not actually that long and the maître’d was efficient in getting people menus & assigning tables. Ordering at the front register was different but also efficient, the only thing that bugged us was when some people were allowed to cut queue. Otherwise the person taking orders was very informative & service was overall good. Ambience was nice but very loud. Now for the food. We ordered the potato dumpling (small plate), apple pancakes, borscht, fried pierogi (large plate), something with polenta & peppers (large plate), and a cake with plum jam. We loved the potato dumplings & apple pancakes. Both were well balanced, good flavors & textures and a bit different. The borscht was good, but a bit too acidic. However the nut cream & rye bread balanced it out. More rye bread would’ve been nice! We would come back for these & maybe try other small plates if we had the chance. The large plates, particularly the fried pierogis were disappointing. The sides that came with it did little to elevate the dish. The dessert was also not very good. We still had an enjoyable evening out trying new foods, and it was definitely food done well. Bonus that it is vegan.

If not for the dessert, I would give it five stars. This all vegan restaurant was on my radar for a long time, having heard a great deal about it from a lot of colleagues and friends . However, I could never get any of my friends to go here because my meat-eating friends were not thrilled by the idea of an all vegan menu. So when my vegan friend visited me from Canada, I thought this might be the perfect place to take her. we went on a Friday evening at around 830 and it was completely booked. They don’t accept reservations for parties less than four, so you’ll have to go there and then get yourself added to a queue. The queue was 45 minutes long when we went there, but the server assured us that they will be able to accommodate us. So we got ourselves added to the queue and left for drinks at a nearby bar. After half an hour, I got a message on my cell, telling me that my seat was available and that it would be valid for 10 minutes so we left and got back to the restaurant. The model is very unique. They give you a menu and you order a couple of dishes upfront at the counter, and they also block your card at the same time. Post, placing your order, you can go to your assigned seat. Here you can order more if you want, and then you settle the bill as you leave. We went with two glasses of white wine to accompany our male, and I forgot what those were, but they were excellent. The ambience is great. It is quite deeply led with warm lights and candles at each table, making it a very nice and romantic setting. Our first dish was fried pirogi, and it was amazing . While the pirogi itself wasn’t anything extraordinary, but the sides with it, made it an extremely rich and textural experience. There was contrast between various flavours and everything went along exceptionally. I have never been fan of pierogies because I find them quite bland but this totally blow it out of the park for me. Next week got the potato dumplings, which was the highlight of the meal for us . Think of gnocchi, but polish. The mushroom broth which accompanied it was extremely flavourful and probably the best mushroom dish or mushroom broth I ever had. 10/10. We also had the celeriac schnitzel which again was great, but not as good as the other two. The menu keeps on changing regularly, so you’ll have to see what is available on that particular day before ordering. The dessert was a let down to be honest. We went with the recommendation of our server, and it wasn’t particularly to our taste. It was hand pulled noodles, in a strawberry sauce. I guess I was looking for a more decadent and rich dessert, found this one to be quite mediocre. Definitely order something else if I visit another time. Overall, a great place and highly recommended for everyone who wants to try good vegan food.

Amaaaaaazing!!! I have had some really good Minnesotan Polish meals in my lifetime and Apteka takes the trophy home!! Forget anything about the food being vegan (for those who turn their noses up at vegan) - you would have no idea, the food is just that good!!! We shared plates at my table and tried a lot of different items. Fried pierogi was great with every accompaniment. The cherry kompot was so savory - not tart at all - it was like a dessert, I wanted to take such small sips to savor it all! I would travel back to Pittsburgh just to go to Apteka and try more items on the menu. The lines are worth the wait, the ambiance after dark is very romancey with candlelight at the tables, and there's a back dining area too for sunset watching and dining. Go!!! You'll not be disappointed nor have any regrets! Just don't fill up on the delicious bread and double fat, save room!!