Review Benjamin's Western Avenue Burger Bar - Pittsburgh

Though they just reopened a mere two days ago....this place puts out quality! Needed a place for food and drinks after the Pride Parade on Saturday and remembered they just opened.( I feel bad for all the restaurants that day because I'm pretty sure they were unaware the parade ended at Allegheny Commons West Park!) This place has fabulous space in and out and is putting out great food from a microscopic kitchen, bravo! The bartender delivered quality mixed drinks ( I wish I had gotten her name) and, over though overwhelmed by the influx of guests, what super sweet! She deserved a bonus that day!! Everyone loved the food and was deemed best burgers in the city! My hot dog was phenomenal but please do not pass up the charcuterie/ cheese board...that was the highlight!!!!

Great surprise for a place in which I really had no expectations from looking at it from the outside. The inside is awesome! Great environment and a number of beers they do under the name of War Streets Brewery. The Carrington St. Kölsch was my pick and it was awesome. Great & super cool place!

Spicy lamb was delicious! Portions for brunch were smaller than expected but overall good time and kind staff.

Greatest beer in all of PA!! Some the cleanest and most refreshing brews I've ever tasted. Super chill, relaxed vibe in a beautiful neighborhood. The food is top notch and the service is 🏆🥇👍.

Great menu, excellent service. We loved the atmosphere. Food was amazing especially the burgers. Must try.

Came here for a lunch meeting and found the place to be charming and well-appointed. Service was excellent, and the BLT I ordered was delicious. I'm typically a slow eater; however, I found myself devouring my sandwich in about a quarter the time it took my companion to consume his grilled cheese. We didn't have any alcohol, but their selection looked expansive, which was encouraging for a future visit. Bier's has some great art on the walls, as well as in the bathroom. The sole downside to the experience was the noise level. As the pub is essentially one large room, sound tends to gather and amplify; additionally, their "kitchen" is right at the end of the bar rail, which means you're also contending with the sizzle of food prep. tl;dr: solid place with great food. Would/will return.

Went for brunch. Asked the waiter if the lamb sausage was any good and he said it’s the best option on their brunch menu and he wasn’t lying. Great food, great service, and a great spot on the north side to eat at.

Awesome burgers, baked brie appetizer is amazing! Just a really cool, casual place attached to a local brewery, but has other local breweries on tap as well, and some regional and national beers in cans or bottles...try ginger here to eat whenever I happen to be on the North Side for whatever reason.

Visited Bier's for lunch - there was plenty of seating for us as a party of five but not too much seating overall so during a busy time I could see that being a slight issue. The place was nice and kid-friendly with a lot of nice food options in addition to something around 20 selections on tap. The cheese/charcuterie plate was pretty hefty, the burgers were cooked well, and the coleslaw was fantastic (which is a big plus for me). Service was quick and friendly. I would definitely recommend stopping by if you're in the area.

Great burger, cooked as ordered. Fabulous flavor in the Candied Jalapeno Cream Cheese. You gotta try the Bacon Fat Fries and the baked beans are heaven, on a stick. Lotsa craft beer choices, some from the microbrew in the basement Don't forget dessert!

[EDIT 2: Wonderful experience and very friendly staff. The food was great and beer was very nice. Thanks for including yourself in the Northside brewery tour! Looking forward to visiting again!] [ EDIT: Thank you Bier's pub for the comment, we will come visit again soon and will be happy to update the star rating. Cheers. ]

Sweet onion soup was nice, pgh dog and burger are highly recommended

That mushrooms/swiss burger is tasty-licious and their beers are top notch. If you haven't, I would recommend that you check this place out.

My wife and I checked in late to the Inn down the street from Bier's this weekend and not a lot of places were open at 9:30. Despite closing shortly after we were arriving into town, the staff and kitchen were very accommodating and happy to make us some delicious burgers to go. I stopped in to pick them up and had a great red ale on draft. Reasonably priced, good sized burgers cooked to perfection. The bacon fat home fries were also insanely good.. Seemed like a very popular place and will recommend to travelers or locals alike.

Don't miss the Onion Bisque. One of the best soups I have ever tasted. Perfectly cooked burger with a tender bun! Great service ... friendly staff. Our favorite beers were the Brown and the Stout! We will be back next time bringing a crew.of friends!

I haven’t been drinking much beer lately, but I love a microbrewery who’s doing it right. Had a flight of IPAs, porter, and stout: all of them were pleasantly dry and well balanced. DELICIOUS burger: hand made, thick, closer to medium than rare, but super juicy, well seasoned, and loved the acid in the balsamic onions. Efficient, kind service. Somehow this is the first time I’ve been here, and looking forward to returning. ❤️✨💥

Delicious! First time trying lamb, and I had it as a spicy burger! My fiance enjoyed his Kentucky Bourbon burger as well with a side of bourbon baked beans! Really also enjoyed my pesto pasta salad. For appetizers we ordered deviled eggs (yummy) and baked brie (never received, but that's okay!) We had great mixed drinks. Dessert was tasty! We are North Siders and will be back!

I've been here for brunch a few times. The menu is great and the staff friendly. They have a good craft beer list and I would recommend several of the handhelds. They also have a cheeseboard and really good sweet onion bisque. Good go to spot if you're in the war streets!

Amazing! Loved the open air seating, eclectic flavors brought together were a delightful surprise. Can not wait to go back. By far the very best burger ever.

Best burger I have ever had. The candied jalapeno burger is the way to go. Did not care for the home fries, but I am a french fry person. Would highly recommend.

Good burger. Delicious home fries with poblano peppers, which was a nice addition. Good, friendly service. Nice selection of beer. Will come back to try more things!

Brunch. My buddy lives in the area and raves about the brunch. My wife and I went last weekend. Despite having to send my first meal back the cornbread waffle was amazing. Sampled a little bit of everyone's and I can't wait to go back to try more

One time visit, nothing really happened to make me want to come back. Went for "Sunday Brunch" huh? Ok, its open Sunday and they have a few breakfast type items, but nothing spectacular. The have a Bloody Mary Bar (cart), with a few items on it, meh. The service was poor, food came slow and its all cooked on a small flat top behind the bar. The atmosphere is hung-over hipster. Very underwhelming. I had a Crab Cake Benedict ($14 steep) and home fries (another $3.25). It was crab (not a crab cake) on English muffin, sparse amount of bacon, poached eggs and hollandaise. Looked great, but was average. Home fries below average. For that price I can do the buffet at the Harris Grill. Do that.

Not going again!. We have eaten at Benjamins for Sunday brunch about 4 or 5 times now. This will be my last! The food is fair and the service is terrible. Unless you hang around the bar and drink they really treat you badly. We are usually there early (around 11:30 a.m.) and use to love the atmosphere but cannot get over how uncomfortable they made us feel. Our party consisted of myself, my husband and our two daughters, ages 14 and 18. This place has changed quite a bit so I have given them my last chance.

Don't know about the food. I would like to tell you about the food but we didn't get ours. I heard about Benjamin's and their Sunday brunch with bloody mary bar(really should be called a table not bar)so today was the day. The day I wasted an hour not getting food and having to go elsewhere! I sat there for 45 minutes after ordering, in a not very busy place,only to watch my food get served to another table who had only come in 15 minutes earlier. Mistakes happen but this was beyond,nobody knew but me,not even the other table who clearly got the wrong food. I'll never be able to figure out how if you ordered eggs,bacon, potatoes and toast then you get served a hamburger why you wouldn't know or say something! He started eating my hamburger even though he knew he didn't order a hamburger, people are such lemmings! He even kept eating my hamburger after they gave him the breakfast he did order, that was my cue to leave! Truly pathetic! I'll never go back because what would happen if my food isn't to the liking of the other patrons.

Great hamburger s. Great food and service.

I've never been here but after reading these reviews I don't plan on trying this place out.

Went during lunch on a Friday, bartender was also the waiter but no problems with service, as other reviewers mentioned. Had a burger with blue cheese, bacon, cooked medium. Probably the best blue cheese I've had on a burger in years, everything was cooked correctly and tasted great. <br/><br/>Side note: It was a work lunch so no drinking, but they have a massive selection on whiskey and bourbons, so it wouldn't be a bad place to stop off for a drink.

Better menu at least. Stopped there recently and was surprised to see the expanded menu. Hadn't been there in about 9 months . Ordered the lamb sausage , it was over the top wonderful. crispy and spicy and the bread was amazing. would definitely go back more often but as others have said the service was iffy at best. Waitress seemed preoccupied with something else . I'll give it another try in another 6 month's.

Best burgers. We have been to Benjamin's a few times over the last couple month's and everytime the burgers have been fantastic. We also love the 1/2 price bottles of wine on Tuesdays and $2.95 sangria on Fridays. Still need to try brunch - but this place is really worth checking out if you have not been here.

Was told to never come back.... So, thought the family would give Benjamin's another try tonight. The last time we went was right after they opened and my kids were served severely undercooked burgers.<br/><br/>Tonight we went in and the host/server was dismissive and rude. Would not stop to make eye contact let alone answer a simple question. After we left, unserved, I called and asked to talk to the manager, he said that they weren't available and hung up. So I went in to ask the bartender about the manager and the same guy stopped me in the doorway, said he was the manager and he is sorry if I find him rude but he is busy and doesn't have time to deal with me. In fact, he told us to not bother to ever come back!<br/><br/>I've heard amazing things about Benjamin's recently and was truly excited to give it another try...but I guess it's just not meant to be. I'm just glad that they welcomed us at Nicky's Thai and we had another fantastic meal.

Worst service ever.. I want to like Benjamins so much. Their food is decent, the wine is tasty and the atmosphere is great. However, EVERY SINGLE TIME I've been there, it feels like our presence is a huge inconvenience to the staff. Let me be clear that we are not entitled jerks that expect a red carpet when we grace an establishment. I've worked in the service industry and I know how trying it can be. However, when I go out to eat I expect at least 2 of the following: FAST, FRIENDLY, ATTENTIVE. Benjamins is clearly understaffed so fast and attentive is sometimes impossible...but seriously at least ATTEMPT to be friendly! The one guy who bartends/waits tables is the rudest! I was there last evening and had to ask to sit (rude and huffy "Theres a wait"), ask for menus, ask to order, and ask to cash out. I was there for 2 hours. All questions met with varying degrees of zero eye contact and "yeah, one second". Plus I overheard him snarking on another patron that had to leave her table and come up to the bar to order. They were obviously overwhelmed, but a smile and some manners would go a long way in forgiving slow and unattentive service.

Best burgers. This was in fact the best burger I have ever had. Nice atmosphere too.<br/>(I got the goat cheese and green apple.)

Love this place!. The best burgers, available with some cool twists. Great draft/liquor selection. Outdoor seating available, pool table in the back. Cool atmosphere, TV above the bar for catching the Pirate game. I've been to the restaurant 5 or 6 times and enjoyed every visit, never a problem and always tasty!

Best Burger in the 'Burgh. I have sat at the bar and at tables and I have had attentive service every visit so I don't agree with those saying they have received poor service multiple times. And for me, the sides do not make the burger or the meal so no fries is fine by me. I have tried the curry cabbage cole slaw (not a fan)and the potato salad (which I thought was yummy). The burgers are big enough that I usually don't take more than a taste of the side anyways.The Rosemary Balsamic Goat cheese and green apple burger is my favorite!The flavors compliment each other well and it was cooked medium as I had ordered.The red wine braised onions&truffle mustard burger was also very good.I was not impressed with the buffalo burger though-it was just ok. My boyfriend has also had the fried egg burger which he said was spicy but not overpowering.The burgers are a little pricey but the goat cheese and apple burger is highly worth it-I don't think I could say the same about any of their other burgers however.

Terrible Waiter. I am really disappointed because I really wanted to like this place and I think the food and the specials were pretty good. I just can't get over how terrible my last experience was with one member of the wait staff. I came with a small group and the guy waiting on us was rude the entire time. I've never experienced such a blatantly nasty server any other time in my life. And it wasn't because we were rude to him or being demanding or anything like that. He was genuinely disgruntled to have to do his job. If you don't like where you work you should quit or someone should step up and fire this dude because service like that will drag down a local small business that I'd like to support and has a chance to be a decent place to eat. I wouldn't go back if that guy is still there.

Poor Service!. I would not recommend Benjamins due to its poor service and lack of hospitality. The burgers were okay and the potato salad was sub par. The waitress and waiter that assisted our table were unfriendly and refused to accommodate our party of 6. When we asked our manager about their policy regarding larger parties, she replied with "it depends on which server you have." Having worked in the restaurant industry in the past, I know that inconsistency in management is a huge problem. Clearly this is an issue at Benjamins. Our party ordered several meals, appetizers and many drinks. These are the type of customers that you want in your restaurant on a Friday night. <br/><br/>Disappointing is the best word to describe this place. Don't waste your time after work at this restaurant. There are plenty of other options that are much better than Benjamins.

Really good burgers. Benjamin's has jumped to the top of my Pittsburgh burger spot hierarchy. It's now my go to place before concerts or games on the north side. The cream cheese jalapeno and bacon burger was cooked perfectly. The blue cheese and bacon potato salad was a perfect side. Nice selection of drafts too. I sat at the bar and the servers were attentive and nice. Prices were a little on the high side, but the quality of the food is worth it. I'll be back.

If all you care about is a tasty, quality burger then I would recommend Benjamins. I had the portabella mushroom & swiss burger then added red wine braised onions. Adding the onions was a good move; they were extremely tasty & cooked well yet i could still taste the actual burger. (Only being able to taste burger toppings has been an issue lately.) The bun was good too but nothing to get overly excited for. As for my full experience I would best describe it as a bit off. The restaurant had the feel & decor of a wine bar; lots of wooden features & a chalk board w/ wine list. I liked it but to me didnt seem like the place to be eating a big messy burger. Not that burgers & wine shouldn't ever go together but maybe sliders would be more appropriate. I dont know but for whatever reason my meal vs. environment didnt seem to mesh. Also if you must eat fries w/ your burger they are not offered. You do get a side included though (i had soy sesame broccoli - good but nothing great.) However, going back to my initial statement I DID have a great burger & would get it again!

Absolutely Smitten.. I've been to Benjamin's quite a few times and have never been disappointed. They have really amazing specials ($2.50 Sangria day! Half off bottle of wine day!). <br/>Absolutely love the accents they give to their burgers - (truffle mustard! perfectly done fried egg! jalapeno cream cheese!). <br/>Anything I've ordered that involved bacon has perfectly cooked tasty bacon. Burgers are fantastic. That salmon sandwich... I've had dreams about how good it is!<br/>My absolute favorite thing about Benjamin's is the wait staff. I've yet to sit at the bar but the 3 different servers I've had have been perfectly dear. The place has several different seating areas and I think it's easy for people to get lost/forgotten for a short time, but I'm typically out to eat to sit and enjoy my company so being left alone doesn't hurt my feelings one bit. I've never felt neglected. Servers are always quick to mention specials. <br/>As a server elsewhere, I can say that if you didn't get good service, you probably didn't deserve it.

Had Benjamin's today for lunch. Excellent service and great burgers! Very little wait time and quick service. We are visiting from Illinois and just found the place while driving around...glad we stopped in today!

Terrible service, average burgers, nice i looking space. It took a group of 4 over a hour to get our burgers at lunchtime. The burgers were average, I can make the same with some Giant Eagle ground meat and my gas grill. The prices are a little high, I had iced tea, but a bottle of Dogfish Head 90 minute was about $6.75!<br/>The interior is nice, the bathroom was very nice! Too bad, because folks from my North side office won't be back for lunch, nor for a drink after work

Very unattentive and rude wait staff. I called in to find out if there was a wait on a tuesday afternoon. AS soon as the person picked up the phone she put me on hold. i was on hold for 15 minutes before someone came back and said may i help you. I asked who the manager or owner was... they wouldnt even tell me. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I never made it in the door. If this is how this place operates on the phone. I'm glad i never got in the door. I couldnt even imagine what would happen. Havent been there and never will. Figure out who the owners and managers of your bar are. Do you even knolw who you boss is???

Good Burgers. Some of the better burgers you'll find in the city, but I'm over the whole homefries-as-a-side concept. Invest in a fryer. Service is inconsistent - some staff are incredibly warm and helpful, others act like they're doing you a favor just to pay attention to you. Despite its drawbacks, I wouldn't hesitate to go back if I were on the North Side, but don't think I'd make a special trip.

I love the food but the bartender are the worst. The bartender was rude and arrogant. Not welcoming at all and acted like I was bothering her when I asked for a drink despite the bar only having one other person there. Not thrilled to say the least......

Above average burger, but I was still hungry because they have very limited sides. U can't call yourself a burger place without fries... The bartender explained that they don't have a frier? The coleslaw was not very good..My wife complained that her burger bun was wet, which is a pet peeve..Cool building and nice decor. The place is average, worth a visit but not much more...

Best burger of my life..... My boyfriend had heard about this place from a few friends, and who am I to turn down a burger on a Saturday night? so we went about 5pm (thankfully not a game day for the city or it would have been insane...) and were seated right away. The music was great (think old school alt. rock), and decor was really well done (great use of the color brown, and check out the door handles leading to the bathrooms!), i was already feeling good vibes! we ordered the baked brie (see picture) for an appetizer and ohmygoditwasamazing! It was smothered in honey, with green apple slices, and almonds next to it. Perfection in my mouth. My boyfriend ordered a beer (they only had bottles and cans he says) and I ordered a glass of wine. The wine list was a little pricey, that's my only negative for this place, but they offer 4 sizes of glasses, so you don't have to get an $8 glass if you just want a little wine with your meal. I ended up getting a 4 oz. glass which ended up being a perfect amount. For the burgers, my boyfriend got a Candied Jalapeno Cream Cheese & Bacon Burger which he said was superb (he's a man of few words). I had the BBQ Sauce, Smoked Bacon & Swiss Cheese Burger. The BBQ was tangy, the bacon was amazing, the swiss was gorgeous and the burger was all sorts of juicy. I would be okay being fat for this burger. Seriously, I was having relations with this burger. My wine, Primitivo, Cantele, Salento, Italy, 2009, was a perfect pair. The homefries on the side were also delicious but I had to stop eating them at one point or I knew I would be busting at the seams for hours to come. Overall, a really great place and a really great burger! Best in the city for me!

I had the amazing Veggie burger a few weeks ago at Benjamin's and I've been craving another one ever since! Ive had it several times now, first with the carmelized onions and truffle mustard, and another time with the portabellos and swiss. Both were outstanding. The menu would benefit from more veggie and salad options, but this perfect veggie burger works for my vegetarian needs now. Like other reviewers, we too noted the intense burger smell on prior visits, but it didn't seem as bad recently. Perhaps if the burger grill was in a back space somewhere, this obstacle could be overcome. Overall, the food and wine are good, the beer selections are good, the service and the atmosphere are good. One of our new favorite stops!

Blast of Greasy Aroma. Stopped in to check the place out. Menu is very small, which isn't surpising since it appears that everything is cooked on one little flat-top at the end of the bar. That also explains the lack of french fries. We only stayed long enough to decide the food and drink prices were too high and there was NOTHING for my more healthfully-minded GF. But even just those few minutes standing at the bar was enough to stink my coat up like I'd been moonlighting as a line cook at Peppi's. It was quite impressive actually. They are gonna have to figure out some sort of ventilation solution, or that place is going to enternally reek like Peanutz on E. Ohio.<br/>The building is still cool...lots of little loungy rooms to enjoy a drink with friends. The short-lived (and greatly missed) Brix that was here was such a great addition to Western Ave. This incarnation...not so much. I hope the owners can turn it around.

Bad attitude from the very start. We walked in and the place was pretty busy. We asked about the wait time and such and were treated like an inconvenience. we left and went to Nickys down the street.

Excellent Burgers. Great burgers - juicy, flavorful, delicious. 1/2 cocktail Monday's -also a nice touch.

The atmosphere is very chill. Nice fire place seating. Food took a little while but it was crazy busy and the wait was totally worth it. Rare burger with goat cheese and bacon. Yum! Lots of beer selections. It's a little smokey but your burger is cooked practicality right in front of you. Over all, my favorite Burger Bar! ( the only one I knw of )

Good food. Good service. Wear dirty clothes.

Bad first impression.... One of our regular haunts, The Modern Cafe, was packed, and our party couldn't get a table, so our fearless leader suggested we go across the street to this new place, Benjamins, and give them a shot. It didn't take us long to figure out why this place didn't have as many customers as their neighbor, because the prices seemed ridiculous, although the atmosphere was ever-so-slightly upscaled compared to The Modern. We arrived at 4:30, which was supposedly happy hour, but we didn't seem to get happy hour prices on the beers and such that we ordered. Two people from our party ordered the Grilled Cheese sandwich because they didn't have enough money to buy a burger. Yes, you heard me right. The burgers were THAT pricy. The grilled cheese turned out to be very weird - grilled cheese on a pancake? AND of course, it was ALSO overpriced. Apparently, our party wasn't the type of clientele that this establishment was interested in, because it took forever to get somebody to take our order, even though the place was mostly empty. And how long does it take to cook a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches, anyway? I had a cup of coffee, and nobody ever bothered to ask me if I wanted a refill, so that's all I had. My friend had a couple of Budweisers with his "grilled cheese" thing, plus some home fries that he paid extra for but didn't end up eating because they were greasy, and his tab was over $16. At one point while waiting for our order, we decided to shoot a game of pool upstairs and left our stuff at the table. In a few minutes, the same inattentive waitress hunted us down and asked whether or not we were still going to use the table, even though our food hadn't come yet. She had an attitude about it, even though we were the ONLY people in the place who were using a table. This surley waitress was training a newbee, and ended up handing a sizeable tip to the apologetic and sincere newbee, and pretty much stiffed the surley one because she treated us like we were poor college kids and not worth her time or effort. We frequently go out to the restaurants and bars in this neighborhood, and there are some excellent places that we visit often like Nikki's Thai, Peppi's, The Allegheny Sandwich Shop, Georgio's, and of course, The Modern Cafe. If Benjamins lasts more than a year, I'll be shocked, because neighborhood regulars like us won't be spending any money there.

Light a candle..... What a strange experience I had at this bar. The design and ambiance was really great. Bartenders were nice, attentive enough. But...here is the part that is akward. They call themselves a burger bar, so they should have burgers right? WRONG! They were out of burgers! The bartenders explained to us they ran out of meat! How do you run out of meat? THATS YOUR BREAD AND BUTTER! It was very disheartning. The entire place stunk like a 50 gallon drum of grease too....make sure you have your dry cleaners on speed dial to get this smell out of your clothing. Id make sure you call ahead to see what their inventory is before popping in and being disappointed!

I want to like this place.... As a burger lover, I am excited to have a burger bar in the neighborhood, but I'm having trouble giving Benjamin's love. The actual burgers are very good (though mine was overcooked on my first visit), but I can't understand why the only sides are sub-par home fries, a mediocre vinegar-based slaw, and an iceburg lettuce salad. It's weird. I understand that the kitchen does not have a fryer, but there are many other, better, and more thought-out sides they could have on the menu, e.g., good potato chips, potato salad, fruit salad, mac 'n cheese, a mixed green salad. Especially given that the menu is relatively pricey, I do expect quality sides with my burger. I am further confused that a restaurant who has pate as an appetizer would serve those weird, low quality sides. <br/><br/>Otherwise, our service has been good and I enjoy that there are couches and TVs in one of the rooms. I also really like that they have an extensive canned beer selection, and they are donating the recycling proceeds to non-profits.<br/><br/>It seems like they are still figuring the place out, but there are some obvious missteps that I hope they correct sooner than later.

Nice Little Local Bar. Nice place with a pool table. Cool!<br/>The bar has a limited selection of beer by the bottle. <br/>The mustard and pretzels app are pretzels out of the bag from the grocery store...huh?<br/>The portobello and swiss cheese burger was tasty.

Well this is the 3rd restaurant in 3 years in this place and wanting to support the neighborhood business we thought we'd give it a try...kinda of pricey for what you get. The side of "greens" was iceberg lettuce. Homefries were basic. Burger meat was very good but not big enough for the size bun they give you. Would come back to drink at the bar but probably not to eat another burger particularly when there are much much better burger joints throughout town.

Never in my life have I tasted bacon so delicious, unlike most of my other bacon experiences, this bacon actually tasted as good as it smelled, and that is an enormous accomplishment. Thick and crispy, each bite better than the last, not burned, and not soggy, the bacon at Benjamin’s is prescribed regularly by world-renowned psychotherapists and psychologists as a cure for depression. The beef was thick, abundant and of clearly high quality. Not to greasy and cooked to perfection, my burger was served textbook rare and my grin spread ear to ear as I bit into it.

They should change the name of "Benjamin's Burgers" to "Benjamin's Bomb-ass Burgers." Really, the burgers are that good. They easily rival my favorite burger in the city which is Winghart's. Coincidentally, my opinion is well supported by Andrew of the Pitts-Burger food blog. He rates Benjamin's at 7.6 and Winghart's at 7.1. I think the two are a little closer, but each single hamburger experience is subjective, so it is what it is. Pictured above is the Benjamin's cured meat plate. Although it did not stand out as one of the best cured meat plates I've tried in Pittsburgh, it was an absolute steal for $5. (Appetizers are half off during happy hour.) Honestly, I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better meat plate in the entire city for $5. My chief complaints are that I would have liked more pickled vegetables and it seemed as though the meat had been sliced several days ago. Considering the size of the kitchen, I imagine this is actually the case. Also Sorta a Meat Plat

Like excellent burgers? Like charming neighborhood venues that are within reasonable walking distance of Heinz Field? Good. Then you will like  Benjamins Western Avenue Burger Bar (900 Western Avenue, 15233). They have an interesting, yet comfortable menu; good drink specials ($2 Yuengling drafts this past Monday night for instance); and an inviting atmosphere (I particularly like the small bar, the lighting, the open kitchen, and the fireplace). Pretzels ($3.95, 3 baked soft pretzels, candied jalape ñ o cream cheese, truffle mustard) Mushroom & Swiss Burger ($10.50, balsamic & basil roasted Portobello mushroom, Swiss cheese) with a side of Broccoli Salad (carrots, sesame seeds, ginger-lime-soy-wasabi dressing) Since it was a pregame meal, I went with the Pretzels to complement my beer. The three pretzels were sizeable enough for sharing, and the dipping sauces were delicious. Had I not been in public, I would have licked the candied jalapeño cream cheese right out of its container. And since I am always following the "when in Rome" mantra, I ordered a burger, in particular the Mushroom & Swiss Burger. It was cooked to perfection (medium) and mushrooms and cheese literally melted in my mouth. The side of Broccoli Salad was light and refreshing. However, had I been throwing all of my caution waistline to the wind, I would have ordered the Bacon Fat Home Fries (poblano peppers and onions); admittedly, my one bite of JAS's portion was pretty fantastic. Overall, Benjamins is a solid choice to gather with friends and family and it's a solid contender for the best burger in Pittsburgh. The service is consistently friendly and efficient, and I highly recommend this spot to everyone... I know I will be back sooner than later (especially if I walk by and smell the intoxicating aroma of their burgers that I swear they pump out onto Western Avenue)! (3.25 stars, 3.25/4) Pin It

Each time we go we have a different experience, which typically discourages us from going back. Alas, because we live so close, it’s always on the top of our minds. This results in repeat visits of ranging happiness...