Point Brugge Cafe

October 4, 2008
Smaller than I like but clean and very friendly. Off the beaten path of Penn Ave. Very personal inside. The owners and their employees are right on you trying to meet yer every need. Prices are a little high, but normal for this part of upscale Pgh. Did I say friendly? Even tho I didn’t have food, it looked delicious and made my mouth water. A nice bottle selection but only four taps of good beer. Well hidden, even tho its on a backstreet corner. If you like personal space with a small crowd, check it out. I was able to score some Koninghowven Quad there for only $8 per 11 oz bottle.

June 4, 2008
Small, but clean. Prompt service. Small food menu with Belgian standards. Reasonable food prices. Small but decent Belgian draft list. No the best belgian frites I have had.

February 26, 2008
My girlfriend and I went for brunch at Point Brugge on Feb the 17th. It was packed (ppl standing at the door and around the bar waiting for a table said the wait would be an hour), however we were lucky and got a seat for two right away. The food was excellent. The atmosphere was comfortable, had a subdued lively-feel to the place. Here’s my grief though. They charged us 15 dollars for two Leffe Browns. These relatively inexpessive Belgian beers were priced over 50 percent higher than what the notoriously expensive Sharp Edge charges for its Leffes. They gouged us! Small beer selection. Good food. Nice experience otherwise.

July 6, 2007
Visited last November right when they opened Saturday morning, so it was pretty quiet and the service was barely awake or taking notice of me. The four taps were Gouden Carolus, Corsendonk Agnus, Dales Pale and Anchor Steam and the bartender nicely let me sample them all after I bought a pint. The main room has a cramped feeling to it despite being rather clean, with few tables and a half-level up some stairs in the back (maybe I’m thinking of the restroom, an odd-shaped nook behind the bar). Would check out the menu again if I were around but nothing really caught my eye at the time. Very nice residential location, and conveniently around the corner from where I was staying.

April 22, 2007
superior establishment... i live a couple blocks away, which makes my friends jealous... excellent food complements the well-chosen beer selection.

January 13, 2007
Nice little cafe located near 5th Avenue just outside of Shadyside/Penn Circle area. Bar area is smallish, seats about 8 or so. Very modern motif, could have been furnished by IKEA, but I liked it. Everything was very clean and well lit. Great service from the barstaff, as well. Tried the beer cheese soup, was very good. Beer selection was limited, but featured some good Belgians (Fantome, Chimay, Maredsous) and a healty choice of micros. Would visit again!

January 8, 2007
This place has great food and a great beer selection Not your typical Smokey dive bar in da burgh. Small, cozy and very clean. Jesse the owner is quick to refer a beer or a dish with deep insight. This place is packed on weekends. A must see for all who live in the Squirrel Hill and Shady Side areas. If you like the selection from Dees six pack shop you will like the selection at the Point. Jesse used to manage Dees before he opened up the Point. As good as it gets in the burgh.

January 9, 2006 [ Updated May 29, 2006 ]
Tiny little place on a residential street where it intersects the tiny half-block-long Reynolds buisness district in the Point Breeze neighborhood. Very nice, classy joint. And not classy in a snobby way, just very tastefully done with lots of wood and exposed brick -- "tastefully casual" if you will. The whole place seats maybe 45 people, or perhaps 60 when outdoor seating is available. The "bar" area seats about 30 (if you cram in 3 to a side at the booths), with 7 stools at the bar itself.

Gouden Carolus, Spatan Franziskaner, Petrus Oud Bruin and Victory Prima Pils were the four tap selections during my April 05 visit. At least none of the precious few lines are wasted on dreck. Bottle selection is more expansive with about 50 from regional and national craft brews and some higher-end European beers. Among the bottle selections are a handful of 750ml bottles of Ommengang, Duvel, Delerium, Victory Golden Monkey, et cetera. This is a restaurant first and foremost and not a beer bar in the strict sense. But this is, after all, a Belgian restaurant so it’s only appropriate that you have a high-end beer with your meal in place of wine. Point Brugge makes certain that diners have a quality selection to choose from and bar patrons benefit as a result. Too bad it wasn’t Point Brugge yet back when I lived 1.5 blocks away – this would have made a great neighborhood corner bar.

October 16, 2005
This place was a little hard to find, but not as hard as finding some pubs in Bruges. Small corner pub with a tiny patio on Hastings Street. Inside there are cafe tables, six-person booths and typical dining tables. There is also a bar area. Non-smoking, and the place only holds about 75 people. We arrived at 6pm on a Saturday and got the last table for 4 before a waiting line started. There was a continuous stream of people still coming in by the time we left at 8pm.
The food was pretty good. They brag that they do their frites in the Belgian style, frying 2x and serving with mayo. They were good, but a little soggy inside. The mussels in creamy red curry sauce were delicious. Waitstaff was attentive without being pushy, and friendly. The owner circulated freely, making sure everyone was taken care of.
The beer selection was nice. There were only 4 taps, and this trip saw DFH Punkin Ale, Troegs Nut Brown, Delirium Nocturnum and Chimay White. The bottles were a bit more varied, about 70 in all. Many Belgians and other imports, but also a fair number of quality domestics including the Ommegang suite. Prices on beer were reasonable to a bit steep, but finding a 75cL of Chimay Bleu for $15.50 isn’t all that bad, I guess.
The beer list is not as impressive as the Sharp Edge, but I have to say the food is a bit better.