BALVANERA

1660 Smallman St, Pittsburgh
(412) 586-5617

Recent Reviews

Juliana Stanko

This was the best meal I’ve ever had. The service was incredible - new silverware after every round of food! My fiance is a L2 Sommelier and he was fascinated with the wine and amaro menus. I cannot recommend the Milanese and empanadas enough. Suzie (sorry if I spelled it wrong!) our waitress was phenomenal. I can’t wait to come back.Dietary restrictions: The waitress asks for food allergies and notifies the kitchen staff to avoid possibly contamination.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Milanesa Chicken and Mashed Potatoes, Side of Mashed Potatoes, Empanadas De Humita, Milanese Chicken

Dennis Gonzalez

Relaxed chill atmosphere.....steak was amazing and tapas style sides hit the spot. Nice Latin wine list that match up to everything on the menu.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Jason Knox

It was a great atmosphere right across from the terminal. It was pretty busy on a Saturday evening but they can handle the crowd. The food was so good, I'll be back for more empanadas and dessert.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Simran Batra

Went to eat here with my husband and a friend and had an incredible time. Ambiance is lovely; such a special place.Our server, Suzie, was so warm and kind. She helped my husband select a wine choice and brought him a taster to confirm he liked her recommendation before pouring a whole glass. Then, she offered to have the kitchen make an order of 3 empanadas instead of two for our appetizer. I can say I’ve never had something like that offered when I go out to eat with an odd number of people and I so greatly appreciate it!! Finally, because we were having such a lovely time with Suzie, she brought us a complimentary dessert!!I don’t know if it’s because they just opened or we were great diners or Suzy is incredible but the whole experience was extraordinary. Beyond these special touches, the food was amazing and I’d still be writing the 5-star review if they hadn’t happened! We ordered the carne empanadas, the arancini, the olives, the strip steak, the chicken dish with the avocado salad, sides of the mushrooms and puréed potatoes, and the dark chocolate cake (all to share, as intended). Suzy brought us some kind of ice cream in the shape of a cake coated with nuts; it was so good it made my party laugh that we almost didn’t get it. Our favorite main was the chicken dish; the dill in the salad is so so good!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Pete Pasc

The food was actually really good. Our experience was affected by an obscenely long wait for our meals, however. We unfortunately had a show to get to, so we had to down our steaks in record time, so it was good that they did melt in our mouths! The server said that the chefs didn’t like how they turned out and started over?! Not sure if that was true or not. I believe they did take some starters off of our bill, although I didn’t really have time to check…

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 5

Service: 2

Recommended dishes: Lamb Sausage, Empanadas De Humita

Caitlin Girdwood

So delish! Fresh ingredients, amazing service!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Anna Smith

the food and service were great with a few bumps in the road. despite a reservation we had to wait 15+ minutes and there’s not a great spot to wait, but our server was wonderful. the food is delicious but for the price i found many portions to be small and didn’t leave totally full, but the meat is spectacular. it’s good for a special occasion

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

Corey Alukonis

My wife and I went here for our anniversary and had a wonderful time. The staff was polite, knowledgeable and attentive without being excessive. The atmosphere of the restaurant was relaxing and the food was delicious.We had multiple small courses that we shared and everything came out at a good time that we weren't rushing nor waiting to long. The Hamachi crudo was our favorite single bite and the sausages were my favorite dish. On top of that, our Ribeye was perfectly cooked and the sauces they served alongside complimented it perfectly. The roasted carrots were also very good.We have both agreed that we would like to come here again and so that we can try all the dishes that we wanted to try but couldn't.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Frank

I had an odd experience here — I asked for a rare steak and got something completely over cooked. When I ask the waiter if they could send out a new steak cooked correctly, the manager approached me and told me that my steak was the rarest they could serve it based on temperature. This was a lie.Everyone at the table had a more rare steak than I did and they order medium…it’s just silly to not admit a mistake was made and not make it right. And I’ve traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina for work and the steak is super rare there! It’s fatty, rare, and delicious. To call yourself anything Argentinian and not make the food in respect to that country is a bit strange.And recently, while in Jackson, Wyoming, I ordered a rare steak which was cooked to perfection. I have to wonder why Jackson can give me a rare steak but Pittsburgh can’t? Next time, please just recook the steak instead of making up something about temperature.They also took my steak to the back and after not being able to cook me a new steak brought back my original steak, now cold. Come on guys, that’s not classy.Jackson steak attached to show you what rare looks like.Besides this, the wines were fantastic and the octopus was incredible.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 3

Ciara DeWalt

The dessert is NEXT LEVEL!!! The house made pistachio ice cream and the passion fruit pudding cake were seriously to die for! Best desserts I have ever had! Finish off with an espresso martini and you’re set!I want to stop in soon to try the food, but for now I’m going to scream from the mountain tops how amazing the dessert is!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Kirk Pope

Delicious dinner. Splits three small plates, shared a steak (oops forgot a pic), shared dessert (also forgot a pic) but everything was top notch. Attentive service. Really good food quality. Drinks were also good. If I had to “gripe” it would have been our table location. Half booth next to a busy server station with a lot of chatter. Oh and the men’s room was out of towels at about 9:00pm. If you aren’t sitting at that specific table I have a feeling you’ll really enjoy yourself. All in all a nice addition to the restaurant scene!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Chocolate Torta, Empanadas De Humita

Jonathan Zito

Fantastic food, setting, and service! Highly recommend the beets and the morcilla!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Roasted Beets

Eric Pertzog

Wonderful experience! The quality and taste of the food is only matched by the service that went far and above most restaurants these days. Our server Amanda took great care of us and made sure our dietary restrictions were met (including a visit by the chef!) without hesitation. We really felt like the staff cared and were happy to help us in any way they could. Highly recommended, we can't wait to return with our friends!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

DJ J.

This is an interesting space. A little on the load side but service was really good. We tried a few of the smaller plates and all were very good. The chorizo iberico was tasty and worth trying, the curdo. of yellow tail sashimi with some apple and arauco olive oil was a real hit. The olive oil had a tomato and grassy flavor and really made the flavor of the yellow tail stand out. The arancini was OK, try something else. Another really big hit was the Angusto, strip lion, prefectly cook, tender and some of the best strip steak that we have had in a very long time. Hats off to the chef and the imported beef, you won't be disappointed.

jim kenna

A great meal in a great atmosphere. All the employees were friendly and kind. They all worked together and helped one another.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Lamb Sausage, Empanada, Milanese Chicken

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