Square Cafe

Square Cafe nails that perfect mix of cozy and lively. The space feels bright and welcoming, and the service is quick without rushing you out. Food came out hot, fresh, and clearly made with care. Everything we ordered tasted great and felt thoughtful from the presentation to the balance of flavors. It’s the kind of place where you can linger over brunch without feeling like you’re in the way. A solid spot for a casual meal that still feels like a treat.

Great breakfast spot near the Shadyside area! The menu is quite vast but it seems like they have their style nailed down pretty well. It’s popular for a reason. I got to try out their lemon blueberry pancake, home fried, and bacon and egg breakfast sandwich. The lemon blueberry pancake was huge. Not a ton of lemon flavor to it, thoughm but a good amount of blueberries. It’s fluffy and well made. The syrup it came with was kind of caramel iced at the bottom, with some hard pieces present. Pretty decent overall, especially for the price. The sandwich was delicious. I loved the biscuit: bit of herbs, well seasoned, and well cooked. Just really good, even though it was starting to fall apart a bit. The eggs and cheese were great, and the bacon was perfectly crisp. The home fries were nice as well. Nice portion size and crispy on the outside while soft in the middle. Would recommend. All in all, a very nice spot.

Square Cafe is quickly becoming a favorite restaurant for me. I haven’t had any of their drinks yet, but am especially curious about the amethyst twist and the sunrise tea cooler! All the vegan dishes I’ve had so far have been quite delicious but my favorite my far is the peanut butter pancakes… it pairs so delightfully with the maple syrup. The staff is awesome, too. So sweet and smiley! Thanks for two great visits.

I love the vibe of this place. They offer a great variety of both savory and sweet dishes! I got the breakfast burrito, and it was filling and delicious. My husband ordered a single buttermilk pancake, a Nutella crepe, and we shared some fries. The pancake was fluffy and delicious. The fries were perfectly crunchy. We were a bit disappointed with the Nutella crepe, though, the crepe tasted bland. We also grabbed the French toast latte to go. It was a bit too sweet for me (I’m not much of a sweet tooth), but my husband really enjoyed it. I’d definitely go back again, great service and friendly staff too!

Wow, the Benedicts here make square cafe an absolute must try! This place is super popular, but the short rib and corn beef Benedict’s were some of the best brunch dishes I’ve ever had. The meat was so tender and flavorful, really amazing! Breakfast sandwhich was also solid, with their chive biscuit being tasty, and the juices were fresh and paired nicely with the food. Lemon ricotta pancake was very fluffy, could have used more lemon and ricotta flavor though. But for the Benedict’s alone, definitely don’t miss out!

Came here for a good breakfast because we were staying at a hotel and you know how some hotel’s breakfasts are 😒. The inside was very welcoming and family friendly! The menu was vast with a huge variety of items from specialty lattes to trail mix pancakes??!! I opted for something healthier, the Florentine benedict, which was expected to have sourdough bread as the base, i don’t believe it was, it tasted and looked like regular white bread. But other than that the eggs were perfectly done and the combination of the salty mushrooms and slightly sweet caramelized onions were just divine!!

Came here as a friend suggested and I really loved getting breakfast here. There is a variety of choices and the service and atmosphere is great too. I will definitely come back to try something else next time and highly recommended it.

Nice brunch experience. A little pricey but the food was tasty and the drinks were good. Our server was also lovely.

Square cafe has the same owner as the Title 9 bar so we had to visit them for brunch. Man it was packed! Fresh, local ingredients and plenty of love. Would definitely go back.

Great breakfast spot near the Shadyside area! The menu is quite vast but it seems like they have their style nailed down pretty well. It's popular for a reason. I got to try out their lemon blueberry pancake, home fried, and bacon and egg breakfast sandwich. The lemon blueberry pancake was huge. Not a ton of lemon flavor to it, thoughm but a good amount of blueberries. It's fluffy and well made. The syrup it came with was kind of caramel iced at the bottom, with some hard pieces present. Pretty decent overall, especially for the price. The sandwich was delicious. I loved the biscuit: bit of herbs, well seasoned, and well cooked. Just really good, even though it was starting to fall apart a bit. The eggs and cheese were great, and the bacon was perfectly crisp. The home fries were nice as well. Nice portion size and crispy on the outside while soft in the middle. Would recommend. All in all, a very nice spot.

This was my first time visiting square cafe. I got bottomless black coffee and the breakfast sandwich with vegan sausage instead of the bacon and it was delicious! The biscuit was soft and flaky and the sandwich was really fulling. My only comment would be that I wish it held together a little more because it did fall apart easily because of how soft the biscuit was. But it was really tasty nonetheless. The waitress was really attentive and sweet, and the ambiance was quiet but lively, perfect to enjoy a weekend brunch with friends

So, the food is usually average. I really like their lemon pancakes and brussels hash. Besides that, everything else is mid. Service is hit or miss. I went in this morning for a pickup order. The girl in front of me was given her order and offered utensils. I was next I line. I was given my food and not offered utensils. Instead, I was ignored for almost 5 mins and had to ask someone for what, I guess certain people, are more generously offered. Needless to say, I won't make this place my usual. If you're not going to be as gracious to Black customers as you are to white ones, then you don't want my business frfr. Will stick to The Strip District spots for now.

I've been trying to come to square for a good while. The lines are out the door so many times! Finally, on this rainy Saturday morning, I managed to get seated. We were hungry and ordered the square breakfast with pancakes and Belgian waffle. I also had a very very tasty breakfast burger at square cafe. We were seated quickly since it was before the morning brunch rush. Service was overall warm and wonderful and menu has a lot of vegetarian options and if you need special diet accommodations. The menu truly has something for everyone!

If you haven't tried the breakfast burrito at Square Cafe, you are missing out! I think about it maybe too often? It's super filled with amazing breakfast goodness! I opted to add crumbled bacon this time and I'll be doing that from now on! I really enjoyed my iced vanilla latte too. My only complaint about my most recent visit - I ordered a breakfast biscuit sandwich to go for my husband. I asked if they could just leave the biscuit on the side (not fully assemble the sandwich) so it wouldn't get mushy on the way home. I totally understand that they don't accept modifications, especially because they're so busy. But I felt like that was a really easy request, in my opinion. Our server told us she would try but couldn't guarantee. I was disappointed that they couldn't make this request. Overall, love Square Cafe and would highly recommend for a delicious breakfast and brunch spot!

A delightful experience here. The food, service, and ambiance were awesome. I loved the breakfast burger and it was so sweet in the best ways.

We came here for breakfast one day and lunch another. Service was great. The food was really good. I had the pumpkin walnut pancakes which was a special and paired that with bacon and eggs. Loved the pancake. We also decided to try the blueberry hush puppies. These were a miss for me. Very bland. They needed to be sweeter. When we came back for lunch I wanted to try their chicken tortilla soup and also wanted to try the lemon berry ricotta pancakes so I decided to get both. The pancakes are very big. One was enough for me. The pancake was good. The soup was just ok. I've had better chicken tortilla soup. It might have been better if it was hot. Great location. I would eat here again.

What a fun cafe! We loved the decor so much. Our server was wonderful and quick with suggestions. I ordered the fall mimosa which was so delicious. We ordered the cinnamon rolls as a starter and they were perfect - so good I ate one before I took a photo! My entree was the fall waffles. Perfectly cooked and just the perfect amount of apples and cinnamon. We look forward to returning!

Stopped for girl brunch and I thought jt was good and really reasonably priced. I wasn't hungry so I got something small. It was cinnamon rolls with homemade vanilla icing (only 8). The service was friendly and the restaurant is bright and colorful.

One of my favorite places for coffee! Such a cute, causal cafe with a lot of unique options. Food was pretty good!!

This place is SO CUTE. Filled with local art and merch, you can't help but feel like you're part of the community when you're here. Veggie omelet is pretty hearty. My sister got the veggie burger and we split our meals. I'm not sure if I would get the veggie burger again - but at least its accompanying fries are Cajun and delicious. Husband got a salmon bene, but he wasn't a fan of an English muffin being subbed out for a latke. Maybe it's a preference thing, but otherwise it was great. We also got a hummingbird pancake special, and that was DELICIOUS. Drinks are also great! It's a fun and tasty menu, so be prepared for some hard decisions. Overall, I recommend this place. It's a cute spot.

Square cafe is great! The food was delicious, the coffee was ok, and the vibe was great. Our server was amazing despite how busy it was. When we got there, our wait for two people was only 20 minutes, but when we were leaving we heard it was up to an hour. They don't take reservations, so plan accordingly!

We met a friend at the new, East Liberty location for the first time for a late lunch on a Sunday. The wait was not too long, especially since the friend had put her name on the list; they won't find you a table until your whole party arrives, however. The staff are friendly and efficient, and the kitchen was relatively quick. We arrived, waited, got seated, ordered, talked, ate, and paid in 1 hour. The highlights were the large mugs of coffee, the lemon ricotta pancakes, the berry waffles, and (pictured here) the short rib eggs Benedict, which came with sweet potato puree and greens. At first I thought there was no way I would eat the while plate, but sure enough I did, and I enjoyed every delicious bite. Three adults ate for $50, plus tip. The only downside was looking for street parking. We didn't check out the restroom situation.

a nice corner breakfast or brunch spot with mc lots of selections - you'll get overwhelmed. however sometimes they don't have all the bakery/sweet selection which is a bummer. I got the square cafe burger. I asked for a medium rare but for a well done. the party wasn't the most appetizing in my opinion, tasted bland and what not.

You are short changing yourself if you're in Pittsburgh & don't visit the Square Cafe! We have been coming here for years when we are in town visiting our daughter. The main thing we come for is the lemon-berry ricotta pancakes on the breakfast menu; however, they have a yummy, innovative menu for lunch & dinner as well. Our food and coffees were served hot and fresh. Our server was friendly and efficient. The cafe itself is always busy yet super clean (even the bathroom) which is important to us. We highly recommend Square Cafe!

Even though I was a tad hungover this morning the long-awaited trip to square cafe could be put off no longer. I absolutely loved my coffee: dirty iced mocha chai and they had impossible italian breakfast sausage which I have never had but need to immediately buy some. Our waiter was nice and we beat the crowd by going at 8:45 but it definitely got super crowded with lots of little kids by the time we left.

The food was great and staff were nice! However, the waffle was little dissatisfying as it just tasted like wet flour- no sweet, no texture whatsoever... I did love the food shown in 3rd pic with grit! I don't remember what it was called.

Love the brunch menu here. The blueberry ricotta pancakes are one of my favorites. Great place to go with friends or alone.

Went here for brunch with my friends! I had the orange juice, americano, and the egg breakfast burrito, all which came very fast and would recommend coming back

Delicious, enjoyable breakfast at Square Cafe on our last day in Pittsburgh. There was quite a wait, probably 30 minutes or so. However, they have a bar where you can go to place coffee, latte, soda orders while you wait. We were a party of 5. Some of our group elected to order breakfast items, while some chose lunch items. The banana foster waffles got rave reviews, as did the grilled cheese with fig jam. Others ordered the eggs Benedict and pancakes. Service was good, and we were in and out with plenty of time to get to the volleyball game we were attending.

The owner is always welcoming to me. The customer service is usually on point and the food is always exceptionally, given I'm mostly gluten/free.

Positives: the latte was so scrumptious and it comes in a huge mug that instantly makes you smile! That was really the only good thing. Wait staff was fine, busy and did their best! Was stuffed in a small table and anytime the wait staff came over they bumped into the people next to us. I felt like I was sitting at the couples table next to us! The breakfast burrito was bland and the lox Benedict was overpriced and not the best. Greens were wilted that came with it. The baron batch artwork was super cool around but the food was so expensive for it to just be not good!

What a lovely place. We came here at 10 on a Sunday and I think that's the sweet spot. It was packed about 15 minutes later. Our server, Myra, was friendly and gracious even though she was swamped with orders. Waffles, crepes and egg breakfast were all great. Blueberry hush puppies were awful. Black coffee was mid.

Let's start this review by saying this was my first time trying Square Cafe. I live in Morningside so not to far from East Liberty I always see this place packed in morning with lines outside and have always been curious as to why. Today I found out exactly why they are so popular! I ordered the Veggie Omelettes W/ Home Fries ( Extra Of Course ) and some chive biscuits for me and my husband. Let me tell you we enjoyed the entire meal! Everything was so good. I will say that I did have to add a little salt and pepper to the home fries and omelette, however I did not mind personally as everyone has their own preference of seasoning etc. If I could recommend anywhere to get breakfast or brunch I would 100% try out Square Cafe. We plan on trying out more from them soon.

Came for brunch and we were able to be seated almost immediately. I brought a baby carrier in so they accommodated us with booth seating, which I appreciated. I also really liked the menu that was clearly marked for allergens. Every drink we tried was fabulous and prepared quickly. I had the avocado toast on gluten free bread with salmon - yum! The rest of my group had short rib pierogies, warm cinnamon rolls, and the square breakfast. All were given rave reviews.

Square Cafe is a delicious breakfast spot! Large menu with tons of delicious options. Loved the chive biscuit breakfast sandwich with scrambled egg cheese & bacon. Tons of good coffees as well. They do serve alcohol! Enjoy a boozy breakfast. Very friendly wait staff. They do not take reservations- first come first serve!

Yummy! We visited the Square Cafe for breakfast this weekend for the first time and our experience was phenomenal from the hostess, to the wait staff, as well as the food; everything was dynamic! We ordered the banana foster waffles, another guest ordered the corn beef breakfast and I ordered the one pancake, egg and protein option. They were lots of vegan options on the menu and everything we ordered was served fresh, hot and was delicious. We would certainly come back and recommend it to anyone else looking for a great breakfast spot in the area. We also loved the hip decor and artwork throughout the café. Purchased a cool coffee mug for about $22. Good stuff.

Great area, lots of good art pieces that complement one another, staffers enjoy their jobs, music perfect volume, excellent food. The grits situation is up like the economy during the Clinton administration. Only complaint is that the Very Vegan Brussels Sprouts Hash might be... a little ... too good.

Great place to go for breakfast/brunch! Excellent vegetarian/vegan options. Wonderful atmosphere and service. We got the vegetarian omelette and Florentine Eggs Benedict, delicious!

I loveeee this place. It's sure cute and fun and the food is awesome. the staff are very friendly and helpful too and give great recommendations. The menu is very wide and features so many options it's hard to find something you wont like. It gets super busy here and you may wait awhile for a seat and your food, but it's definitely worth it. I took my parents here when they were in town and they loved it.

Square Cafe us a super trending brunch spot in East Liberty. It's happening joint with lots of seating despite what it might look like from outside. But that doesn't mean you won't have to wait, especially during prime brunching hours. It's totally worth the wait though. Their chive biscuits will curl your toes and keep you coming back for more. They offer a large variety of specialty pancakes, lattes, etc but also the classics. I wanted to try their famous lemon ricotta pancakes and luckily they offer an option in their menu to just order a single vs. the whole stack. This is perfect for those of us that can't choose just one thing. I highly recommend checking them out and maybe suggest getting there early if you're going on the weekend.

Service: Let's get into it! Three people were like you have to go to Square Cafe. Okay, it was noted but not a will do. It happened that this morning the stars aligned and we walked over. We were greeted by the host, who was oddly rude but not. There was no welcome or greeting. Ok. We sat to look at the menu while waiting for the table. There was not a long wait (5 mins maybe?) which was good but also odd for a 10 am Saturday. But cool. The server was great with her introduction and I could tell I liked her. She wasn't overbearing and gave the right amount of attention. Go J. Atmosphere: good layout and not over crowded with tables. Although I think they can replace a few two tops with fours and still keep an open layout. One server had a pride shirt that I really liked but didn't see it for sale in the merchandise. I should have asked. Mostly they sell cups and syrup. Seemed overpriced. Food: There was a lot of interesting dishes that definitely piqued the curiosity of oh, sounds interesting. We ordered the Blueberry Hush Puppies. I tried them multiple ways and overall each improved but still left them flavorless. Cut in half to just try hush puppy, tasteless. Added the honey butter, puppy still tasteless but with butter better. Add the butter and blueberry syrup. Better but overall still tasteless outside of the butter and syrup. Chorizo Hash, terrible. Worst. Needed the hot sauce. Brussels Sprout Hash, okay. Needed hot sauce. Coffee: hot, good. Lavender Latte: hot, good and not overly candy flavor. Bloody Mary: delicious mix and good. Strawberry/Watermelon Bellini: good taste and blend of flavors. Overall, I think there are better options food wise.

Huge fan of Square Cafe but when I last stopped in, I ordered a lavender matcha which was overwhelmingly sweet (I think a bit too much syrup) and pretty expensive for something that wasn't the best. In the past, I've loved their coffee lattes and breakfast options so I would recommend those!

We were regular customers at the Regent Square location and always enjoyed our meals however this is the second (and last) bad experience with the East Liberty location. Server was nice (hence 2 stars) but the food was served ice COLD. One of the meals was missing an item which was no big deal but added to the poor experience.

Wife and I wanted to try a breakfast spot and Square Cafe was recommended due to where we were staying. It did not disappoint. We were seated quickly which was impressive for around 10:00 am on a Saturday. The waitress made recommendations and told us the specials and we put in the order. My wife and I both had the special latte which was an iced s'more latte. It was delicious. Definitely on the sweet side so we could only have one. I had the corned beef Benedict and it was very good. Just what I was looking for to start my day!!!

Square Cafe is a much bigger restaurant than it appears from the front windows on the corner of Highland and Centre. There's an entire back dining room with lots of tables - perfect for a busy Saturday morning. They have an impressive array of coffee and tea options. Their lattes err on the sweeter side just as a heads up. The muddy chai was decadent and flavorful. The cold brew was delicious and had fantastic flavor overall. I loved their biscuits! The biscuit sandwich with home fries was a bit pricey (for $14 if you added sausage) but thankfully it was big enough to warrant the price. The biscuit was delicious, buttery, and seasoned well. The home fries were solid too. All in all a good experience but a bit pricey considering this is standard breakfast fare!

This Illy Philly just left church, and hunger was a callin'.... Square Cafe was calling my name, so I answered. It's always crowded, but the wait isn't bad, and trust me, it's worth it. Once I was seated, I was greeted with a smile and told about the menu. I love their vegan options, and although they're pricey, the food is really good, and the service is phenomenal! I ordered the Very Vegan Brussel Sprouts Hash and a Gingerbread Latte, and when that food came...OMG!!!! The Hash was savory and made of comfort food heaven!!!!! The latte was not hot, but they got it warmed up for me. East Liberty is a nice area with loads of restaurants and businesses that provide just about everything you need. The parking is off street, and you have to pay, but the prices aren't too bad. Well done, Square Cafe!

This is the second poor experience at The Square. I have been a long time customer. Never had an issue in Regent Square. We visited about 6 months ago and the service was poor and the food was cold. Understand all restaurants can have a off day. So today I went again with the same experience. Coffee-luke warm, it took about 50 minutes to an hour for the food and the protein came out cold. I advised the server about the cold item and she did want to replace however I did not want to wait another 50 minutes. That item uneaten still appeared on my bill. The ambiance and location are great. I am sorry to leave this review and I have been a long time customer. This kind of experience is really disappointing.

I live locally and have never been able to make a stop into Square Cafe. My brother was in town and we decided to give it a go and I can see why it is popular. The weekend can definitely get busy for them, but the customer service was great and we were sat very quickly. Food was great and was exactly how it was described. Would definitely go back!

Modern brunch place serving classics with a twist! Square cafe is located on a busy corner in East Liberty. The restaurant gets super busy on prime brunch hours, especially on the weekends! But the food and atmosphere is great for families, couples and students looking to explore the city! There are plenty of gluten free and allergy friendly options! The drink bar is serving creative lattes and fresh smoothies, too. I ordered the veggie omelette with home fries, which were great portions and delicious. The gluten free pancake was slightly dry, but the berry compote and maple syrup add the necessary moisture. tldr; food 4/5 service 4/5 interior 4/5

I stopped here for lunch with a group of 3 on a Saturday at around 11:30. It took about 30 minutes to get a table. They have a small seating/standing area for people waiting for a table which made for a comfortable wait while admiring the numerous colorful art pieces on the walls. They are all sourced from Pittsburgh artist Baron Batch. Honestly the art may be my favorite part of this restaurant, but the food is solid as well. I ordered the chorizo hash, which came topped with a freshly cracked egg. The meal was tasty, but the service was a bit stretched since they were very busy with the brunch crowd. My wife ordered the Nutella crepe which looked delicious and she enjoyed! The atmosphere is fun and casual and the crowd seemed to all be having a good time. This is a nice place to grab brunch with friends, but you'll need a bit of luck to find a good street parking spot nearby.

This place is great! A lot of vegan breakfast options which are harder to come by in Pittsburgh. The breakfast potatoes are the best in the city. Sometimes the wait can be long, but just be prepared - there's a wait for a reason.

One of my favorite places for brunch in PGH, allow the wait is always a nightmare. Honestly kind of worth it, considering how good the food and ambiance is. Love the salmon egg scramble!

So good! My omelette was delicious with really fresh and generously sized veggies. Really appreciated that they had gluten-free bread available and were sensitive to dealing with food intolerances.

I have found Square Cafe to be 4-5 stars on slower days and for groups of 2 or fewer, and then about 3 stars for larger groups. They aren't large group friendly from a wait time, check splitting, or attentiveness perspective. The food in volume comes out in strange orders, and lots of things were no longer hot. Refills were limited or didn't happen. In a party of 12, about half of us enjoyed our food, and we all had different things. In my opinion, they do beverages and sweet breakfast items better than anything and I've had four or five star experiences when enjoying an incredibly sweet coffee creation and some pancakes. That being said, solo dolo, don't hesitate to have them on your list, truly yummy, if you're looking at this review seeking a group brunch venue, the search continues.

I love this place. Great atmosphere with delicious food. Wonderful leadership. Donate food to all kinds of local organizations. Always hits the spot when I'm looking for a great meal. Kid friendly.

Really happy I got to have brunch at square cafe. Came with a friend and the spot was buzzing with activity at 11am! We were greeted with a friendly smile and had a 10minute wait for our seats. I was pleasantly surprised at the space in Square cafe. We were seated upstairs which was a partly outdoor arrangement. It's very vibrant and colorful and they have lots of tshirts and cups on display for sale. After being seated we didn't take long to order and waited probably 10minutes for our food to arrive. I had the Brussel Sprout Bowl and it was very tasty I loved every bit of it. My friend had the Square Breakfast but she substituted the meat for pancakes and bread. I will definitely be back for another visit.

Ordered breakfast (delivery) All in all, very good. But the home fries left a lot to be desired. They were cubed and seems they were deep-fried and the quantity was very lacking. Most places overload you with home fries but these seemed to be a half serving and I was hungry. Also I ordered 4 eggs over easy and 2 were perfect and 2 were over hard. Go figure. The breakfast burrito was excellent and rather hefty! So all in all I give 3.5 stars.