University of Pittsburgh - Nightlife

Diesel is a great club in the South Side that offers a variety of VIP services such as bottle service, a lounge area, VIP seating, and Elite VIP seating. The club also offers the only cryogenics systems in Pittsburgh and regularly holds live concerts during the week.

Located near the Matrix in Station Square, Saddle Ridge is a country club featuring line-dancing bartenders, mediocre drink specials, and a mechanical bull. Though there is little mainstream music played at Saddle Ridge, many country-music lovers and even non-country music lovers drop by to give the Boot Scoot Boogie a shot, at least once. There is no dress code, but Saddle Ridge is the only place in Pittsburgh you’re bound to spot hundreds of cowboy hats and plaid shirts intermingled with flashy club wear.

The Matrix combines four different rooms into one nightclub. Club Liquid plays Miami-style trance, Club Exit plays New York-style house, Club Goddess plays top 40 music and old-school hip hop, and Club Velvet plays Latin music that is slightly old. The Matrix gets very packed, but it is fun because you can switch your dance music depending on your mood. They have a dress code, and their biggest night is Thursday.

Garage Door Saloon, or GDoor as it’s called, is located in the middle of south Oakland. The bar has big garage door windows that are opened when the weather is warm but is a popular bar, no matter the weather. The bar features daily drink and pitcher specials and serves typical bar food like wings and sandwiches.

Hemingway’s has become an obsession with the University of Pittsburgh students. Every single night of the week, this joint is packed, with barely enough room to squeeze up to the bar for a drink. Friends meet and eat here multiple times a week, and the bartenders know their most frequent clientele by name. With nightly dollar-drink specials, a pool table, and a juke box, it’s exactly what a college bar should be.

Located not more than a block or so from main campus, like Hemingway’s, this bar is a place to relax and drink with friends, but by the time the nightly special is over, the dance floor is packed with drunkenly dancing students. Sometimes, Peter’s is also known to host a local band behind their second-floor bar.

Located right off of Walnut Street, this eclectic restaurant and bar offers half-price food after 10 p.m., and hosts popular local music acts such as This Band is Called the You, School of Athens, and Idiosympathy. Nestled in yuppy Shadyside, the Deli is the closest thing to a hipster bar that Walnut Street can speak of.

Pittsburgh Cafe isn't new to Oakland but with a remodeling, the bar is seeing a new surge in popularity. The bar features both a loft and a second floor, and offers outdoor seating. Pittsburgh Café has a huge bottle beer selection that is always changing but if you prefer draft beer, there are only two on tap. The bar also features an impressive food menu of sandwiches and salads, and hosts local bands.

The place to go for giant margaritas and Mexican food. Thanks to popular student specials and happy hours, the place is usually packed with both Pitt and Carnegie Mellon kids. On Fridays, many students come here to start their weekend at 4 p.m., when margaritas and beers are half off (until 6 p.m.). Things get even more packed later in the evening. From 9 p.m.–11 p.m., giant margaritas are $6; after 11 p.m., all food is half off.

This is mostly a CMU hangout, but it’s right up the street from Pitt. Weekday nights at PHI are packed because of the $4 pitcher deal during happy hour.

This Shadyside hotspot is known for its trendy New York-style décor, and a busy (and often loud) atmosphere. Many students come here for beer specials, as well as frozen margaritas and daiquiris. Right upstairs is the site of the Walnut Grill, a nice spot to dine with friends before drinking the night away.

Usually filled with the spill-over from Hemingways because it is located next door, Boomerang’s offers $1 Yuengling’s everyday, and something Hemingways does not have—a dance floor.

There are usually house parties going on in South Oakland over the weekends, and oftentimes, a Pitt or CMU frat is hosting some sort of event. There is always bowling, movies, and shopping open to students; Oakland, South Side, Squirrel Hill, and Shadyside boast their own small cultural districts, complete with coffee shops like Shadyside/East Liberty’s Quiet Storm and South Side’s Beehive, and tons of restaurants that are popular. Schenley Park is right near campus, with a lot of outdoor area for walking, biking, or just hanging out.