text: I visited last night with a friend for dinner at around pm I received a pack of City Dining Cards for Christmas and she picked this place from among the options that I offered since she would heard good things about it I was also interested in trying it out given the speakeasy ambiance and the interestinglooking Cajun menu optionsnnHaving previewed the menu ahead of time I decided to get the Cajun shrimp and grits since this is a classic Cajun dish and I have not had it previously It came with shrimp see photo seasoned with Cajun seasonings that gave them a nice spicy kick The majority of this entree was vegetables and grits Aside from the spices on the shrimp the word I would use to describe this dish is inoffensive While nothing was wrong with it per se it just was not very excitingin this respect it was similar to something you would see at Applebees or Ruby Tuesday For a entree at a place billing itself as a gastropub I expect more pizzazzand more shrimpnnI did not try my friends po boy because I had a very good shrimp po boy the day before for lunch She enjoyed it this being the first time she would had a po boy It was which I felt was also on the pricy side esp for a sandwich It came with a side of house made chips which I sampled that I felt were a bit overdone In addition to our food we each had a drink hard cider for me beer for her Both our drinks ran which I felt was also on the expensive side but hers was discounted to which I felt was more typicalnnThe one thing that really shined about our experience was our waiters personality He was humorous and interactive in a good way which is always a nice unexpected bonus We were seated in the booth section on the ground floor next to the bar and I found the ambiance overall to be pretty bland reminiscent of a chain casual dining restaurant I later found out that the speakeasy where the live music is hosted is downstairs so perhaps this has a better ambiance I would be willing to return at some point just for drinks to check it outnnOverall while I have no real complaints about our experience except the inflated prices nothing really stood out about it aside from our waiters personality In a city with as many great dining options as PGH restaurants really need to stand out to do a good business If the sparsely populated dining room and bar that we encountered at prime time on a Sat evening is par for the course this is evidence that the locals recognize this places shortcomings in this regard starsnnPS Shrimp and grits are available for half the price nearby at Carmi on Western Ave I have not tried them there but if the fried chicken I had there is any indication I will be willing to bet that they are good