#6427 - Park House, Pittsburgh, PA - 12/10/2025

Park House, Pittsburgh, PA

Ever since we moved to the Pittsburgh area I've been waiting and hoping that the historic Park House bar, in the Deutschtown neighborhood, would reopen. Well on Repeal Day (12/5) of this year, it finally did, and the new owners have done an excellent job.

The Park House opened shortly after prohibition ended and some say it has the oldest and one of the first liquor licenses in Pittsburgh - with a past owner claiming it had the 2nd license issued by the county, on June 1, 1933. (I would love to see a primary source or other source of evidence for this?). In any case, city guides feature it under the "Park House" name starting in 1934. I do not have data for 1933, but a Pittsburgh Press article described it as a "restaurant since 1933 when predecessor of the Park House opened."

As for it's previous lifetime, the building appears to have been constructed in 1892, and the same Pittsburgh Press article says that it "Opened as a hotel in 1893." However, if it ever featured a bar before the end of prohibition - at least a legal one - this must have been very briefly. The liquor license data from the pre-prohibition era, available from newspaper archives, is quite comprehensive. The records do show that on Dec 7, 1908, Louis W. Stahl successfully transferred to Patrick Brennan, the owner the Park House address, the liquor license Stahl had obtained for 621 Ohio St., after he failed to secure the lease on the property for which he was authorized. However, the following April Brennan was refused renewal of the license, and neither he nor anyone else appears to have ever applied again for the property. (Most of the 279 refusals for that year in Allegheny County were on the basis that there was "no necessity" for new liquor retailers at the time.)  As for illegal bars (here in the city that coined the term for "speakeasies"), I can't rule that out of course, but there were raids of hundreds of these in Pittsburgh and I've found no evidence for this location so far.

During the several decades preceding and during prohibition, the property hosted a number of retail businesses, in addition the available living spaces on the upper floors of the 4-story building, most notably several years as the Park View Theater, a nickelodeon featuring singers and professional acts of a wide variety.

Where the Park House ranks among the oldest bars in Pittsburgh relies primarily on one's personal views on some fairly arbitrary questions about what constitutes a single bar. Primary among these is whether you allow for bars of entirely different names. The Pittsburgh city limits contain a good 20 or so bars that operate at addresses (and usually the same buildings) that hosted bars before prohibition, with at least eight of these dating back to the 19th century. For my part, I feel it's necessary to have basically the same name over a bar's lifespan (e.g. it's fine if it changed from using "saloon" to "tavern" to "cafe" to "bar and grill"). Given that, and my current state of knowledge, I would tend to put Park House second to the Original Oyster House, which opened in 1871, and was named as some kind of "Oyster House" for most if not all of that time. (And according to Rick Sebak, the space hosted the Bear Tavern as early as 1827.) The Squirrel Hill Cafe (AKA "Squirrel Cage") may also be a contender, as it opened sometime in 1934 (again, I don't know exactly when the "Park House" name was adopted during that year or possibly 1933). My visit to the Park House has made me commit to myself that I must post a good working page on the Oldest Bars in Pittsburgh sometime early next year.

Owner Michelle, The Park House, Pittsburgh, PA

Finally, to the current incarnation of the Park House: Seeking to avoid the crush of the opening weekend, I made it to the bar on the evening of Wednesday Dec 10. I had a very pleasant dinner discussing the old version of the bar with local Tim, running into bartender friend Bradley, and especially chatting with owner Michelle Lynch about all the work she and partner Patrick Edson have done on the place.

It looks beautiful now. Their prodigious work cleaning and remodeling is accentuated by a new antique back bar, obtained from the great Wooden Nickel Antiques in Cincinnati, and extended by a local craftsman, as well as lamps and wallpaper perfect for the vibe of the dark wood and old space. Even the flatware was thoughtfully researched and chosen. It's certainly more formal than the old days Tim described of free popcorn and peanuts, with shells strewn across the floor, but remains a comfortable neighborhood joint. As the new owners catch their breath a bit, Michelle plans to work on putting up old photos of the place, and collecting verbal histories from long time patrons (the stories were flowing at the grand opening, I was informed) and a sort of homage to previous owner Zamir (and his falafels). 

And while I confess I forget what I was told about the background of "Chef Issac," I loved the food. I started with a burrata bruschetta that was delicious, and then much enjoyed the meatball sandwich (in a town that features a lot of very mediocre Italian food at bars). I have added the Park House to my list of favorites in Pittsburgh and look forward to going back many times.

403 E Ohio St, Pittsburgh, PA 15212 - (412) 224-2273

Est. 1933/1934 - Building constructed: 1892
Previous bars in this location: Possibly Patrick Brennan bar, 1907-1908
Web sites:  parkhouse412.com - facebook - instagram 
Articles: pghcitypaper - patch - yelp - tripadvisor - pittsburghhappyhour