Proper Brick Oven & Tap Room

We came here for the first time before a PSO concert. It was super packed (very small inside), but luckily we only had to wait 30 minutes for a table. The hostesses were very friendly and I especially didn’t mind the wait because the heat from the brick oven flames was so toasty and inviting. They don’t have any two-​person tables. They only have 4-​person tables at the minimum.​It’s not a huge deal, but it takes longer to get a table and I can’t imagine it’s that efficient for the business. I will say, however, that the staff is super efficient. As soon as a party left, there were about 4 different servers working to clear the table as quick as possible.
We ordered the Roasted Roots salad, which was fantastic. The goat cheese truffles and roasted beets are what made the salad. All of the ingredients worked very well together. I would definitely order this again.
We also ordered the Forest pizza. It tasted amazing, but I don’t know if I’ve ever had pizza that greasy. The crust was basically soggy with grease. Literally, grease was dripping down my hand. I could almost feel my arteries clogging as I ate it. Luckily, we shared it between the two of us. I couldn’t imagine someone eating all of that greasy pizza by themselves. I’m torn, however, because while it was super greasy it still tasted amazing. It’s just greasier than I normally prefer. It was cool to see the pizzas being made in the brick ovens near the bar area. Our server was also very attentive and our food came out super quickly.
Lastly, the craft draft list is awesome. We ordered two different beers from Voodoo Brewery, one of our favorites. I don’t know if I’d order pizza from here again because it’s too greasy for me. Again, that’s just my personal preference. I would come again, however, for the Roasted Roots salad and the beer if I happened to be in the area.

Pizza Proper has BAD customer service. Never got to actually eat. Arrived at 5:45, was told it would be an hour wait. Bought a drink at the bar, stood next to TWO empty tables of 8 that were «reserved» for a party at 7:30. After an hour and a half, we decided to give up and leave. When we asked to speak to a manager to let them know why we were leaving, the hostess was very rude, and the manager was even worse. I would NOT recommend the restaurant.

I’m in love with this place! The food, atmosphere and service are always on point.
The candy bacon is absolutely amazing and a must to start with and any pizza you choose will be delicious. The last time I went I had the autumn sangria and it was a delight!
While it is a small place it’s warm and cozy inside. I like sitting at the bar in the front near the fire where they cook the pizzas. It’s cool to watch them make the pizza and tossing it around.
The service has always been great. Everyone’s always been pleasant and cheery which really helps make your dining experience great.
We’ve been here several times and have always enjoyed our meal.

I’ve been to Proper twice now and must say that I don’t know if I’ll ever go without ordering an appetizer of the candy bacon. Really — candied bacon? How can you NOT order it?
This place gets a little busy and I don’t think they take reservations. I can tell you that you definitely won’t get seated without your entire party present. So get everyone together before you go inside!
This is a small restaurant that is on the cozy side. There is a row of tables with an aisle and then the bar on the other side. This creates an issue if you’re on the outside of your table — wait staff and patrons are going to continue to walk behind you so you have to really pull your chair in. I get easily annoyed and distracted by that, but I’m a high anxiety type of person so it might not bother other people.
I am a big fan of the bianca pizza. It’s fresh, has a great thin crust, and while light, it is filling.
Nice wine list and some cool novelty type mixed drinks.
This is a nice place for dinner before a show.

I just went there the other night for dinner. The décor of the restaurant is awesome. I really loved the light fixtures. The size of the restaurant is very small. There is limited seating for dinner but there must be about twenty seats around the bar.
Our party started with their signature Proper Snack — Bacon Candy. The bacon used is smoked and cured in-​house. The Bacon Candy was really good. It has a brown sugar glaze and black pepper crust. This gave the pork belly an initial sweet taste with a kick. I have never had bacon prepared that way. For my entrée, I got the Forest pizza. The Forest comes with caramelized wild mushrooms, roasted shallot, balsamic reduction, fresh thyme and fontina. It was a really good pizza. Proper Brick Oven and Tap Room cooks their pizzas in an 800 degree oven. They serve their pizzas as soon as their come out. My only complaint is the crust. When I think of brick oven pizza, I really want a nice crispy crust. I think the thickness of the crust prevents the pizza from getting a really crispy crust.
Overall, I great place to eat in downtown Pittsburgh. Their drink menu is also very extensive. Unfortunately I did not sample any of the beers, but they seem to have a lot of local beers on tap. I would love to come back and try a few flights.

Really cool place to eat in the cultural district with a great ambiance.
In my opinion, the drink prices are significantly more than they should be.
Food wise, five stars for the taste. Three for portion size. We had the pepperoni snack, house salad and chicken caprese sandwich. All were delicious.
Service was excellent once we got a server.
I’ll come back.

Todd was the best waiter and so sociable! The food was so good, the best pizza I’ve had. Awesome atmosphere and people and food.

Visited last Friday with a group of ladies. Had a wonderful time. The wait staff was wonderful and attentive. Enjoyed seeing Snowbound Hard Cider on tap. Had the bacon candy app and the chips and dip. Chips and dip was better as the dip is amazing. Bacon candy I would prefer it crisper but that is just a personal preference. As a special they had a sweet potato bisque that was to die for. For the last week I have been scouring the Internet trying to find a recipe that might be half as good. If this place was closer I would go multiple times a day for this soup.
Pizza and pasta was divine but please order the soup!

I may have a new favorite place to eat downtown! I actually stopped in here twice in one night (yes, really) last week. The first time my friends and I had made dinner reservations, but due to a mix-​up on what time our theater show started that night we didn’t have time to eat much. So we returned after the show to sample more of the menu, because at that point, why not?
Both times we visited, the staff were excellent and considerate. They definitely wanted to make sure we made our show. Despite the place being jam packed, they took the time to make sure our food made it to our tables quickly They even brought our checks super early so we wouldn’t have to wait on them later. So really, before even tasting the food, I was falling in love with the place, just because of the staff.
But oh my, the food! On round one here I ordered the Spinach-​Ricotta Dumplings and an arsenal cider. Um, can you say yum? Because, yum. I woul have eaten and entire bowl of those tasty tasty dumplings! But I didn’t, and as a result, I had room for Brown butter scallops later that night. These are a current special which came with orzo rice, spinach, and a citrus-​based sauce. I added a Pittsburgh Mule cocktail to my meal, and I proceeded to eat myself into the happiest state I’ve been in for quite a while. These scallops were great. I can’t think of a dish or experience I could even compare it to. The saying «explosion of flavor» is a pretty apt description — every bite was heavenly! The Mule cocktail was admittedly mostly water by the time I finished it — there was a LOT of ice in there… but it certainly wasn’t a huge deal, and I didn’t care, because oh my gosh delicious scallops!
I 100% want to come back here. Actually, I need to come back, because there’s a buckeye tart on their dessert menu that I did not get to sample last week. So watch out, Proper Brick Oven & Tap Room — as soon as the holiday rush dies down and I stand a chance at getting a table, you’ll see me again! And I’ll be raving about you in the meantime!

Ambiance, great service and fresh home made pizza ingredients?! Yes please, I think I will! This place was a gem of a find and I thank my fellow Unilocal’ers for leading me here! What a treat in Downtown Pittsburgh while visiting my in-​laws for Thanksgiving!
The brick and industrial, soft lit atmosphere is exactly what my hubby and I were looking for to watch the Penguins hockey game!
I started with their specialty drink menu, some sort of awesome apple cider, followed by their pepperoni pignotta appetizer, a MUST have.
I know people rave about the candy bacon but we passed and ordered it on our pizza instead, delicious! We also had a house salad and the white balsamic dressing was fantastic! We splurged and had dessert, it was the perfect ending to a wonderful dinner! We got the Oreo Peanut Butter brownie, perfect for sharing and a perfect way to end the night! I highly recommend and would definitely return!

Bacon candy for the win! We got here right as a show started so it was decently slow. Our server (Kyle) was pretty amazing. Our food came out quick and the taste was far past expectations. I expected that the non pizza menu might be subpar but I could not have been more suprised. The ravioli was really fantastic. The portions were large but not overwhelming. Overall a great experience and I’ll absolutely recommend dining here.
Again — BACON CANDY!!!

Stopped last night before a show at the O’Reilly. Had the Bianca and Margherita pizzas and of course the bacon candy. This is a must.
I love the atmosphere here and our service was impeccable.

Hmm… not sure how to rate this place. I want to love this place, but the food made it hard for me to say I’ll be back. The ambiance is great. You walk in and see a wood burning oven where they make the pizza, so it’s very cozy. I went with a group for lunch on a Saturday with no reservations and we got seated fairly quickly. (4 stars)
Unfortunately, the food was a sub par. We got two pizzas, one pesto and one forest (mushrooms). Those were pretty tasty, but the crust was a bit soggy. I usually like my thin crust pizzas to be crispier. (3 stars) We also ordered two lamb rollatinis and one crab pasta to share. They were part of the specials menu. The presentation was nice, but the lamb had too much chewy (and crunchy) cartilage in the meat. I found myself wanting to (sorry this is gross) spit it out. The risotto that it sat on was undercooked and slightly crunchy. The crab pasta was meh. It definitely could have been more dynamic. I was in good company, so I had a good time, but I don’t think I’d go back for the food. (2 stars)

Solid pizza joint off The Strip! Like all the places that I visited during my trip, the server was friendly and unpretentious. :)
I had the Forest (w/​caramelized onions, $ 17) pizza that I shared and we still had leftovers after that. Thin-​ish crust.
What really stood out was the Spicy Mojito ($ 11) made with local rum from Maggie’s Farm distillery. Had a really distinctive, bold flavour and was a PROPER drink, not watered down.
Wouldn’t hesitate to visit again!

I’m glad I decided to give Proper another chance. The first time I was there was two years ago, and I think they’ve worked out the kinks.
I arrived at 4:30 with plans to meet friends for an early dinner. I was able to get a table without a reservation at this time on a Saturday.
They have an extensive beer, wine and cocktail list, and I chose to have a glass of the 2011 Gen 5 Zinfandel from Lodi. Top notch.
The waitress, Kali, was very attentive and pleasant. She revisited to give us time to make our decisions.
We started with the antipasto as an appetizer. It came with duck, sopressata, buffalo mozz drizzled with a balsamic glaze and basil. There were also pickled veggies and a really good bread-​like side that complemented everything. Also unique was the lemon ricotta spread.
All of our dinners were excellent. I had the lamb special, while my friends enjoyed the carnivore pizza and the funghi pasta.
Wonderful experience and we will be back!

The pizza was fantastic! Don’t let the outside of the building fool you, it’s really cool inside! Sweet vibe and awesome décor. The service was friendly, and the cocktail and beer selection is vast.
The pizza does come out quick since they pop those suckers in the brick oven right away, so don’t be afraid to let them know to pace it out. Take your time!
We ordered the margarita pizza with bacon — delicious!

I’ve eaten almost too much pizza in my life for it to be enjoyable… but places like this bring me back around.
Atmosphere: very nice, well-​designed interior. If you want, you can sit at the bar, watch the pizzas get made, and see them bake in the 800 degree oven! I was worried about it being hot, but it’s really not at all.
Service: our server was so lovely. She always had a smile and was ready to chat. Plus, she came back at very appropriate times to check on us. I feel like at least three different people asked how our food was, so they’re clearly pretty attentive to any potential problems.
Food: YES. AMAZING. Maybe I’m a little biased because I got to see my pizza baby go from dough ball to full-​grown meal, but I thoroughly enjoyed what I got. Between the two of us, we had an order of bacon candy, a tacchino sandwich, a carnivore pizza, and a forest pizza. All were great. Try not to get addicted to the bacon candy.
Can’t wait to be back, and maybe we’ll try some dessert next time too! :)

If you haven’t had Proper yet, just drop whatever you are doing and go. Now.
One of my coworkers goes here frequently so I’ve been hearing about it for a while. I finally stopped in last night with a couple of friends for a late dinner. We were only inside for a moment (since we wanted to sit out front and enjoy the nice evening) – but the smell in there! It was like the most glorious scent of pizza and smoked meats. Do they make that in candle form? Because they should. Next time I will sit inside as it looked very cozy and the ambiance was nice.
I started with the Black Pepper Paloma, a tequila-​based cocktail with black peppercorn simple syrup, grapefruit and lime juice, and served with a salt and pepper-​rimmed glass. Amazing! I loved the contrast between the sweet fruit juices and the spiciness of the pepper. The salt and pepper rim was a nice touch and enhanced the flavor even further. I’d get this again for sure.
My friend ordered the Pepperoni Pagnotta as a starter, and it was a hit. This thing is tough to describe accurately – but imagine a three-​inch tall dome of pepperoni, fontina, and the most delicious bread. The top half was basically hollow, which resulted in the «roof» of the dome to be nice and crispy. The lower part (housing the meat and cheese) was soft and packed with flavor. The little bread dome of perfection also came with a zesty marinara for dipping. Wonderful!
I had the Soppresatta pizza, a generous-​sized pie with salami, roasted shallot, arugula, garlic spread, olive oil, and fontina. (Fontina seemed to be the theme of my meal?). You can’t beat a brick oven pizza and this was no exception. The crust was amazing… soft inside and perfectly crispy on the outside. The flavors of the toppings went together nicely; there was nothing to dislike about this pizza. At $ 17, the pie was big enough that I have plenty left over for lunch today – not a bad deal at all!
I definitely recommend this as yet another great downtown spot for dinner and drinks!

How do you properly review a place that has close to 200 reviews without sounding redundant? Go with your gut. No, honestly, go with your gut. The food speaks for itself here.
I stopped in with my friend for lunch and left with more than enough to cover my dinner later in the day. We both took our time looking over the menus before we were firm in our decisions. There is a food menu and a drink menu, make sure to look over both as to not waste any time when the server stops back.
When our server arrived we both had our order ready. I decided that the pesto pizza was exactly what I needed at that point in my day. To say that this is fresh is a huge understatement and does not do it justice one bit. Fresh dough topped with house made mozzarella cheese, EVOO, nice chunks of tomatoes, caramelized onions, and some of the best pesto I have ever tasted. And coming from that brick oven made that pizza just that much better. Each bite did a dance in my mouth, the flavors were so amazing that I was half tempted to eat it all in that sitting. But I refrained knowing that later that day I would be able to come back to my leftovers and be mighty happy.
The beers on tap are quite extensive and switch up often. Something to keep you coming back here.

It’s a slow work day so why not review the place that i just had for lunch? :)
Bobby & i have probably had lunch at every place possible downtown. We wanted something different. He brought up «the place near the eye ball park» and i knew he meant Proper Brick Oven since we have been meaning to try it out.
We had about 30 minutes of my lunch left and i wasn’t sure if it would leave us enough time, but it worked out great. We ordered drinks and then ordered our meal as they were delivered. We went with the Pesto which is described on the menu as: ‘oven-​roasted Roma tomato, caramelized onion, basil pesto, house-​cured bacon, house mozzarella, grated Pecorino-​Romano & garlic oil’. Honestly, it was one of the best pizzas i have tasted. I’m not a «pizza person» & don’t go searching for the city’s #1, but i was very satisfied with this one. Every topping was very flavorful and tasty. Oh, another plus– the pizza came out in aboutt (or less than) than 10 minutes. Also, Bobby gave two thumbs up on his long island & the list of beer on tap was amazing!
Service was great as well as the ambiance. As tasty as the pizza was, i wish the toppings were spread out a little more evenly. Some slices were full of bacon while others didnt seem to have 2 pieces & other slices didnt seem to have any of those delicious tomatoes. Again this isn’t a huge deal for how tasty the pizza was, it just would have just been better to experience the whole pizza on every slice.