Thunderbird Cafe

It’s hard for me to write a bad review about this place as I love the bartenders but this place is really going downhill. Especially the food! I just wasted $ 10 on a steak wrap and fries. The wrap had gristly steak and lettuce with some kind of gross oil-​based dressing. The gross oily dressing mixed with the grease from the gristly steak and made a disgusting, drippy, greasy «pool» at the end of my wrap. It gushed out when I stabbed it with my fork. Really really bad and disgusting. I want to add that I asked for no fries in my wrap but there was literally nothing else in this wrap: lettuce, steak, dressing only. No onions, peppers, cheese, NOTHING!!! Freaking waste!!! I would’ve eaten better at Wendy’s. So disappointed.
The fries that I got on the side were dried up and tasteless. So glad I didn’t them in my wrap!!! I really would’ve been ticked off!!!
I honestly stopped coming here once they went to non-​smoking. I don’t like hanging out on the sidewalk in the cold just for a smoke. Not worth it, especially when there are a million other bars I can go to and smoke inside. When you drive by Thunderbird now, you see about 20 people hanging outside smoking.
Also, the bands are a real turn-​off. You never know when they are going to be there, and Thunderbird hits you with a freaking $ 20 cover charge! I just want a drink, I don’t care about the bands, yet they make you pay or force you elsewhere. I have never paid a cover here as I always choose to take my business down the street.
After the meal I got here tonight, I am officially done. Buh-​bye!

I filmed my first rock show here the other night. I can’t comment on the food or drinks since I didn’t have anything, but I love the place! Such character! There’s a fantastic backdrop for the stage that’s a painted mural of Lawrenceville. The staircase is pretty cool, and it’s slanted to one side which is even more awesome. And there’s the pool table of course. Super nice people everywhere. Great venue and atmosphere.

I came for the bands, but I left for my car radio. I played more music than was played in three hours at thunderbird on rockband on my ps4 within ten minutes. I will continue to use my Ibanez guitar at home in place of bands with two song setlists

Look, some people are not going to like this place. It gets crowded for shows. Deal with it. Are you acting like a dick? Well, the staff *will* call you out on it. It’s a neighborhood joint, with a very respectable draft list, and solid bar food. The menu changes from time to time, depending on who is in the kitchen. No matter what, it’s always tasty, filling, and done right, whether it’s tacos, or chicken and waffles. You want ferns? Go to Shadyside.
The staff doesn’t put up with idiots. Sorry if that means you had a bad time. That said, if you become a regular, know how to act, and actually bother to tip, you’ll be treated like royalty returning from exile when you show up. This is a little does of old-​school Lawrenceville. If you appreciate that sort of thing, it’s definitely worth your time to stop in.

Wow. What a disaster. Oversold SRO event. Couldn’t get up to see the band. They could do a lot better by increasing the price and lower the admittance.

Went here for the first time last night since a friend of mine has performed there and said I needed to check it out. It had a cool vibe, but the seating arrangement upstairs is terrible to watch a show. If you sit at the bar don’t expect to see much of anything with people blocking your view. Pretty diverse crowd which was nice. Overall it’s a nice change of scenery and I would check it out again.

The Thunderbird Café might be the worst venue for a show I’ve ever been to. The layout is completely wrong and doesn’t allow for more than a handful of people to actually watch the bands. As with any Pittsburgh bar, it’s long and narrow with the bar in front and stage in the rear. However, the stage is separated from the bar by another room with a pool table and access to the restrooms. You need to walk up a few stairs to get to the stage area and then another set of stairs to a loft that overlooks the stage. The area in front of the stage is small, but could accommodate chairs rather than SRO. The loft is incredibly small and only has about 8 tables.
We were an hour early for the show and the tables were already full. We sat at the bar near the front door and had to watch the show on CCTV. I could only hear about 70% of the music because of the bar noise. So, therefore, I paid to see a show only to get the same experience as those who paid nothing. I was incredibly aggravated and ended up leaving before the show ended. I had waited months for this band to come back to town and am disappointed in how the evening turned out.
To add insult to injury, this little dive bar feels no shame in charging $ 8 for a draft beer. Maybe they are fooling the hipster crowd, but I have no need to go back.

Server was rude and gave us attitude. Chandal was impatient and she made my family feel uncomfortable by her obvious physical remarks. Food was okay

Bartender Stin was awesome, A++++. Def. coming back again soon when she works. I think I’m gonna ask her out too!

Until recently the last time I had been here was about 10 years ago. I recall that they have some really talented acts coming through and that the Thunderbird was the beacon of Butler Street.
Now that Lawrencevile is seeing a revitalization (yay!!) it’s good to see that the Thunderbird is still a fixture.
We visited for a post-​family much needed nightcap in thanksgiving day. A few regulars were there but no bands performing. In all honesty I was surprised by the drink prices that are higher than some of my other favorites in the area. However, I would definitely return the next time I’m in the hood.

Cool local bar that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The hipsters were not particularly in evidence, just some Sunday night regulars. The beer selection is pretty rockin’, although my stout wasn’t that great.
There’s an Iron Man pinball machine, and an upstairs area I didn’t check out.
Would definitely come back if I’m in Pittsburgh again — would love to check out some live music.

Stopped here randomly on a Friday night with some friends. It was such a good, cool place. They had a funk band playing. A lot of really awesome people there, super easy to make friends and have a good time.
This is also where I met Tim, so it has that going for it… big time!

Ahh, where to start… this is a sad tale of an eh-​OK bar with a terrible menu that briefly experimented with something amazing; fancy tacos.
I used to do my laundry next door and one day while having a beer waiting for towels to dry, I noticed that their menu had changed. The food options went from boring old bar staples to fancy tex-​mex tacos and burritos (along with some great apps and sides). It went from mainly meat to veg friendly and even featured a vegan burrito (which was ah-​ma-​zing). For months I endured rain, cold and snow, douche bag bro dudes pre-​gaming before heading to Industry… all for those tacos.
Now they’re gone. Just like that. The cook took an offer somewhere else and apparently ditched his taco shtick for some god awful, vomit inducing, artery clogging pile of dump in a deep fryer (I’m assuming). So, they’ve reverted to the old menu of burnt bean burgers and soggy fries.
So, we’re back to the same old Thunderbird dive, full of cigarette smoke, old grubby drunks, bad food and mediocre bands.

Eh, hit or miss here. Seen some good shows and some not-​so-​good shows. The bluegrass shows are typically good. The crowd is hit-​or-​miss too. I’ve been here some nights where people couldn’t move because it was so packed, but I’ve also been around on Saturday nights where less than a dozen people are sitting at the bar. From what I remember, the cover at this place is usually pretty high– I’ve come up some nights, looked in, and just decided to go somewhere else on Butler. I’ll cross my fingers hoping that it’s a good night for anyone who decides to go.

I was at Thunderbird Café recently on a Saturday night for their Pit-​famous Grateful Dead cover band. I really did like the set-​up of the joint — a lower bar, a stage for live music in between, and then an upper balcony bar. It made for an inviting ambiance where everyone could see the musicians and the place felt larger than it really is.
The start of the night was pretty «dead» — we nearly had the balcony to ourselves (and our own bar, too) until about 11pm or midnight. Then the crowds started rolling in. I liked that there were people of all ages here — college kids to original Deadheads — and everyone seemed to peacefully dance together and get along.
The kitchen stayed open until 1:00am, which I appreciated, but the menu was pretty limited. I enjoyed a cucumber salad and tacos — but if you don’t like Mexican, you should eat elsewhere.
I’m not in a rush to return, but one of these days, I wouldn’t mind another visit.

One of my favorite small venues in town. They’re good supporters of local music, and the food and drinks are incredibly well-​priced. I wish the whole place was non-​smoking, but if you’re lucky, the upstairs might be set off that way due to the band’s preference. (Upstairs also has the better view of the bands.)
It’s a reliable, affordable night-​on-​the-​town spot where you can grab a bite, have some drinks, and hear some good music. And the clientele is generally very friendly!

This place is tiny. If this place were a dog, it would be one of those small yipping dog that doesn’t realize how tiny it is because they blast the music like they’re Consol Energy Center, featuring JT. And don’t go unless you’re over the age of 40 because that seems to be the trend. Actually that’s probably why the music is so loud… so all those elders can hear it!

Live Bluegrass and fine Bourbon? *Raises Hand*
I really like Thunderbirds, a lot. It’s not the best bar in the ‘Burgh, but it definitely has a niche and does well with it. I really enjoy the bands this place attracts and I feel they do a good job presenting them. Sitting on their balcony during a show is a load of fun because the sound is good, but you can still have a strained conversation and have fun with your pals.
Thunderbird also have a good variety of craft beers and I think they’re average priced. BUT certain music just goes better with Bourbon and Thunderbird does have the good Kentucky swill.
So, I challenge you to find a place in Pittsburgh where you can sit back, drink Basil Hayden’s, and listen to live Bluegrass or Irish Folk Rock.

Some definite problems as a venue. There is smoking in the bar up front, which creates problems for people who want to watch the shows. The building is long and narrow, and the shows can be extremely crowded, with most of the audience standing. Often difficult to see the stage. Yes, this place has a lot of charm, but they could do a lot to improve the space as a performance venue.

The Thunderbird is another one of those situations where I wish I could assign ½ stars. So for now, I’m going with 2.
I lived in the neighborhood for a number of years, so I’ve been quite a few drunken nights here. Somehow it seems easier to tolerate on a drunken night than on a «I’m just going to have a couple of drinks» night. My last visit was the weekend before Xmas to see some bluegrass. We got there early enough to get a seat in the balcony and it was freezing. I’m not talking just a little cold, I meant cold enough that I was still cold while wearing my down coat at the table. BRRRRR. I figured they knew they were going to draw a crowd and were anticipating the heat that would come with said crowd. Ok, whatever.
They definitely drew a crowd — when the bands started, it was impossible to move around at all in any area of the bar. People lining both sets of steps, packing the balcony, packing the area in front of the stage, packing the downstairs bar. It really made me wonder if they ever think about fire codes. I realize that makes me sound like an old stick in the mud, but come on people, it was crowded. And miserable to get up and move.
It’s also fairly overpriced — I ordered a couple of Stoli vodka sodas, and was blown away when my tab showed up. Definitely not worth the price of the drinks. And finally, only in PA, you can still smoke in here. That alone makes me want to stay away. I realize it’s legal, and they try to control it, but it’s been a long time since I’ve been in a bar where you can smoke, and guess what? It’s still miserable!