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| - Butterjoint has the space and atmosphere of a dive. Which is great, right? Well, in a word, no. Butterjoint is not the dive that you love but rather the dive that you never want to go back to. It has a reputation for making good cocktails, or so I've been told, and I can only imagine that reputation is used to mask a food menu that is uninspired in both design and execution. I have eaten here twice, once with friends and the other time with my girlfriend. I would not recommend this place to anyone.
Ambiance: See above, I know of hole-in-the-walls just south of Washington Square Park in New York that have more ambiance in the limited curb appeal than this cramped and hot space.
Service: The service was fantastic the first time I went but I accredit this to the fact that my friends knew the people that worked here. The second time, without that built-in relationship and rapport, my girlfriend and I were consistently ignored throughout the entire meal. We were not greeted at the door. We were not shown to a table. It took ten minutes before anyone noticed that no server was taking our table, during which time our soon-to-be waitress gave a great big bear hug to, wait for it, someone that she knew. No silverware was given with our meal. The list goes on. The bottom line is that quality of service is not measured by how you treat the regulars but how you perform on a consistent basis with any random customer. Butterjoint would do well to learn and observe this maxim.
Food: I've eaten better burgers at the chain restaurant Five Guys. The perogies might as well have been Mrs. Ts from the freezer. And the fries, I don't know how they tasted because they were cold and not worth even trying. Burgers are an everyman type of food that is genuinely hard to make bad. Butterjoint is impressive in that respect since it managed to do that very thing.
Price: Unreasonable cost for a burger that tastes like this. I'd rather go to Five Guys to save money and have a much better burger.
The reputation for good cocktails: I can't speak on it since I ordered a beer; not a cocktail. Given the aforementioned comments, I have to believe there are other trendy spots in Pittsburgh to quench my alcoholic thirst than this place.
In summary, if you're hungry look elsewhere. If you have a craving for a cocktail, I'm sure you can find a place that combines an inviting and comfortable ambiance with tasty concoctions.
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