Grand Concourse Restaurant 

In downtown Pittsburgh, along the Monongahela River, the Grand Concourse restaurant at Station Square delivers a seafood-inspired menu paired with the award-winning ambiance of a former train depot. 

Constructed in 1901, the opulent Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Station was built in Victorian and Edwardian styles with a show-stopping stained-glass cathedral roof and brass, mahogany and marble features throughout. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. 

Chartered in 1873, the rail line began operating routes between Pittsburgh and Youngstown in 1877. Just a couple of years later, the P&LE opened for commercial traffic, when it gained the nickname the “Little Giant,” due to the sheer amount of freight it towed. At its prime, the depot served as a bustling eastern U.S. transportation hub. 

As rail travel declined, the station shuttered. In the late 1970s, restaurateur Chuck Muer purchased the building and transformed it into the lasting Pittsburgh culinary destination it is today. 

Food lovers and those who like to pop the bubbly for celebratory affairs (it’s a popular wedding venue) flock to Grand Concourse for the seafood-forward specialties of Chef Michael Spargal. Favorites include a Mediterranean-style fish chowder, cedar-planked salmon, firecracker shrimp, several catches of the day, steaks, and more. 

The restaurant also offers an award-winning Sunday brunch, plus happy hour and after-hours menus. The adjacent Gandy Dancer saloon, named after the term used to describe railroad working crew members, offers appetizers, bar bites, spirits, and cocktails in a historic setting.