A minimalist bar with Eastern European influences Apteka is one of Pittsburgh’s great vegan restaurants -- it’s one of Pittsburgh’s great restaurants overall, in fact, and the bar program is equally essential. The bar’s small but mighty cocktail menu features libations made with a collection of housemade syrups and shrubs, and the deceptively simple drink descriptions (such as “Tequila, spruce, vermouth”) mask some truly complex flavor profiles. You’ll also find a list of Eastern European-heavy brews, plus house cordials and inventive non-alcoholic sodas.

Apteka, a vegan spot with a menu influenced by its owners’ eastern European and multi-generational Pittsburgh roots, has shined in the national spotlight for the past few years as an ambassador for what it means to dine in Pittsburgh in 2025. In Bloomfield, pop-up turned brick-and-mortar Fet-Fisk has also stepped into local and national acclaim for its Scandinavian-meets-Appalachian menu and convivial vibe.

Eastern European roots run deep in this town, and Apteka is carrying that torch with homey favorites, such as pierogi and stuffed cabbage. What’s game-changing about Kate Lasky and Tomasz Skowronski’s minimalist Bloomfield establishment (which made the 2022 New York Times list of the 50 best restaurants in America) is that the entire menu is vegan—and yet so flavorful that it could convert even the most die-hard carnivore. Together, the chefs have parlayed their foraging and fermentation skills into winsome dishes such as crispy celeriac schnitzel with beets and horseradish, spaetzle with mushrooms and carraway, apple pancakes with local conifer sugar, and a spellbinding tart-cherry crumb cake with sunflower ice cream.

It may come as a surprise to most people, considering that Pittsburgh often is saddled with a meat-and-potatoes reputation, but this vegan establishment arguably is most representative of what is special about Pittsburgh cuisine right now. Kate Lasky and Tomasz Skowronski opened Apteka in 2016, offering dishes such as the profoundly comforting kartofle z jogurtem migdałowym (boiled potatoes with lingonberry jam and nut-milk-based yogurt). They built a menu forged from Skowronski’s Polish roots — his parents moved to the United States when he was 3 — and Lasky’s sixth-generation Pittsburgh culinary lineage.

There's no better place to start off this list than Apteka in Bloomfield. Their entirely vegan menu is centered around Central and Eastern European cuisine including Pittsburgh-favorite pierogi dishes (available fried with sauerkraut and tomato as well as lentil and zucchini, or boiled stuffed with potato and cabbage), potato dumplings, stuffed peppers and schnitzel. Apteka has been a Pittsburgh favorite since opening in 2016, but has recently garnered national attention when the New York Times honored it as one of the 50 best restaurants in America in 2022.

Apteka offers a new all-vegan twist on the traditional Eastern European foods that are central to Pittsburgh’s cultural heritage. What started as a pop-up pierogi night in 2010 by Kate Lasky and Tomasz Skowronski has manifested itself in a brick and mortar location that opened this past February in Lawrenceville. Creative pierogi (like the ones filled with smoked potato, parsnips and turnip greens) are still the highlight, but other options include kanapki (Polish finger sandwiches), borscht, and several salad options.

On March 30, the prestigious New York-based James Beard Society named Kate Lasky and Tomasz Skowronski the chefs and co-owners of Bloomfield's Apteka as finalists for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (which includes Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia). Though Pittsburgh has had numerous other chefs make it to the semifinals, the duo were the first to make it to the finals, for their excellent Eastern European vegan fare in a historically meat and potatoes town.

Beloved for its vegan Polish eats, Apteka's specialty zakąski pickle plate and fried smażone pierogi turned heads at The New York Times, which named it one of its top 50 favorite restaurants in 2022. That's thanks to 2024 James Beard Awards semifinalists for best chef, Kate Lasky and Tomasz Skowronski, who started out as a pierogi pop-up, outliving most other vegan outposts in the city. You don't even need to be Polish to feel like you're eating the comforting dishes of your motherland.

These aren’t pierogies like your Grandma made… and that’s what makes them so good. Apteka’s Kate Lasky and Tomasz Skowronski earned their Pittsburgh dining stripes by running Pierogi Night Pop-ups, and now have an entire Bloomfield restaurant where they can serve a vegan menu with a focus on Central and Eastern European food (including their beloved pierogies). The pierogi menu changes regularly, but look for options like Smoked Cabbage & Potato and Sauerkraut & Mushroom.

In Bloomfield, Apteka offers vegan Slavic food that’s so good you won’t miss the meat or dairy (make sure to grab a bottle of natural wine from the adjoining shop, too). And in the Mexican War Streets neighborhood, enjoy farm-to-table Eastern European cuisine at 40 North, then browse City of Asylum, the bookstore next door, which hosts the largest residency program in the world for writers living in exile under threat of persecution.

Apteka was listed on the New York Times’s 2022 Restaurant List — go there for renowned Eastern European vegan plates. Bar Marco is an intimate spot in the Strip District for Italian-inspired dishes, and Everyday Noodles in Squirrel Hill is a Chinese noodle shop that prepares the food in front of a window for your viewing pleasure. These are only a few examples — the city is filled with dozens more eateries that are worthy of a visit.

Whether you come for the vegan food, the friendly atmosphere, or the out of this world pierogies, you won’t be disappointed by a visit to Apteka!. While their pierogies are well known as some of the best in Pittsburgh, they also offer a variety of tasty Eastern European food that’s meant to be shared among friends and family. Stop in and linger in their cozy dining room, or if the weather permits, have a meal outside on their patio.

aptekapgh.com Sandwiches can be made vegan too, and the Baba Jaga at Apteka in Bloomfield is the perfect example of not sacrificing flavor or texture when avoiding meat and cheese. In-house, naturally leavened light rye bread surrounds baked buckwheat/vegetable paté, pickled beets, smoked onion remoulade, pickled cucumber, dill, Apteka’s house mustard, and onion. It's filling, with contrasting sour, smokey, and herby notes.

aptekapgh.com Sandwiches can be made vegan too, and the Baba Jaga at Apteka in Bloomfield is the perfect example of not sacrificing flavor or texture when avoiding meat and cheese. In-house, naturally leavened light rye bread surrounds baked buckwheat/vegetable paté, pickled beets, smoked onion remoulade, pickled cucumber, dill, Apteka’s house mustard, and onion. It’s filling, with contrasting sour, smokey, and herby notes.

This classy, minimalist, Eastern European restaurant and bar is fully vegan, so you plant-based guests need only worry about which extraordinary cocktails to order!. Similar to a small cafe, at Apteka you order at the bar and the servers bring all the goodies to you. Try to find a spot on the outdoor patio to soak up some sun and the great scenery while sipping a fresh, cool koktajile (cocktail in Polish).

4606 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, 15224Phone: 412-251-0189 Visit Website. Located off Penn Avenue, between the Lawrenceville and Bloomfield neighborhoods, and across from the Allegheny Cemetery, APTEKA serves excellent Eastern and Central European food. The restaurant also doubles as a bottle shop for wine sales, while its dining services are open on Friday and weekends and incorporates cafe-style ordering.

Located deep in Bloomfield, this late-night vegan hangout is a pure vibe. You walk into a very chic and atmospheric environment with dim lighting that is ideal for a date night with your boo thing. The food palette itself is inspired by Central or Eastern Europe consisting of eggplant sandwiches, pierogies stuffed with sauerkraut and mushrooms, and an outside seating area for those cool summer nights.

We’ve had the pleasure of experiencing this venue on both a date night and on a night out with friends. With its lively atmosphere and delicious vegan versions of Central and Eastern European cuisine, come here for a meal of light tapas or for a full night exploring the whole menu with your party in this beautiful, dim-lit dining room. Highlights: Boczniaki Z Kapusta, Kluski Slaskie.

This 2023 James Beard finalist is one of the crown jewels of the Pittsburgh culinary scene––and for good reason. The all-vegan Eastern European-inspired menu has magic written all over it, from inventive plant-based schnitzel to delectable pierogies filled with sunchokes … but the potato salad with cucumber pickles, fried onions, and dill is the best-kept secret on the menu.

Apteka is run by Chefs Kate Lasky and Tomasz Skowronski, both of whom were up for a regional “best chef” in the 2023 James Beard Awards (via Pittsburgh Magazine). This wonderful eatery in the Bloomfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh serves a European-inspired vegan menu. Everything is plant-based, and they also have many gluten-free substitutions for guests who need them.

If you’re looking for a unique vegan dining experience in Pittsburgh, Apteka is the perfect spot. This Eastern European-inspired restaurant offers traditional dishes with a plant-based twist. From the pierogies filled with mushrooms and sauerkraut to the mushroom-stuffed cabbage roll, Apteka’s menu is full of authentic flavors that are sure to satisfy any craving.

If you’re in the mood for something vegan, Apteka is a must-visit. This Polish-inspired restaurant serves plant-based dishes that are so delicious, even the most dedicated carnivores won’t miss the meat. Try their Pierogi, which are stuffed with savory fillings like mushroom and sauerkraut, and you’ll understand why Apteka is a favorite among Pittsburgh foodies.

There are pierogi festivals, pierogi food trucks, and even pierogi mascots who race midgame at Pirates baseball games. During a pierogi tour, a Wall Street Journal writer recently profiled Apteka. This new all-vegan restaurant, which opened after a successful “Pierogi Night” community pop-up dinner series, is the place in Pittsburgh to get your pierogi fix.

APTEKA is a European-style restaurant with an entirely vegan menu. The pierogi flavors change regulary but you can always count on the chefs at APTEKA to create something mouthwatering. Popular flavors include the Letnie Pierogi stuffed with sauerkraut, tomato, smoked and carrot or Pierogi z Ziemniakami stuffed with potato, cabbage, and caramelized onions.

Originating from monthly pop-up pierogi nights in Pittsburgh’s East End, Apteka is one of Pittsburgh’s newest, but most impressive, pierogi restaurants. Inside you’ll find a celebrated Central and Eastern European menu that centres on the pierogis that made it famous. Plus, Apteka is fully vegan, so everyone can enjoy this culinary delight.

Apteka is a Polish, Central and Eastern European cuisine-focused restaurant. If you are vegan, this is the best restaurant to dine in because it is a vegetable restaurant, and everything is vegan. On the menu, you’ll find dishes such as kanapki, Silesian potato dumplings, mushrooms, celeriac, stewed and spiced cabbage and more.

Greeted with an unassuming interior and cafe style ordering, this Bloomfield favorite is decidedly laid back about… well, pretty much everything. Except for the quality of their food, clearly. Named Pittsburgh’s best new restaurant in 2017, Apteka is a spot for serious foodies and pierogi-loving wanderers alike.

In January, Bootsaba Tongdee from Pusadee's Garden in Upper Lawrenceville and Kate Lasky and Tomasz Skowronski from Apteka in Bloomfield were named semifinalists for the 2024 James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Mid-Atlantic region.

This Eastern European restaurant and bar is an all-vegetable restaurant that offers vegan Pittsburghers fresh ingredients and a variety of options to choose from. Apteka is also home to Pittsburgh’s first natural wine shop.

Their most popular menu items are potato dumplings, stuffed peppers, and schnizwd. They provide a comfortable outdoor seating area. Great to visit if you are looking: Their seating arrangement is airy.

4606 Penn AvePittsburgh, PA 15224(412) 251-0189 Visit Website Open in Google Maps. APTEKA is a small, family-owned restaurant serving a small menu of European-style vegan dishes since 2016.

If you've read enough of our site, then you likely are aware of how much we love Apteka– a spot we often consider to be our very favorite restaurant in the entire city.

- Rating: 4.4/5 (457 reviews)- Price level: $$- Address: 4606 Penn Ave. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Categories: Vegan, Bars, Modern European- Read more on Yelp