While most visitors will stay downtown, which is home to entertainment venues Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts and the Benedum Theater as well as nightlife at Con Alma and The Warren, the riverfront here is slowly developing with bike trails, walking paths, and other amenities.

If Club Cafe is a bar with a stage attached, then we can keep that theme going with Con Alma– a restaurant with stage attached!. In fact, Con Alma has two restaurants in Pittsburgh- one in the Cultural District downtown (serving a traditional food menu) and one in Shadyside (serving a vegan food menu), each serving up delicious food and incredible live jazz. While you may visit other venues in this guide because an act you like is in town at a specific location, Con Alma is the kind of place you should simply check the music calendar, make a reservation, and show up regardless of who the band is.

Con Alma co-owner Aimee Marshall took a glass half-full approach to the pandemic, using restrictions as a chance to experiment at the Latin fusion restaurant’s Downtown location. “We used to change four times a year, for the seasons, but once we went to paper menus for COVID times, we took that as an, ‘Oh, now we can really experiment with food more.’” The menu changes frequently, and so do the cocktail offerings. As Downtown’s older sibling shifted (it’s now all-vegetarian) and thrived in Shadyside, the younger (but bigger) version was born in June.

With sister locations in Shadyside and downtown, this sultry music club—whose name translates as “with soul”—stages live jazz multiple nights per week (plus a weekend jazz brunch downtown), starring local musicians, clever drinks and titillating small plates, such as yucca poutine and Peruvian ceviche. Find your groove in a riff on the side car (cognac, fig-infused rum, orange liqueur, lemon) or a seasonal quaff like the Soul Sauce (black pepper whiskey, cranberry, cardamom, lemon, ginger liqueur). Driving or teetotaling?

Nearly every night of the week, you can enjoy global flavors and sounds at Con Alma, meaning “with soul.” Their seasonal menu is perfect for sharing and has a bunch of options for vegetarians. (I’m still thinking about the Korean fried tofu and brussels!) Catch regular jam sessions with sax player Tony Campell, jazz and R&B fusion from “Tempo Noir,” and melodies from vocalists like Erika Denae J. Mark your calendar for City of Asylum’s annual Jazz Poetry Month celebration in May. (Francesca Dabecco / City Cast Pittsburgh)

With booths, bistro tables, and live jazz music every night, you might be forgiven for thinking this speakeasy-style locale is only about the soulful tunes—but Con Alma also serves up an outstanding mix of Mexican, South American, and Caribbean food. Get started with the mango guacamole, which pairs perfectly well with the jerk chicken tacos or mint ceviche. Or, go for the classic Jamaican dinner, complete with beef patty, macaroni pie, and sweet plantains.

Enter the doorway off busy Penn Avenue into Con Alma and you’ll have the sense of passing into another world where prohibition-style cocktails and live jazz music set the mood. The same attention to detail that went into creating Con Alma’s speakeasy atmosphere is applied to its well-curated menu. Vegan and gluten-free options can be found among the menu of soul-inspired dishes available in the evenings as well as during Sunday brunch.

Con Alma is a restaurant and jazz bar i nspired by the rich heritage of jazz in Pittsburgh. Con Alma, which means “with soul,” seeks to return jazz to its rightful place at the forefront of the local music scene while providing patrons with some of the best food and drinks the city has to offer. Con Alma showcases current Pittsburgh musicians, with live jazz seven nights a week including their Latin Jazz Sundays.

The lights are low, the candles are lit on the bistro tables and jazz is wafting through the air. With an eclectic menu at Con Alma's location Downtown, there’s a variety of dishes to choose from, including New Orleans favorites like chicken and waffles and jambalaya, as well as drunken noodles and lechon asada. Cuddle up at a bistro table and enjoy some premium music after your Cultural District show.

This week, Esquire Magazine named Pittsburgh’s Con Alma one of its 27 Best Bars in America. It’s just the fourth bar in Pittsburgh to make the list since it was created in 2005 — Dee’s Cafe was honored on a long list in 2006 and, in 2017, Spirit and Gooski’s were two of 24 named that year (Pittsburgh joined New York and Chicago as the only city with multiple mentions that year).

If atmosphere is what you’re looking for then Con Alma’s jazz bar and restaurant is the place to be for Valentine’s Day. This year, the innovative kitchen will be bringing back some of Con Alma’s classics for Valentine’s week. Look forward to original cocktails like the Backstage Valentine and Clover Club as well as new ones that’ll bring a bit of love into your life.

If none of those nights suit you, Con Alma hosts jazz concerts of impeccable quality most days of the week. Wallace’s Whiskey Room + Kitchen in the East Liberty Hotel Indigo serves up jazz most weekends–Thursday, too. And if your tastes run a bit weirder, City of Asylum consistently brings heavy-hitting jazzers from New York and all over the world.

conalmapgh.com Con Alma Downtown will host a special menu on Wed., Oct. 20. The local favorite (and winner of numerous. 2021 Best Of awards) hopes to create an immersive experience that celebrates the flavors of Puerto Rico, with cuisine from chef Joss Ross, local wine from Engine House 25, and music by Geña Musica.

Catch a live jazz performance at Con Alma, a swanky venue with great music and a killer cocktail menu. If you’re feeling more classical, have an late dinner after an evening at Heinz Hall for a night with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Nothing says romance like a sweeping symphony performance.

Con Alma is a restaurant and jazz bar inspired by the rich heritage of jazz in Pittsburgh. Con Alma, which means “with soul,” seeks to return jazz to its rightful place at the forefront of the local music scene while providing patrons with some of the best food and drinks the city has to offer.

One of the swankiest Pittsburgh restaurants is Con Alma, which translates to "with soul." Soul is exactly what you'll find here. It's located in the historic cultural district and showcases incredible jazz artists alongside sensational Latin-inspired dishes and exceptional cocktails.

Nestled in Pittsburgh's vibrant dining scene, Con Alma stands out as one of the top Pittsburgh restaurants, known for its fusion of Latin and jazz influences. Hosting live music performances, this Pittsburgh restaurant is the go-to spot for a luxurious meal and some smooth jazz.

Con Alma is a lively jazz club with a menu that travels the world. The cuisine is largely inspired by a fusion of many cuisines resulting in a burst of flavors and deliciousness!. It is one of Pittsburgh’s most lively places.

John Shannon’s 2021 expansion, now the only Con Alma downtown, is a venue that is hard to beat. Music 7 nights a week with a weekly jam session. Touring musicians and acts of all calibers come through.

This summer, you can delight in eclectic dishes and live jazz when Shadyside-based Con Alma brings its hip aesthetic to the former Bravo Franco space in Downtown’s Cultural District.

A former Shadyside night spot, Con Alma Restaurant and Jazz Bar has been spicing up the Cultural District since 2021.