A 17-ingredient salad. A truffle-laced take on Spaghettios. A dinner that sends a professional chef home wondering how on earth the kitchen did it.
Chefs can be a tough crowd to cook for. When a meal keeps one guessing, or a restaurateur declares a salad his favorite dish in Pittsburgh, we want to know where they’re eating.
With Michelin’s first Great Lakes selections set to be announced on April 21, 2027, we asked local chefs and restaurateurs which Pittsburgh restaurants they believe deserve a star, and why. They talked about technique, consistency and hospitality, but also about food that tells a chef’s story, a vegetable that steals the show and flavors that keep even seasoned cooks curious.
These are Pittsburgh chef’s personal picks, backed by memorable meals in someone else’s kitchen. Michelin will make its own calls, of course.
Kristin Butterworth’s picks: Personal stories, distinctive plates
Chef Kristin Butterworth of Cork & Crust at The Oaklander Hotel says that Lilith, Titusz and Palm Palm belong on Michelin’s radar because their chefs bring something personal to the table. “They’re incorporating their stories into the food,” she says.
Butterworth points to Palm Palm’s truffle Spaghettios, served with Parmesan cream, black garlic and shaved black truffle, as an example of the playful cooking she loves. “They’re having a lot of fun with it,” she says of the restaurant at the border of Shadyside and East Liberty. “People really enjoy that.”
Truffle Spaghettios, featuring parmesan cream, black garlic and shaved black truffle. Photo by Aakanksha Agarwal.
At Titusz in Lawrenceville, her enthusiasm centers on chef Csilla Thackray’s commitment to her Austrian and Hungarian heritage. “Passionate and true to her roots,” Butterworth says. She praises the pastas, roasted duck and sausages, describing cooking that follows Thackray’s own tastes and traditions. Although she hasn’t visited in a while, she says the food always leaves a strong impression on her. “You’re not going to find what she’s doing anywhere else,” she says.
Lilith, the Shadyside restaurant from Jamilka Borges and Dianne DeStefano, offers another expression of that individuality. Butterworth remembers its pan sobao bread and a Japanese sweet potato dish topped with roe. “The sweet potato was the center of the plate, which was really, really awesome,” she says.
For Butterworth, the appeal is the chance to encounter something particular to each kitchen. “Jamilka is exposing people to ingredients, flavors and textures that they just wouldn’t normally be getting anywhere else in the city.”
Csilla Thackray’s pick: Duo’s Taqueria makes every detail count
Csilla Thackray has “always had a memorable meal at Duo’s Taqueria.” The Titusz chef admires the clarity of its vision and the care that carries from the kitchen to the dining room.
“It’s one of those restaurants I’m like, why aren’t we talking about this place even more than we already are?”
At the East Liberty restaurant, chef Marcella Ogrodnik’s menu takes inspiration from Mexico City, with tortillas made in-house from heirloom corn. Thackray singles out the tortillas, moles and desserts as reasons to return, along with a strong cocktail program.
Photo courtesy of Duo’s Taqueria.
What makes Duo’s a contender in Thackray’s eyes is how those elements come together. She praises Ogrodnik’s skill and the service team’s passion, describing a restaurant where the intention behind the experience is apparent.
“They’re running a tight ship,” she says. “And it’s clean. And it’s clear. And the vision is obvious.”
Casey Renée’s pick: Lilith brings Pittsburgh to the table
Pastry chef Casey Renée of Confections doesn’t hesitate when asked which Pittsburgh restaurant deserves a Michelin star. “I think that Lilith should and will.”
Renée says the Shadyside restaurant’s appeal starts with chef-owners DeStefano and Borges. “They consistently are doing interesting things, and everything they do is really exciting,” she says. She praises the food’s consistency and the fun atmosphere, calling the pair “two of the best chefs in Pittsburgh.”
Pierogies from Lilith in Shadyside. Photo courtesy of Lilith.
A visit with her mother last year left her remembering delicious lobster rolls and a pierogi that felt like “Puerto Rico meets Pittsburgh.” DeStefano’s pastry work makes an equally strong impression. “The desserts are just beautiful and delicious.”
Renée’s enthusiasm extends beyond the dining room. She sees Borges and DeStefano at fundraisers and events, bringing the same energy to the city’s food community that they bring to their restaurant. “They have so much joy with what they’re doing,” she says. “I’m rooting for them.”
Marcella Ogrodnik’s pick: Apteka keeps a fellow chef guessing
Marcella Ogrodnik knows her way around a kitchen. But a meal at Apteka can leave the Duo’s Taqueria chef wondering how, exactly, they pulled it off.
“How did they season this dish?” she says. “I can’t figure it out.”
That sense of discovery makes Bloomfield’s Apteka her favorite restaurant and her pick for Michelin recognition. She admires a kitchen that draws from Eastern European traditions while creating something deeply personal, with a clear vision running through the food.
“Apteka is brilliant, personal and endlessly creative,” Ogrodnik says. “It’s a restaurant with a voice and style entirely its own, transforming Eastern European traditions into something original and distinctly Pittsburgh.”
An Apteka dish from spring 2023. Photo by Jennifer Baron.
Ogrodnik thinks Apteka belongs among the country’s best, not just Pittsburgh’s. Put it in New York or Los Angeles, and its cooking would still stand out, she says. In Pittsburgh it keeps giving a fellow chef reasons to return and questions to take back to her own kitchen.
“Every time I eat there, I leave feeling like I have more to learn as a chef.”
Herky Pollock’s pick: Pusadee’s Garden, one surprising bite at a time
Property developer and restaurant owner Herky Pollock has plenty of menus to choose from, but his favorite dish in Pittsburgh is a salad.
Pollock makes Pusadee’s Garden’s case for Michelin recognition by citing a dish he calls “my favorite dish in the entire city of Pittsburgh”: its khao yum, a 17-ingredient salad with tamarind dressing.
“It’s a surprise in every bite,” says Pollock, a co-owner of Palm Palm and Ritual House. The pleasure is in how the ingredients come together, revealing different combinations and nuanced flavors as he works through the plate. “No two bites will be the same,” he says. “It’s a deliberately prepared creation.”
Pollock assesses restaurants on food, décor and hospitality, and the Lawrenceville eatery impresses him across all three. He praises the freshness of its cooking and the care in its preparation, alongside a beautiful setting that makes dining there an experience.
“It checks every box in my mind,” he says.