Harold’s Haunt in Millvale (newer, queer, witchy and nerdy bar), Necromancer Brewing (1/2 staff and brewers are queer), Brillobox in Garfield (not explicitly a queer bar but good vibes), Blue Moon (gay bar that trends more cis male but has become more diverse these days).

My experience at Hot Mass was… okay. The music and vibes were good, but we went to a drag show that was supposed to start at midnight and by 1:30 they still hadn’t started… my tired ass had to go home to bed. So plan to have a late, late night if you go.

Doughbar was overpriced, medicore pizza.

I feel like there's two markets for pizza: 1) old fashioned, reliable, tasty and cheap 2) gourmet, high quality, expensive. Doughbar didn't do either, and with the amount of options for pizza in PGH? There was no demand.

I (non-vegan) went with some family last year. When I looked at the menu, I only saw a few things that looked like they would normally appeal to me. However, everyone wanted to just order a bunch of stuff and split/share. I tried a ton of things I didn't even know the names or ingredients of (it was outside after dark and the ambiance made it hard to see) but everything, literally, everything was absolutely delicious. If you go, try to put any reservations aside and just try everything and anything.

Love Masala House!

Just ate there for the first time two weeks ago. It was absolutely delicious! Wish their starter trays were a little more robust, but other than that, it was really, really good. Super expensive but the food is pretty much all locally sourced.

Love to grab food from the truck when they're at Trace! Never had a bad meal from them and they're really sweet folks.

Hi! 31F, queer, I've lived in PGH off and on since 2011, and I spent 2020-2022 living in Bloomfield. It's a great neighborhood for what you're looking for. It's certainly not perfect, and experienced a nearly across the board rent hike over the pandemic, but if you can afford it, I would live either in Bloomfield, Friendship, Garfield, or maybe even into Highland Park/Morningside. Also, for reference, when I talk about Pittsburgh in the below comments, I'm referring to inside the triangle (the part of the city that's enclosed by the rivers). There's stuff to do elsewhere, but this part of Pittsburgh is the part that will be immediately accessible via bike.

Trace Brewing is a one of the few loudly LGBTQ+ spaces in the city, and it's located in Bloomfield. The employees are wonderful humans, and they hold a huge variety of cool events throughout the week. DJs, art shows, open mics, roller skate nights -- you name it. They also do coffee in the morning which is a huge plus and great reason to swing by on the way to/before work. Then, you can grab a beer there after work!

There's also a ton of breweries within a 5 mile radius of Bloomfield. Two Frays, Hop Farm, Cinderlands Foederhouse, Coven, Eleventh Hour, East End. If you're biking, you can cross 40th Street to Strange Roots, or the Highland Park bridge to Dancing Gnome and Hitchhiker. There's also a lot of beer/tap bars that serve local brews in the area, like Urban Tap and Bierport. If you like cocktails, Tina's is impeccable -- classic, quality cocktails that aren't outrageously expensive. Kelly's is good too, and Bar Botanico for more experimental, bougie drinks.

Pittsburgh has a couple of LGBTQ+ bars, though we lost some over the pandemic. Blue Moon, 5801, and P-Town are the big ones that still remain. Blue Moon is smallish but probably the most diverse of the bunch, and has karaoke every Friday and multiple drag/open stage shows a week. 5801 is more cis white male-ish, but they have surprisingly good food and darts, so they're good for a happy hour vibe (Blue Moon is more of late night spot). P-Town is kind of dive-y and has an older clientele most of the time, but they host Jellyfish usually once a month, which is a DJ group that spins euro-disco for a predominantly queer crowd. The outdoor space in the summer is crowded, but fun if you like dancing. Brewer's is also LGBTQ+ but I've never personally been there, so I can't vouch for the vibe.

I can't speak to hiking, but Pittsburgh has extensive bike trails, and is generally super accessible via bike. I will say that people are not always the nicest to bikers, but I think that's a lot of major cities. You will get a hell of a workout here though, due to the hills. Check out the Three Rivers trail map: https://friendsoftheriverfront.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2020-Three-Rivers-Heritage-Trail-Map-and-Guide.pdf

White Whale is one of the few independent book stores in the city and I always find something new or offbeat there. They have popular books as well as more culty and niche books, and overall have a super queer vibe. They also do coffee now! East Liberty, which is adjacent to Bloomfield, has a branch of the Carnegie Library, which is the main Pittsburgh library system. There's branches in nearby Lawrenceville, Oakland, and Squirrel Hill as well.

Hope some of this helps! If you are looking for queer friends in the city, hmu when you get here!