# @pittsburghpg on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DVeyYunCRyZ
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/58414507-pittsburghpg-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/4d67fc640b.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-03-04T23:31:47.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (@pittsburghpg) — https://gondola.cc/pittsburghpg

## Caption

Four dudes from Greensburg opened what they imagined would be a charming, European-style wine bar in an old firehouse in the Strip District on New Year’s Eve 2011. They envisioned a space offering elegant pours, delicious small plates and lean-forward service.

The vision was there, but the wine list was — well, they had one — and the food was good but not earth-shattering.

This was during the ascent of the craft cocktail era in Pittsburgh, and the crew’s talent for stirring a sturdy Negroni ran significantly deeper than their knowledge of “The World Atlas of Wine” or the nuances of a seasoned kitchen. The staff was enthusiastic but young, and the partners at the time didn’t have the pedigree to back up their original ambition.

So they pivoted into something more of-the-moment that reflected their experience.

Fourteen years and many iterations later, that spot — Bar Marco (barmarcopgh) — ranks among Pittsburgh’s finest dining destinations. It features a menu of seasonal Italian delights, house-made pastas, still-noteworthy cocktails and a wine list that, for a decade, has demonstrated someone did their homework. (In this case, many people.) Service, always at the forefront, remains exemplary.

Across the Allegheny River in Etna, Justin Steel — the final member of the four to stick with the hospitality industry — is finally doing what he envisioned more than a decade ago. At Senza (senzapgh), a new spot he runs with his wife, Caitlin, and Neil Dudash, that original dream is finally taking shape.

Read more at the link in our bio.

📝: halbklein/Post-Gazette
📸: Sebastian Foltz/Post-Gazette

#pittsburgh #pghfood #pgheats

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## Tags

pgheats, pghfood, pittsburgh

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