28 North Gastropub

Even if it reminds me of my drunken college years at the Boardwalk (which previously was here) where my singular goal was getting as drunk as possible, the new 28 North has really done a great job reinventing itself. This is easily, EASILY the best poutine in Erie… like mouth-​watering fantasy-​inducing good. The service was excellent.
We’ve been a few times and they have consistently given us excellent, unique food in the Erie scene.
Their beer selection includes tons of local breweries on draft.
This is a must-​visit place for all Erie residents.

We decided to try this «newer» place while downtown to go to the comedy club.
While walking in I noticed the red and blue tile work outside the front door and then remembered that a long time ago (30 years+) the Greyhound bus terminal was located here. Upon entering, we were greeted and shown to our table. Our server, Aryan, quickly greeted us and brought bottles of water for us. They have a large menu of specialty cocktails and craft beers. I selected a Darkhorse Creek Trail IPA, which was great.
The menu leans towards lighter fare, apps and sandwiches. However, we found and tried a couple entrees: chicken & waffles, and the Surf & Turf kabobs. Both were surprising good and satisfying!
There is a large nightclub in back, separated by glass doors. Not sure if it is part of this place.
Definitely worth a visit.

Koreena, was great! Suggested a really good Chicken Po boy sandwich, served me an awesome IPA, and she is cute as hell! Keep her happy.
I would come back for the food anytime!

Trying hard to be a gastropub. However average. Same draft list 2 months since last time. Pizza undercooked. Out of BLT tartine.

We came here this past Saturday night before a scheduled comedienne was performing at the comedy club nearby. Walking in, it reminded me of Grit and Grace or Butcher in the Rye, two of my favorite Pittsburgh haunts. I like the light fixtures they were very «on trend» with current upscale décor. The first thing I noticed however was what appeared to be a nightclub of some sort towards the back of the restaurant. Yes, there were doors separating the restaurant from this club, however, it’s just very odd. For example, the strobe and psychadelic lights in the club could easily be seen in the restaurant and both were a little more than distracting. Also, the identity of this establishment is rather unclear-​are they trying to attract a more upscale clientele, which would appear to be the case if you are just considering the restaurant, or are they trying to be a player in the college bar scene? In my opinion you cannot do both so I’m really interested to see in what direction 85 North tries to take their identity, but I digress… Anyways, another thing evident upon walking in is the fact there is no host/​hostess, however, the staff was attentive enough and we had 3 separate individuals ask us if we had been helped yet when they were setting up our table.
Our female server, I want to say her name was Alessandra, was quick to come over and pour our waters, served in mason jars with the bottle left on the table for your own refills, which is a touch I am more and more appreciating when I dine out. After scanning the drink menu, even though we had just come form a (very) mini wine country self tour, I could not pass up the delicious sounding white berry martini! As our server had mentioned all of the cocktails are made with locally grown or made ingredients, including the simple syrups used in the cocktails. The fresh blueberries in the bottom of my martini were a nice touch! It was delicious, hands down one of the best martinis I have ever consumed! My date had the vanilla martini which he enjoyed, and I can confirm it too was just as nicely made and pleasingly tasting as mine! Their menu reminds me of the menus at Meat and Potatoes and Butcher in the Rye in Pittsburgh-​pot roast poutine, fried candied bacon bites, various specialty personal pizzas, upscale burgers and sandwiches, along with a few entrée sized meals. The focus seems to be on the appetizers for sharing and the personal pizzas. Both my date and I ordered the same thing, which normally I don’t care to do so I can taste my dining partner’s food as well, however this item jumped out at me and I just HAD to have it– the ham toastie ham /​swiss cheese /​dijonaise /​fried egg /​toasted flat. This was a steal at $ 8 compared to the $ 12+ this would have cost in Pittsburgh! The sandwiches come with chips but we were both «chipped out» from veggie chips we had along our wine tour so we went with the shoestring fries. Our food did take a very, very long time to come out, however, we were both enjoying our conversation and personally, I hardly noticed it was taking forever except for the fact our server stopped by the table multiple times to apologize for the wait on the food. The toastie hit the spot! Crispy cooked ham, gooey melted cheese, all topped with a fried egg (which was served on top of the sandwich)-how could you go wrong with any of that?! My only «complaint» would be a very minor one which I’m sure I could have easily remedied if I would have asked-​the fries were cold. The sandwich was very filling though and I barely touched my fries more for that reason. Several other items looked really tasty and interesting so I’ll be sure to update this review once I get to sample some additional menu items.