Last month I began the neighborhood series on cafes around Pittsburgh and focused specifically on the Shadyside area. For this month, I will be featuring cafes in Squirrel Hill. Here are some of my favorites:

Dobra Tea (1937 Murray Ave)

Window seat at Dobra tea – nice succulents and ample sunlight makes for a comforting environment

As what its name says, Dobra Tea specializes in tea. With nearly 100 different types of tea from around the world, it’s sure to be a tea heaven for any tea lovers out there. At the corner of Murray Ave and Beacon St, the shop inside gets ample sunshine from the outside. With its ornate tea utensils and simplistic furniture, Dobra Tea is an extremely popular place for students and working professionals alike. It is a particularly popular place for CMU students. Whether it’s studying or hanging out with friends, it’s always nice to take a step back from our hectic lives and sip some tea.

Cafe 33 – Taiwanese bistro (1711 Shady Ave)

Another non-traditional cafe, Cafe 33 is a Taiwanese-style bistro serving authentic Taiwanese dishes and bubble tea. Right behind the Starbucks at the intersection of Forbes and Shady, the building Cafe 33 is located in what now used to be a laundromat. As a result, situated towards the end of the “Main street” area of Forbes, Cafe 33 is right in the Squirrel Hill suburban neighborhood. Inside, the decor is simple but chic with the savory aroma of Taiwanese cuisine. Some of its hottest dishes range from the traditional Taiwanese “small eats” xiaochi consisting of scallion pancakes, potstickers, mini soup dumplings to the more exotic dishes of “smelly crispy bean curd” (otherwise known as the infamous stinky tofu common in Taiwan). While Cafe 33 is not a cafe in the traditional sense, it is a good place to go for a weekend meal with friends and family.

Commonplace Coffeehouse (5827 Forbes Ave)

Taken with permission from Instagram (@renamoo)

Finally, this is one of the more traditional cafes serving different types of coffee and tea. What is unique about Commonplace Coffeehouse (yes, despite its name it is quite an ‘uncommon’ coffeehouse xD) is that it offers a variety of different flavors for coffee. Flavors range from the more typical vanilla or pumpkin spice to the more exotic of cinnamon, dark or white chocolate. With a homey warm feel, it gives off the vibes as the ideal place to be on a rainy day, sipping on cup of coffee. The cafe is almost always full, with students and working adults alike tending to their businesses.

Sample of some food served at Cafe 33. (Taken from Google Images)