Monterey Bay Fish Grotto

05/20/2008 Posted by pitt24

I LOVE this place-- everytime I want a romantic night out in the city, I take a ride up the Duquesne Incline and eat at Monterey Bay. The view is amazing, the menu and wine selection is impressive, and the food is delicious, especially the crab cakes, which are not fried and are the best I've ever tasted. It is a little pricey, but definitely worth it-- they fly their fish in fresh daily. Love it for special occasions, big groups, and romantic nights. You definitely need a reservation and if you're late, expect to wait to be seated for a looong time, especially on the weekends.

Pros: fresh fish, crabcakes, view

Cons: price

02/26/2008 Posted by lovethemchefs

Went here once it was bad. Went again it was still bad. Over rated-Food, ediable, but not excellent & nor extroidnary , especially for the high end prices. Sloooooooooooooow service even if their not busy, professional, but toward the not so friendly side! Atmosphere is about the only thing that it has going for them. A lot of other places downtown that are better!

Pros: atmosphere-Mt. Washington view

Cons: FODD & SERVICE BASICALLY BAD

02/26/2008 Posted by whodat2

My wife and I had a wonderful evening from the service to the food to the view. My wife loves salmon and when they told her they typically serve it more on the medium to I think medium rare side she went to well done which is more her speed and loved it. She had the teriyaki style. I had the Swordfish parmesan it could not have been better. Very rich but delicious. I travel a decent bit and found the prices pretty reasonable for a high end restaurant. Another couple was also with us and one of them had the Ahi Tuna served rare. I tried a bite of the Ahi which was just as good as a great piece of sushi (if you like sushi). I’m not a desert fan but did taste my wife’s cheesecake (can’t remember what kind) and it was very good. Dinner took a while, a couple of hours but we enjoyed the evening out.

02/13/2008 Posted by tkh1957

Went there on a weekend night with a client. It was pretty bare so you thought we'd get good service and food. Boy, was I wrong! We all ordered lobster bisque and we all sent it back. It was strong tasting. One of the guys said his salmon was raw and sent it back. The waiter said that's the way they prepare salmon here. I call it bait! My fish was just so-so...nothing to write home about. The prices were outrageous. Yea...you pay for the view! I will never go back there!

01/12/2008 Posted by advet

After the nice reviews here, and elsewhere, we decided to try Monterey Bay and see the view from Mt. Washington. The view was, indeed, very nice on a colder, clear January night. We came early, since the window views are "first-come, first-serve." Even at 5:06, the best tables were already taken, but we had a nice view of the sunset. Our waitress was good, although better service can definitely be found elsewhere in Pittsburgh. We ordered a seafood combo for an appetizer, which was delicious. My swordfish special was tasty, but nothing special. My husband ordered black cod, which was well-prepared and delicate, but better food can easily be had around town. Considering the bill for the two of us (with one of the cheapest bottles of wine on the list) came to $140, we think you can find much better food for less elsewhere. In short: great view, good service, good (but not great) food, too expensive.

Pros: Great view, good service

Cons: Too expensive

10/16/2007 Posted by natsmacks

Obviously, this place has great reviews so we were in Pittsburgh and had to try it. Our experience was not at all what we thought it would be. The view is beautiful, for sure, and we had a window seat to enjoy it. That was fantastic. We had a appetizer on the specials menu which was wonderful... prawns stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped in bacon... amazing. We upgraded to the lobster salad and we found it to be just... ok... and rather overpriced for what you get. On top of it, our entrees came out about 5 mins after our salads so we were rushing to eat the salad before our entrees got cold. Our entrees were just mediocre. I had tuna that was cooked well but just completely bland... a big slab of tuna with no seasoning at all. My boyfriend had shark that was just, again... eh, ok. Our server felt bad about our entrees coming out so fast so she offered to buy us dessert... which honestly, we weren't planning on having... but since that was the only thing they were offering us we took it and shared the creme brulee. It was delicious. I would recommend going for the view but our bill for dinner, without alcohol, was over $100 for 2 of us and I really just felt the food was... eh, ok. You can spend much less and have fantastic good elsewhere.

Pros: Beautiful view

Cons: Food is way over priced and bland

04/25/2007 Posted by dailendarkhan

This restaurant is now located by the Monroeville Mall. My wife and I decided to give it a try because we had heard from friends that it was a good experience and the food delicious. The food was good, not great and the service was excellent! We did not enjoy the atmosphere at all though. We were seated in a corner booth which was not private at all. We experienced high traffic all around us. Our lasting memory of the place was good bread but horrible atmosphere for the price you pay to treat yourself. If we had a better seat that might have changed our first impression but the atmosphere felt rushed and made our dining experience less enjoyable. We have not been back since.

03/10/2007 Posted by adbajorek

I took my fiancee here the night we were engaged. I didn't pop the question at the restaurant, but I easily could have! What a classy place and amazing wait staff! The views are excellent as well. However, the absolute best part of the MBFG is the amazing crab cakes...they are a MUST have!!! I highly reccomend! Oh, and free dessert to celebrate our special night! (Thanks MBFG!)

Pros: INCREDIBLE crab cakes, great service, very generous (gave us free dessert for special night)

Cons: Price can be slightly high, kind of noisy, but not intolerable

11/26/2006 Posted by jforrest1

Great food, great service, great view! I highly recommend this place for the best dining experience in town!

11/10/2006 Posted by lgsmith

Monterey bay has great food and good service (but not top noch). my fish/seafood is always well prepared. Their wine list is pretty good. Traditional decor. Get the crab cakes.

Pros: Best crab cakes in the city, view

Cons: expensive, could use some updated menu items