Monterey Bay Fish Grotto

03/15/09

not so hot

by psenevir at Citysearch

put all the glitz and glamor and this is place just boils down to an overpriced restaurant that serves average tasting food. the view from the restaurant is nice but I would not consider the dining experience romantic.

• Pros: the view from inside the restaurant
• Cons: expensive and average tasting food

06/20/09

Food, view and service excellent - watch out for valet

by PatnKim at Citysearch

We have dined here a few times. We find the service impeccable, and the food has been great every time we have been here. Often, we will just have hors d'oeuvres in the lounge and enjoy the view. However, we have seen valet at times be quite aggressive with the vehicles, and are often less than patient. We did complain, and the manager was very apologetic and advised it would be handled. I was very impressed with how this manager, Tom Mielo, handled the situation. Hopefully future such issues will not occur. All and all, the food is excellent, the service is great, and the view is unbeatable. If they reign in their valet staff, it will be a completely well-rounded affair.

• Pros: Excellent food, excellent ambiance
• Cons: I live here, I've seen how valet operates these vehicles

02/24/09

Never Disappointed

by KODY400 at Citysearch

I have dined here many times and I have never had a bad experience. We always have great service and the food never disappoints. Even if you aren't able to sit by a window, there truly isn't a bad seat in the house. Definately get the crab cakes even if it's for an appetizer.

02/09/09

Great food, a great view, and poor service await you at this restaurant on Mt. Washington.

by neuroyates at Citysearch

Great food, a great view, and poor service await you at this restaurant on Mt. Washington. We started our meal at 8PM and didn't finish until after midnight, having to wait an hour between courses. There was very little attention during the gaps. As the evening grew later, it was clear that the staff was much more interested in preparing for the next day than catering to their diners. We eventually even had to ask the hostess to find our server to get the check. This place could be truly great if the service were better.

• Pros: Great food and a great view
• Cons: Poor service

05/20/08

Best crabcakes!

by pitt24 at Citysearch

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

02/26/08

Definately OVER RATED EVERYTHING

by lovethemchefs at Citysearch

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

02/26/08

Enjoyable Evening Out

by whodat2 at Citysearch

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.

02/13/08

You're paying for the view!

by tkh1957 at Citysearch

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!

01/12/08

Fresh Fish, NIce View, That's About It

by advet at Citysearch

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

10/16/07

The view is beautiful... the food is blah

by natsmacks at Citysearch

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