TreeTops Restaurant — Restaurant in Mount Pleasant Township

This place is top-notch instagram material, no question. It’s a stunning, unique experience nestled in the gorgeous woodlands of the Laurel Highlands. It’s a must do simply for the beauty of the location and the very special experience of dining in one of their tree houses.

But the food was just so incredibly basic… or rather, uninspired. The ingredients were reasonably fresh and nothing was inedible, but for this price point we all really expected something more. The lunch options felt like grown up school field trip choices: chicken rice bowl, salmon rice bowl, veggie rice bowl… as part of a $65pp prix fixe lunch! The salmon was cooked adequately and served on a pile of rice and a spinach salad and dressed with a drizzle of balsamic glaze. The dressing from the salad filled the bottom of the bowl and turned the rice into a sort of oily sweet soup. Again, nothing terribly offensive but a very uninteresting meal with simple cheap ingredients one could easily source from the local shop n save - I love my pantry balsamic glaze, no shade there! My sister does not eat dairy so she requested dairy-free and although they verified her dietary restriction beforehand they opted to dump a handful of cheap, dry feta all over hers which she then had to pick off. My brother in law requested low sodium for health reasons and his rice tasted especially, ironically salty. As for the appetizers the bread was basic white bread like the kind you buy frozen and stick in the oven - again, no hate because that stuff is delicious but was hoping for something a little more interesting. The truffle butter was fun though! The ahi tuna and bright green seaweed salad app was also rather boring, again with a simple white bread crostini. The dessert was minuscule but tasty. They had no options for an aperitif or digestif and the wine list was frankly depressing - with so many fabulous somms and mixologists in the area there really is no excuse. They should consider taking notes from nearby Out of The Fire Cafe - lower price point, infinitely more flavor, and loads more creativity and passion shines through their menu of a comparable theme.

Two notes unrelated to food - they have a plastic mesh ramp leading up to the door that seems to be old enough to begin its degradation into brittleness, which resulted in the heel of my pump being consumed as it plummeted through one of the weakened mesh matrices. I had to dig the end of the heel out and try to force it back into the shoe and while I was on my knees attempting this emergency craft project I looked out over this sad tan-colored mesh and realized there were dozens of other holes, the size and shape exactly that of a women’s high heel, along the length. This is funny but also sad - one thing I love about fine dining is the feeling that every little detail has been considered and perfected to create a fabulous experience from start to finish, and Treetops simply does not offer that at this moment. One other example of this is the lack of warning that the tree houses are in fact the same temperature as the outside - they may look enclosed but there is little protection from wind and cold temperatures. The ladies in our party all had mid length dresses and were freezing - a note on the website or google maps description would be a big help!

Now for a final compliment - the staff was fabulously friendly and competent. They did their best to make us feel comfortable in spite of the cold and the...

Review for the tree houses/pods. The food is terrible. Pittsburghers have zero taste to be rating it highly. Sorry not sorry. Out of towners I know that have come here aren't impressed at all, coming from more culinary centric locations where cuisine is price according to food quality, attention to detail, and uniqueness.

I'm forced to come here twice a year. Each year I'm like meh towards the food while each year it gets more and more like they are phoning it in. Then I'm forced to lie to the staff so I don't ruin everyone's meal. Nod head while chewing, good. Yup. Like I'm some damn NPC. Walk to the bathroom, sneaking in a 'fine' as some random worker asks how was your meal, thinking I'm going to initiate a private conversation after dropping such a mediocre term for such a pricy "meal". Nope. Damn.

Well no more! I'm finally free of my chains. Everyone now agrees the food sucks. Over $400 for a couple. I can now use that on a week of groceries and make my own beef Wellington at the same time and still have money left over for pizza night and a tank of gas. I have a healthy income, so I can imagine how much this mediocre experience would burn younger me dating back in the day. If you are younger me, don't do it! It's trash. Run away!

Last trip here, wife's seafood was mostly rice,completely unseasoned and burned on one side uncooked the other. Appetizers were super meh. Steak was meh, and the mashed potatoes tasted like instant with zero seasoning. Wow filet with a ball of cafeteria potatoes. So impressive.

Manager stopped to ask how things are, and my normally shy and public appeasing wife said "not so good". When we tried to explain how scallops should be cooked she responded with "they are seared", with a tilt of her nose and a squint in her eye. We didn't bother explaining further. Well why didn't we tell our waitress they would have remade the food. The entire meal was terrible, we didn't get past the first item without obvious attitude. Body language is everything, and she was obviously not happy with our initial stance on our meal so why continue. But she took one of two drinks off our meal. Basically she threw a platitude at us and walked away in disbelief.

Construction materials lay around various areas while they work on a new cool pizza over bar thing. Kinda neat maybe for a lunch gathering. So there's the one star, for hope.

Elsewhere though they've left landscaping and other smaller things go year over year and it's adding up to make one question why. And I can attest that this lack of attention to detail is translated in poor food quality, selection and execution of the very purpose you are here, the food.

The pods are nice but made from stained 2x4s and other box store cheap materials. Your average person wont notice this but once you see it you'll appreciate the simplicity in materials to create such a cool dining platform while also being a bit let down. They are not tree houses , they are small covered deck platforms in the back of the normal house/ restaurant with the trees around. It's nice but definitely not a tree house as people explain it.

Anyway, hopefully I saved some people some money and from an evening of regret. If not then I guess I get to say I told you so. And if you enjoyed it and found it ok to spend that kind of money on this place then hey you do you.

All I can say is, I'm free at last. Hallelujah. Where's...

After reading many reviews, we were prepared for small portions and slow service as several reviewers had said that the restaurant was really about the ‘scenery’.

We were pleasantly surprised with the perfectly sized portions. We were full, but not stuffed ala American-oversized. We were started right away with cucumber water and a plate of two lovely rolls with compound butters. We each had a bowl of the cream of broccoli soup, with a bit of gorgonzola cheese. It was so good, it almost a spiritual event.

I had the wild-caught salmon, and my husband had the smoked trout with a sweet glaze. Both plates were served with an incredibly delicious cheesy risotto with truffle oil, three thick, al dente grilled asparagus spears and a fruit compote on the side. The salmon was cooked nicely, but the very center was a little under-done for my preference…although I know many people like salmon medium rare. I had a bite of my husband’s trout and I think I liked his better. He ate every bite.

For dessert, we got a chocolate mouse and a Crème Brule to share. Both were delightful. The mouse was light but generous and playful with chocolate chips and fresh raspberries on top. The crème Brule had a very thin, fine top—which allowed the custard to be the star of the show. Both were a perfect end to the meal. Our waitress was pleasant and prompt and we didn’t feel that they were understaffed at all. We each had a drink and our bill (before tip) was $120.00.

Ironically, we WERE a little disappointed with the ‘scenery’. We went in late March and the trees were bare. AND, it’s not really in the ‘tree tops’…the restaurant is actually the second story of the building where the architectural tours of the houses at Polymath Park get started. There were only two large windows in the main dining room where we sat, so only three tables truly enjoyed 'the view'.

The small private tree-house dining rooms are at ground level and raised up only about 2 feet by a wooden ramp/walkway (the photos posted by others make it look like it's in the Tree Tops).

We obeyed the ‘Business Casual attire’ warning. I would’ve been warmer and more comfortable in something I wouldn’t classify as Business Casual…and saw several other patrons wearing jeans with a pull-over hoodie. I would've skipped the hoodie, but wish I hadn't fussed so much over my clothes. So, be...