Altius — Restaurant in Pittsburgh

Strap in for a long review! I have so many good things to say!! My husband and I went to Altius for an early anniversary celebration and I was truly blown away with how wonderful everything was. The valet was $9 if you paid cash and he was kind and quick! When he brought our vehicle back at the end of our dinner, he had turned on both our seat heaters and the steering wheel heat (it was below freezing outside and this was much appreciated!). We were a little early for our reservation but only waited a few minutes for a table. The hostess was very sweet and she checked our coats for us. We were seated on the second floor right by the window and the views were amazing! I know everyone says to go to Monterey Bay for views, and I’ve been there and it is wonderful, the food and staff are great, but if you want views, Altius is unbeatable. Our waiter was amazing and despite my husband and I clearly having no idea what we wanted, he was able to steer us in the right direction multiple times. As for the food, delicious! We started with the complimentary buffalo blue cheese popcorn and it was so good! I could have eaten it all night, and I don’t like buffalo or blue cheese! We were offered still or sparkling water and chose sparkling because we like to fancy ourselves as German haha. For our starter, we had a focaccia with a Dijon mustard butter and a tomato tarragon sauce. I wanted a jar of that tarragon sauce to take home with me, it was that good!! We followed that with burrata cheese with sliced baguette and once again, I was blown away, it was fantastic. While we struggled to pick a wine, our waiter made a suggestion based on the entrees we were ordering and it was divine (and not the most expensive either, which I always appreciate). For mains, my husband had one of the off menu special, the seared ahi tuna with mashed potatoes and fried oysters. He very much enjoyed his meal and how light it was. We both agreed I chose the better of the meals though, with the Chilean sea bass. It was rich and decadent and paired with a chorizo chowder and chanterelle mushrooms. It was some of the best food I’ve ever had. Truly. But I will warn you, it was a very rich and heavy meal. For desert, I had a coffee (which is from La Prima Espresso in Pittsburgh, one of my favorite coffee places) and we ordered the sticky figgy pudding with goat cheese ice cream and whipped ricotta. It sounded delicious, especially because we enjoy all the components on their own generally. However, it was not my favorite, though I can see how others would absolutely love it, as it was extremely well done and it all paired wonderfully together. When our waiter asked how we liked it, we weren’t rude but just said we didn’t prefer it and didn’t end up finishing it, which we were fine with because we also got little chocolate tarts for our anniversary after our meal. He was so kind and not only took the figgy pudding off our check, but he also brought us brownie bites to take home with us as an apology for us not liking our own desert choice. After all this was said and done, our bill, with a fairly generous tip, came to around $330, which was so much less than I was expecting! One last thing to note is that the bathrooms were immaculately clean.

TL;DR Altius was amazing. The food and views were unbelievably good and every single person we interacted with was beyond kind and helpful. The prices weren’t nearly as hefty as I was expecting based on other reviews, coming to around $340 total for two people including tip and valet. Cannot...

Genuine review, not to be disrespectful to the restaurant. In my opinion it was all OKAY.

Pros: The view was awesome, we went on a foggy night so it was kind of like being in the clouds on a plane, but then it would clear up and the view was right there! Very cool, I’m actually happy it was ‘imperfect’. The staff were professional which is hard to find nowadays, so I appreciate that. And they made sure to accommodate my food allergy in all of the items including deserts, drinks and entrees without my having to repeat and I felt safe eating there! My favorite dish last night was the Steak Tartare, definitely top 2 I’ve ever had it was surprisingly delicious and complex. Very good espresso. Nice having the desert bites offered through the night

That being said, we were seated on the 1st floor and it felt almost claustrophobic. We were seated between two other couples which didn’t feel very private/intimate and we had to move past each other to get up.

And I will also say I am disappointed in the food. I have eaten at many fine dining places in NYC and abroad , and I could tell that the ingredients of Altius were of good quality, however flavors were lacking. My boyfriend ordered the NY Strip steak medium-rare and it was so tough. We make these steaks at home together all the time, and that is his favorite cut. But the steak he was served was tough & bland. the side potato was OK.

I got the vegan mushroom dish and it had a good flavor! The red cornmeal felt weird on the plate though & I didn’t exactly appreciate the dish coming in a parchment paper bag?? Is that the traditional way to eat this because I was not aware haha. For the establishment, I would’ve liked my food on a plate instead of a paper bag but maybe I missed something.

If this was a lounge or sky-high bar place, the rating probably would’ve been 4 or 5 stars because of the ambience and professionalism. The food was really not worth the visit quite frankly.

The entrees ruined the “dinner” aspect, but I liked my appetizer, espresso and the little treats. But for the price, I can get espresso appetizers and baked goods elsewhere.

If you are going, enjoy the view!!! But I would not expect...

Context: Date Night

TL;DR - Atmosphere, Service, and Menu felt uninspired, clunky, and out of touch. Is fine dining in the room with us?

Partner and I had high hopes and expectations for Altius that unfortunately were not met.

The vibe inside the restaurant is cold and corporate. White walls, white seats, no music. The view overlooking the city is pretty & was the only thing holding the atmosphere together.

The popcorn and amuse bouche need to go. Salmon mousse in a tiny crunchy ice cream cone is a crazy move after spicy dill pickle popcorn. This really took me out of the fine dining headspace.

We were recommended the Heron Crab Toast app & it just didn't hit as hard as we wanted. It was just alright.

The staff seemed to be a little clunky albiet very kind. They came back to ask our food allergies after we ordered even though we don't have any, luckily. There were times where it felt the servers weren't communicating & there was confusion with who was taking care of our table.

The menu itself left a lot to be desired. I feel the chef de cuisine is literally lost in the sauce - almost every dish is meat on top of saucy grains like rice or pasta. Very little variation and felt lacking in creativity. The culinary scene in Pittsburgh is ramping up and this menu doesn't seem hold a candle to comparable restaurants in the city.

The staff also got confused about the menu as my partner ordered the sea bass entree off the menu, but it was taken down as the 'Featured entree' which was different but was also a sea bass dish (?). I had the chicken and orzo which wasn't bad, but truly the atmosphere and serving experience had me ready to go.

We got the Spring Tease to go - it was good but was super sweet. They also give little brownie bite in a paper bag to go. Brownie bite in a paper bag? Is fine dining in the room with us?

I dont normally leave super long reviews like this but I just wanted to get this out there in the case someone is trying to drop $$$$ on a nice dinner. This is not the place if you're trying to impress.

Hoping the restaurant team sees this as well because I'm rooting for them...