Café Phipps — Restaurant in Pittsburgh

I have eaten there many . . times over the years. Sadly there has seen a steady decline in what used to be one of the top Cafes in the city. It was even ranked so by Food and Wine Today's lunch was not an exception to the downward trend. The menu selections were slim and didn't appear to follow any theme. In years gone by the offerings were often created to go with the tropical forest theme on exhibit. There was no such pairing today Before ordering we asked two times about the ingredients of some of the items. One person behind the counter was honest enough to admit that he didn't have any idea about what was in the soup and couldn't describe the Mediterranean platter either. Finally, the cashier,who was very pleasant told us the curry soup was mostly a brothy soup with chicken and some veggies.We weren't sold on that offerings description. I settled on a portobella sandwich. Underwhelmingly small and served on a dry wheat bun. It was with shredded cabbage served Dry with a drop of a dressing that didn't get mixed in to the "slaw". The other side dish was fresh fruit,also disappointing as some pieces were overripe and others not ripe at all. When I finish and was still quite hungry, I opted for a small bag of pretzels. The price was $2.14! I asked who was in charge and was told Sodexo was the contracted operator of the Cafe. I was very disappointed as you can probably assertain from this post. I am only complaining because I wasn't it to get better.I want to go back to the Cafe at Phipps and I want the Cafe at Phipps to return to it's former greatness. Phipps Conservatory is the best attraction in the city. Please do what is necessary to...

Our party of four ate a late lunch at the cafe on Sunday 8/21. I ordered and was told that the item I ordered was not available. They said they go to a half menu in the afternoon. I never saw this information of the cafe website. I would have ordered ahead had I known that. I believe the young woman was making this up as she went. It would have been better to just say she was sorry, but the item was out. I ended up with the Caesar salad w/ roasted kale. I make a better Caesar salad than that. lots of romain, a bit of kale, and a so-so dressing. She could have just not pushed the salad, but told me briefly what wasn't available. I'd look at the menu listing again, with that in mind. This is a cafe that has won awards?? maybe they are having trouble getting skilled help since the pandemic, but if I were to eat at this cafe again, I'd order ahead. two other members of our party also had the caesar salad. I think they might have been happier with it than I was. The only man in our party got what he ordered. He said they scraped the bottom of the pot for it. All told not up to past standards for...

In short, the stuff here is not very good. The green tea tasted like an IPA and we might have a few ideas why. A staff member claimed the tea was brewed through one of their coffee machines, so perhaps some leftover burnt grounds made it through into the tea? The tea also seemed like it had been sitting out for a few hours, so perhaps it was starting to turn foul as well. We also got a pretzel and it was tough and lacking in flavor. It wasn't the worst pretzel I've ever had, but between the green tea IPA and it, I felt like this was all a "we have biergarten food at...