Monterey Bay Fish Grotto — Restaurant in Pittsburgh

Arrived at 4:35 had reservations. Told the people it was a special occasion and the first time at the restaurant. What the people at this restaurant don’t know, special occasion for us was the first night out since I have had 2 surgical procedures so getting around is pretty tough and it was my wife’s birthday. Arrived to an empty restaurant because they were just opening. I asked if we could be seated by the window so we could enjoy the views of the city. The assigned us a table and walk us past all the tables with beautiful views and put us at the table the farthest from the entry to the worst table in the place in a corner. My view was watching to older people swim in the roof top pool and a view of the local neighborhood. Next, they forget about us, we sit for 15 minutes before the girl that pours water sees us and comes over to fill our water. She tells us she will find someone. Server comes and apologizes blah blah blah I’m sorry the usual when someone drops the ball. Let’s talk about the food: sourdough bread with chive butter they give you while you wait was to die for. It was so original only issue was as we were eating it the server was cleaning the crumbs off our table, who does that? Shrimp cocktail was the starter, once again amazing shrimp. Wife ordered the filet I ordered the NY Strip. The sides are family style which is nice. We got the potatoes and asparagus. Potatoes were cold but very good and the asparagus was crunchy and stringy, needed cooked more. During the whole meal the never ending cleaning of our table went on. It was so annoying. You clean the table after the customer has left. My wife and I were trying to speak to each other, it was just annoying. All we had on our table was a few empty sweetener packets and a few sourdough crumbs. Steaks were cooked fine just the presentation of the steaks was a zero. Just a steak in the middle of a big empty plate was just odd. I know the sides are separate but put some garnish on the plate. The quality of the steaks was above average. My medium rare was served rare and I had to send it back. When I got my steak back it was burnt on the outside but done correctly now on the inside. On to dessert, the raspberry angel food grilled cheese is the reason I’ll come back. It was one of the best and original deserts I have ever had. Food came out in a timely matter. Overall dissatisfied, at a restaurant of this caliber there should be no mistakes. I blame management for not training. No excuse for the bad view on a completely empty restaurant when we we seated, no excuse for cold and under cooked vegetables. I hope the restaurant actually reads the reviews. The supporting wait staff was very good. I wish a portion of our tip would have gone to them. I don’t know I would come back. What the restaurant needs to understand is people are traveling from a distance and putting up with traffic to arrive at their location. The valet staff is fantastic. This place should run as close to perfect as possible and if you can’t, shut down, train, regroup and do it all over again until you get it right. May be we got put in the corner because you could see my white compression socks that are required because of my procedure that I was wearing with my suit pants. I noticed they sat a person with purple hair next to us as we were Finishing our meal. I guess they put the people who don’t fit their perfect mold in the back of the restaurant. First photo is the view we could have had and the second and third photos are the view I got. Had to post a photo of the positive highlight of the evening. The angel...

Would leave 10 out of 5 stars if I could! My fiancé and I had our wedding shower in the Monterey Bay Incline Room on Labor Day weekend. The whole planning process and the actual event itself were nothing short of perfect. Angelina Watson, the private events coordinator, is an absolute joy to work with. We had never planned anything like a shower before so we were a bit nervous, but Angelina instantly quelled our worries with her professionalism, organization, and warm personality. She designed the perfect floor plan for us and our guests, which provided great ambiance for mingling and dining comfortably. She paid attention to every detail, was incredibly thorough and patient with our questions, and made the whole planning completely stress free and fun. Joe Gavin, the host, was so helpful and friendly the day of our event. He checked in with us before we even got to the venue to ensure us everything was good to go and even helped us carry our decorations into the room! He personally saw to it that all our guests found our room okay, even with the swamped holiday weekend dinner rush. The service was nothing short of phenomenal. Our waiters treated us like royalty and absolutely spoiled us for our special night. They were so fast and on top of everything, all while being so friendly and personable. They made amazing recommendations for the food and drinks. And of course the food was nothing short of heavenly. Nothing brings people together quite like a good meal, and the Monterey Bay kitchen has that down to an art. We specifically wanted to book with Monterey Bay for the high quality and creativity of the food, and they knocked it out of the park as usual. The freshness and harmony of all the ingredients just melts in your mouth. The tastes you’ll experience at this restaurant are ones you’ll be thinking about and yearning for for months. I can’t recommend this place enough, especially for events. To say we love this restaurant is a massive understatement. If you’re looking for a dream event venue, exceptional service, beauty and class, and food that is a luxurious indulgence for the mind, body, and soul get yourself in touch with Monterey Bay. You’ll be so...

Very nice place with a great view of Pittsburgh. Food was decent as well as service. However not really up to the quality this place purports to be, nor what I anticipated. It was a casual evening outing for us and given that I had to drive home we opted for a moderate priced glass of wine. We spent over $200 excluding tip, for 2. Dish compositions were poorly explained by server, order was obviously not properly noted and then all food including salad, main course and shareable sides, showed up at once on the table, except one main course was missing, but then was brought up very quickly. Ended up sending back the salad at this point. I would expect a place of this caliber to clearly understand food service order. That is inexcusable to me. In addition we were never served bread nor was it even mentioned, even though it was clearly brought to the tables next to us. In a French or any other Mediterranean restaurant, bread is a given. Additionally I find that when a person introduces him/herself as you server, that person is supposed to be making sure that what a customer ordered is what gets to the table at the right time and in the optimal conditions. It did not happen that way, a different server brought our food and mistakes ensued. I also do not take kindly to a served only asking if every thing is alright when you are obviously almost finished with your dish. Main course did not correspond to the description given by server. Neither was the Ahi Tuna dish presented as pictured in online menu, taste was ok, but not exceptional. Halibut had a good taste, however seemed rushed. Dessert was very good but then again I should not have to be asking for sugar when I have coffee served. So all in all, I may be back, but I will be much more forceful and demanding if and whenever I do, as it seems that even in an upscale restaurant you need to squeak to...