Monterey Pub — Restaurant in Pittsburgh

Yesterday evening myself and three friends decided to eat at Monterey Pub. While we had considered several other options that evening, we were excited about Monterey Pub and their food. I’ll start this review by saying the food at this establishment was 9/10. I often never rate a restaurant’s food this highly, but I was very impressed by the Swishroom Burger and the side of mac and cheese I ordered. The flavors were absolutely impeccable aside from the mac and cheese being ever so slightly too salty for me.

The service on the other hand, left me feeling uneasy and our treatment, left me with a pit at the bottom of my stomach. Myself and one friend arrived at the restaurant shortly before five. We made our way to the back of the restaurant and were told by a woman (presumably a head server, or someone with much authority) to have a seat anywhere as it was very empty. My friend and I proceeded to push two tables together as we would have two more people joining. We were served by a man who was kind but in the end, complicit in the behavior and treatment we received last night. Shortly after my friend and I received our drinks, our two friends arrived, placed their drink orders and received their drinks. Once they received their drinks we placed our food order. Several moments later, the original server who told us to have a seat anywhere, came over and said something along the lines of, “Hello guys we have a five top coming in, could you please move to that table over there. Thanks.” Her tone and gesturing were demanding and without waiting for any of us to respond, this server had said thanks, as if her request was actually a command. Reluctantly, my friends and I moved to the smaller table and our food came out about a minute later right on cue. My friends and I were very upset, because 1.) we had already ordered our drinks and food, 2.) there was another party of four, sitting adjacent to us that they could have made the same request to, in fact, they arrived after my friends and I, and were sitting directly behind the table of four she had us move to, and 3.) the party of the five that was taking our place was not fully present when she had us move. I kept looking back and noticed 4 people up until the very end when my friends and I were about to leave.

How are these facts supposed to make me feel and how did she decide that my party should be the ones to move? The party of five could easily have been told, “I’m sorry, but at the moment the only available seats we have are at the bar.” The server could have asked my friends and I more politely if we would mind moving to accommodate others. I have lived in Pittsburgh for the majority of my life, I have worked on the Northside for about 2 years now and have many family members that live over here. I have never felt so belittled and dismissed during a dining experience in my life. The only difference between my friends and the other patrons within that establishment yesterday evening was the color of our skin. Was my money worth less than theirs? Did my dining experience not matter as much as theirs?

Shortly after our food came out I felt so much discontent and was having trouble engaging with my friends that I said something to our server about how unprofessional and rude that was. He agreed with me and said that it didn’t sit right with him either and that he would see what could be done. A few minutes later the server who had asked us to move came over, stood behind me and “apologized '' in a very dismissive manner before jetting off again. I kept hearing, “I’m sorry, it’s an awkward situation.” Somehow, I don’t find unconscious and internalized racism to be awkward, uncomfortable sure--...

I lived in the North Side from 2007-2014 and the Monterey Pub was my favorite place ever. We used to go there after long days of renovation and enjoy really awesomely poured Guinness and delicious food, served on plates.

Well, they still know how to pull a pint, but that's about it, as I found when I returned yesterday for the first time in over a year.

Everything else, the food quality, the service, even the ambiance was a disappointment.

We were greeted by the bartender who immediately got us drinks which was great.

Then proceeded to wait 20 minutes for our waitress to stop by, though the place was empty. She was brusque and dismissive from the get-go, handling my friends special request for oil and vinegar dressing for her salad with actual disdain, as though it was an outlandish request.

I ordered fish and chips and it came out with curly fries which was not on the menu, and the fish was almost underdone.

My friend's salad came out in a round bottom bowl that was impossible to eat from without twisting an turning. Her salmon was obviously undercooked, actually raw on the inside, pink and wet.

When asked to send it back, the waitress was quite rude about it. My friend asked for a plate, and when given a bread-size plate, asked if there was just a regular one she could pour the salad onto so she didn't have to hold onto the round bottom bowl while eating.

She was informed, sarcastically, that that was the biggest plate there was because "We're a pub," as though expecting normal sized place settings from a pub was crazy.

They'd replaced the lamps by the booths too and they're so bright they hurt your eyes, as they are basically...

Small pub food with a great atmosphere. It really reminds me of an Irish or British small local pub where, if you sit at the bar, you'll end up talking to the other patrons and to the bartenders. The 2 bartenders were friendly, kind, professional, and it was a pleasure to see them make the cocktails; one in particular, it was obvious was extremely capable and liked making cocktails because she kept smelling the liquors and making sure the final product was good. We were here on a Saturday around 6:15pm and the tables were all taken but there were a few stools available at the bar and I'm glad we ended up sitting here because we had fun and socialized in a very "pub way". We ordered fish and chips and a smash burger; the fries were delicious, the fried fish was tender and light, and the smash burger comes with 2 patties making it very satisfying. We got a Guinness and a Red Ale but I also ordered the cocktail (the Taz[...]raaaaar or something) and it was delicious, I could have drunk a few more ugh. Prices are fair, the cocktail could have been considered expensive at 12$ but considering all that was in it and how masterfully made it was, the price is absolutely fair. We didn't want to leave and we'll...