Monterey Bay Fish Grotto

Crab cakes are to die for and the atmosphere is fabulous. more

Visited a year and a half ago with two friends and Enjoyed it very much. The waitress at that time was Elizabeth and she was a doll. Despite the negative reviews posted in the past year, through caution to the wind and visited again with my wife and two other friends just before Easter. Ate in the lounge since it is more informal with the same great view. We were seated immediately, everyone thoroughly enjoyed thier entrees and the waitress, Heather, could not have been more pleasant or attentive. I feel sorry for those that experienced an unpleasant visit, but for me, they are ""2 for 2"". I will be sure to visit again the next time I am in Pittsburgh. more

Extremely disappointed! It has been a few years since my last visit to your restaurant. In the past, I routinely brought out of town clients and co workers to the restaurant for the view and the great food. Tonight my dinner was awful. I ordered Grouper Monterey style. No recipe anywhere would smother any fish with at leat 16 oz of artichoke hearts, olives, tomatoes and mushrooms. When my plate arrived, I thought I had been given a cassarole by mistake. If you are really trying to be a seafood restaurant you should look to the Fish Market or SteelHead Grille for guidance. Don't think I will ever return to Monterey Bay except for cocktails and the view. I can have better meals at many other establishments. Maybe you need a real chef to prepare meals. Wasn't impressed with the catfish my Mother had, nor was my husband impressed with the New York Strip. We ate at the Capital Grille on Sunday and the food was sooooo much better! You need to have more than a view to keep customers returning...or maybe that doesn't matter! more

If it weren't for the glitz of the main dining room the Monterey Bay Fish Grotto wouldn't rate the one star. How this place stays in business is beyond me. Well, there is the awesome view. Outside of that this visitor was UNIMPRESSED at best. As a journalist, my travels take me all around the country and to every type of restaurant. Monterey Bay Fish Grotto is situated atop Grandview Avenue overlooking the river and Heinz Field but its attention to customers is sliding uncontrollably off that perch. In all my dining experiences, I have never come across such deplorable customer service. The waitress was as absent minded as she was untrained, often forgetting simple things like a place setting. To be honest, I believe she actually forgot about our 4-person group all together. It took us over 2 hours for what should have been a 50-75 minute meal. Since the most complicated meal ordered at the table was a simple broiled trout, there was no reason for the extended wait. if you think our wait was long, think again. A couple at an adjacent table ordered the Special (and highly priced) 5-course meal at the same time our table ordered. They were still waiting on their second or third course as we were leaving. Lastly, what could be said about the manager on duty except he's sorry. He has absolutely no idea how to run a restaurant. After the food arrived, he made his appearance. I'm still trying to figure out why since the service failed to improve. This staff should take a few courses at McDonald's University where customer service is job #1. If there was ever a reason to shun high-priced fare and stick to the bustling pubs operating throughout the Steel City this horrid excuse for an upscale restaurant is it. Just say no to Monterey Bay Fish Grotto and save yourself a headache and plenty of coin. more

After a long day of travel from Atlanta to Pittsburgh about 2 weeks ago, this restaurant came highly recommended. While the view was excellent, the service was terrible. We waited a very long time for menus, then drinks and it took a couple of hours before our food arrived. Part of our order was wrong and the food was not good. Management was called to our table and he offered us desert which at that point we had no interest in. The manager took our valet ticket and had our car brought to the door but we still had to pay for parking. Do not go there hungry. Or just go check out the view from Mt Washington across the street. more

I have eaten here in the past and is was always a pleasant experience. However last night was a complete disapointment. Food was not good, wait staff unprofessional, Cocktail smalll and watered down, Lemon sole (overcooked) could not have been more than 2 ounces with nothing else on the plate. When we left, we imediatly proceeded to a real restraunt. If convenient parking is the only requirement for dinning out, then this is your place. Pros: Parking Cons: This place is a joke more

I used to LOVE this restaurant but it is not what it used to be and there are much better restaurants in Pittsburgh. Pros: Crabcake dish still good. Cons: Place went downhill and there are much better options in Pgh more

I love to eat here. The food has always been perfect. The service is excellent. The view is amazing. Pros: Wonderful food and view more

We have dined here a few times. We find the service impeccable, and the food has been great every time we have been here. Often, we will just have hors d'oeuvres in the lounge and enjoy the view. However, we have seen valet at times be quite aggressive with the vehicles, and are often less than patient. We did complain, and the manager was very apologetic and advised it would be handled. I was very impressed with how this manager, Tom Mielo, handled the situation. Hopefully future such issues will not occur. All and all, the food is excellent, the service is great, and the view is unbeatable. If they reign in their valet staff, it will be a completely well-rounded affair. Pros: Excellent food, excellent ambiance Cons: I live here, I've seen how valet operates these vehicles more

put all the glitz and glamor and this is place just boils down to an overpriced restaurant that serves average tasting food. the view from the restaurant is nice but I would not consider the dining experience romantic. Pros: the view from inside the restaurant Cons: expensive and average tasting food more

I have dined here many times and I have never had a bad experience. We always have great service and the food never disappoints. Even if you aren't able to sit by a window, there truly isn't a bad seat in the house. Definately get the crab cakes even if it's for an appetizer. more

Great food, a great view, and poor service await you at this restaurant on Mt. Washington. We started our meal at 8PM and didn't finish until after midnight, having to wait an hour between courses. There was very little attention during the gaps. As the evening grew later, it was clear that the staff was much more interested in preparing for the next day than catering to their diners. We eventually even had to ask the hostess to find our server to get the check. This place could be truly great if the service were better. Pros: Great food and a great view Cons: Poor service more

I LOVE this place-- everytime I want a romantic night out in the city, I take a ride up the Duquesne Incline and eat at Monterey Bay. The view is amazing, the menu and wine selection is impressive, and the food is delicious, especially the crab cakes, which are not fried and are the best I've ever tasted. It is a little pricey, but definitely worth it-- they fly their fish in fresh daily. Love it for special occasions, big groups, and romantic nights. You definitely need a reservation and if you're late, expect to wait to be seated for a looong time, especially on the weekends. Pros: fresh fish, crabcakes, view Cons: price more

Went here once it was bad. Went again it was still bad. Over rated-Food, ediable, but not excellent & nor extroidnary , especially for the high end prices. Sloooooooooooooow service even if their not busy, professional, but toward the not so friendly side! Pros: atmosphere-Mt. Washington view Cons: FODD & SERVICE BASICALLY BAD more

My wife and I had a wonderful evening from the service to the food to the view. My wife loves salmon and when they told her they typically serve it more on the medium to I think medium rare side she went to well done which is more her speed and loved it. She had the teriyaki style. I had the Swordfish parmesan it could not have been better. Very rich but delicious. I travel a decent bit and found the prices pretty reasonable for a high end restaurant. Another couple was also with us and one of them had the Ahi Tuna served rare. I tried a bite of the Ahi which was just as good as a great piece of sushi (if you like sushi). I?m not a desert fan but did taste my wife?s cheesecake (can?t remember what kind) and it was very good. Dinner took a while, a couple of hours but we enjoyed the evening out. more

Went there on a weekend night with a client. It was pretty bare so you thought we'd get good service and food. Boy, was I wrong! We all ordered lobster bisque and we all sent it back. It was strong tasting. One of the guys said his salmon was raw and sent it back. The waiter said that's the way they prepare salmon here. I call it bait! My fish was just so-so...nothing to write home about. The prices were outrageous. Yea...you pay for the view! I will never go back there! more

After the nice reviews here, and elsewhere, we decided to try Monterey Bay and see the view from Mt. Washington. The view was, indeed, very nice on a colder, clear January night. We came early, since the window views are ""first-come, first-serve."" Even at 5:06, the best tables were already taken, but we had a nice view of the sunset. Our waitress was good, although better service can definitely be found elsewhere in Pittsburgh. We ordered a seafood combo for an appetizer, which was delicious. My swordfish special was tasty, but nothing special. My husband ordered black cod, which was well-prepared and delicate, but better food can easily be had around town. Considering the bill for the two of us (with one of the cheapest bottles of wine on the list) came to $140, we think you can find much better food for less elsewhere. In short: great view, good service, good (but not great) food, too expensive. Pros: Great view, good service Cons: Too expensive more

Obviously, this place has great reviews so we were in Pittsburgh and had to try it. Our experience was not at all what we thought it would be. The view is beautiful, for sure, and we had a window seat to enjoy it. That was fantastic. We had a appetizer on the specials menu which was wonderful... prawns stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped in bacon... amazing. We upgraded to the lobster salad and we found it to be just... ok... and rather overpriced for what you get. On top of it, our entrees came out about 5 mins after our salads so we were rushing to eat the salad before our entrees got cold. Our entrees were just mediocre. I had tuna that was cooked well but just completely bland... a big slab of tuna with no seasoning at all. My boyfriend had shark that was just, again... eh, ok. Our server felt bad about our entrees coming out so fast so she offered to buy us dessert... which honestly, we weren't planning on having... but since that was the only thing they were offering us we took it and shared the creme brulee. It was delicious. Pros: Beautiful view Cons: Food is way over priced and bland more

This restaurant is now located by the Monroeville Mall. My wife and I decided to give it a try because we had heard from friends that it was a good experience and the food delicious. The food was good, not great and the service was excellent! We did not enjoy the atmosphere at all though. We were seated in a corner booth which was not private at all. We experienced high traffic all around us. Our lasting memory of the place was good bread but horrible atmosphere for the price you pay to treat yourself. If we had a better seat that might have changed our first impression but the atmosphere felt rushed and made our dining experience less enjoyable. We have not been back since. more

I took my fiancee here the night we were engaged. I didn't pop the question at the restaurant, but I easily could have! What a classy place and amazing wait staff! The views are excellent as well. However, the absolute best part of the MBFG is the amazing crab cakes...they are a MUST have!!! Pros: INCREDIBLE crab cakes, great service, very generous (gave us free dessert for special night) Cons: Price can be slightly high, kind of noisy, but not intolerable more