monterey bay fish grotto

yes. i love this place...excellent sea bass

first of all, if you have never been here and sat on the city side looking out the windows at the best view in pittsburgh, you must. beyond that, the food is very good but i am not the kind of person to pay $40 for a 5 oz piece of fish and consider it money well spent. if you have the disposable income, and can get a window seat, it is well worth the experience at least once.

we both had the stuffed jumbo scallops which were amazing!! the shrimp fried rice wasn't very appetizing however the manger removed it from our bill. the view of pittsburgh was breathtaking and the lounge was very romantic!! we will definitely be back:).

common food/high price. i made the reservation on line, which was easy. we got there and you can only pull in a small car port where a young valet takes the car and you walk into an odd little lobby with an elevator that takes you up to the restaurant. enjoy the view as you go up...that's part of it all.

unless you are seated by the window, being "near" the window doesn't give the ambiance you may want. the food? very common. an appetizer for three gave us two bites each.

the salad...a few lettuce leaves in a cheap vinigrette.

we ordered red snapper, sea bass, and swordfish respectively. the fish was nothing special--at all. tasted neutral--an essence of fish. we each tasted the other's dinner...swordfish was the best, but nothing...and i mean nothing special.

we ordered a side of asparagus...bland, undercooked spears come to the table with a pot of sauce. we each had 2 spears...most were left.

two of us shared the chocolate mousse cake. what a joke. it was layered thin slices of cake with a little mousse in between. not so fresh...and all over priced.

i would not recommend this restaurant and further, it's sad that this is what pittsburgh has to offer for a fine restaurant.

if they didn't have the windows to tout the "view of the city" their food would never draw you back, for sure.

a great experience. the view from the restaurant is simply exceptional. often restaurants with a great view don't care about food but this one is a notable exception because the food is as great as the view. i would say it is a must in pittsburgh!

best seafood in pittsburgh. this is the best seafood restaurant in the city, and has the best view of the city as well. if you're not sure what to get, try the crab cakes, they are delicious. i've eaten sea food all over the country, and monterey bay is better than the best seafood that i've had on the east coast.

the manager was aggressive toward myself and my family. the food was inedible, either it was over cooked, not seasoned or just plain awful. the manager and staff turned what was to be a lovely celebration into a hassle takeover. the manager questioned our ability to pay the bill (2100.00) and when we questioned his behavior he threatened to call the police. i have never seen a grown man act so immature, child like even. his behavior was gross there is no other way to explain it, his behavior was gross! he truly is able to handle intelligent adult conversation. not sure how this place is still in business with this guy at the helm. i would never go back there or recommend this place!

the view itself made the visit to this place worth it. the service was excellent (💸), and the kitchen was quite accommodating. it’s a seafood restaurant but they do have vegetarian options and can customize the piscetarian dishes to be vegetarian as well. the best item on the menu was the steaming chocolate latte. which was basically a decadent molten hot chocolate cake topped with fresh cream.

had a wonderfully dinner here tonight. the view was worth it, and i think that's exactly what you are paying for here.

we had the ichiban appetizer to start off our meal. the fish was cooked well and came with a nice sauce, but was a very small portion. i had the spinach salad next and my husband had the grilled wedge. both salads tasted good, but the wedge was exceptional. everything in the wedge salad went so well together and the ranch dressing on top was delicious. for dinner i had the strawberry salmon and my husband had the monterey striped bass. both fish tasted great. i really enjoyed the strawberry sauce, it wasn't too sweet and had a nice peppery finish. we also shared the chipotle cream corn, which was nice and spicy.

we finished the meal with the angel food grilled cheese sandwich. the dessert alone was worth the meal. it was divine, combining the lightness of angel food cake with the sugar crustiness of creme brulee. i was absolutely in love. i told my husband we can come back anytime just to have dessert.

i've been to both locations. i have to say i just don't get the love affair with monterey bay. for what it is, the food is competently executed. you won't have a bad meal here. 

however there's not an interesting preparation in sight. this place's preparations/menu items were old in the 90s when they opened. now, the menu items feel like holdovers from 50s luau restaurants. this place is that dated. go for the view, just don't expect to have a really great meal. instead you'll have a decent meal for a fairly high price. there's nothing wrong with decent meals. they're just not special. mb so desperately wants to be special, however it simply isn't. 

there are some who will read this as panning mb. i'm not. for what it is, the food is good.

this past weekend we went out for our anniversary dinner celebration. once again, we chose monterey bay fish grotto on mt. washington. we made our reservation for 5 pm in hopes of getting a table next to the window. happily, we did, a table in the corner with a terrific view.  . mbfg is a special occasion restaurant. it's one of the priciest places we've dined in pittsburgh, perhaps the priciest, but i'd have to really think about it and compare how much alcohol we drank, number of appetizers/desserts, after dinner coffee, etc., for a fair comparison. the food is good, the service attentive, but really, you're there for the view. here's what we enjoyed:

when you ride the glass elevator up to the dining area of monterey bay, you know you are in for a memorable evening. if you haven't been in a while, i recommend stopping by to checkout the new decor. they recently did a massive three million dollar overhaul and the space looks beautiful. it has a very elegant aesthetic that is not common in the pittsburgh area. i doubt i need to mention the great view of the city from monterey bay, but it is astonishing!

best crab cakes ever. huge lumps of crab meat, no ground up mystery meant. i come to this restaurant every time i come to pittsburgh and it never fails. the view is spectacular, and the restaurant has been well renovated. service is attentive to round out a great experience.

this was the best meal i've ever had. the food was perfect. our server was the most attentive and polite i've seen. the location and atmosphere were great. this was an all around perfect meal and without a doubt the best dining experience i've had in pittsburgh.

you can't get better than this. the views are unreal and the food is equally unreal. got the risotto for a side and want to eat it everyday for the rest of my life. can't get enough.