monterey bay fish grotto

great fresh seafood and fish. i was at monterey bay this weekend and i think it is a great place in pittsburgh to get some fresh fish. i am a big seafood fan and was very happy with my choice of restaurant. here are some thoughts:

we were seated pretty quickly (unlike many restaurants that take a reservation and make you still wait 20 minutes for a table). the view from the restaurant is great, although if are seated away from the windows you won't see much while seated. the service was very good, and the food came out quickly and in a nice pace. now onto the most important part - the food: the daily fish menu is great and there were only 2-3 option that were n/a. i tried the crab cake appetizer and was surprised at how good/fresh it was. a nice serving of lump crabmeat, as good as a crab cake as i have had anywhere. then i had the parmesan crusted halibut (waitress recommended) and my date got the swordfish topped w/ crabmeat and asparagus. both dishes were very tasty, and each gave a pretty big portion of fish. i favored the swordfish a little more (maybe bc it was topped w/ generous portion of crabmeat and i enjoyed the thick cut of fish). i thought the parmesan on the halibut was a little overwhelming by the end of the meal (my date really liked it though). to finish off the night, we had the chocolate truffle cake, which was delicious.

the only downside is the place is just a little pricey, the fish prices i thought were fair, but with an appetizer and pricey drinks then dessert, the bill total goes up real quick (i am not cheap and i understand its fresh fish); many pittsburgh natives i know consider it almost a special occasion type of place, which is fine.

overall, the fish was very good (crabmeat was great) and i will definitely come back. i am not quite sure but there is something holding my back from giving it a full 5 stars (price or maybe inexperience of other pittsburgh seafood spots), but i still think highly of monterey bay and give it 4.5 (out of 5 stars).

phenomenal. we were seated promptly, my water never went empty, and i ate seafood that i would have never eaten before and it was phenomenal to say the least. yes it is expensive, but it is well worth it!

extremely disappointing... so many better restaurants in town. my wife and i wanted an old standby for valentine's day dinner... we are usually into the more quaint byob places in town, but thought we would go the more formal and scenic route for a change. sure, the prices are a little higher, but you expect consistent quality, service, and some unique selections in exchange. unfortunately, monterrey bay delivers none of that.

service was just ok..

selection was a joke... if you print your menu daily, why would you bother to print two thirds of the menu items with n/a next to them? other than the obvious reason that your menu will look blank if you omit the items you don't have.

quality was poor. oysters rockerfeller were smothered in cheese and heavy cream. scallops were rubbery and fishy. side of shrimp fried rice tasted like butter-soaked instant spanish rice mix with butter-soaked popcorn shrimp tossed in. in general, decent quality ingredients and thoughtful preparation was substituted with lots and lots of butter.

if you need to take someone from out of town to a place with a nice view, and they have absolutely no idea what quality food tastes like, i would recommend this place.

good food with a lovely view. make sure you go on a clear night to take in the amazing view of pittsburgh!! i know the way to ruin a good piece of fish or steak is to dump sauce or whatnot on it to take away from its flavors, but the parmesan crusted swordfish is sooooo good!! i also love the hawaiian dressing they serve with the house salad. the cajun shrimp is a good app to go with also.

i've lived in mount washington since august, and until the monday after christmas, i still hadn't spent any time at the fancy restaurants on grandview. finally, i made it a point to visit monterey bay on one of my last vacation days of the year. ryan and i visited the renowned seafood restaurant for lunch on a monday afternoon. monterey bay is located up-up-up on top of a tall apartment building, and to get to the restaurant, you must endure a long ride in an elevator made partially of glass. i know that this view is what makes the restaurant famous, and if i could stand to turn around i'm sure i'd have loved it. once i had my footing inside the restaurant, however, i loved to stare out into the city. my date and i were seated right next to a row of huge windows. even on a dreary december day, pittsburgh looks magnificent from monterey bay! it's so neat to be able to see from mckees rocks all the way to oakland in one blink. of course i had to "flex" for this trip to monterey bay, and

very disappointing. first, i'm from seattle and have the luxury of being surrounded by great seafood restaurants. so, i'll admit my standards are high.

second, wow, was i disappointed! for example 1) every course i had that evening was delivered cold 2) the salad was soaked in dressing (that tasted like bad bottled dressing) 3) the main course was just bad (the sauce was way too thick, without a lot of flavor) and the fish was just smothered in black olives and artichokes - i had to dig out the fish) 4) the white wine arrived right before dinner and was still room temperature (which meant it didn't come back to the table chilled until after we started eating our meals).

we were a party of 9, and i suspect a big part of my experience was because the restaurant isn't good at getting a lot of different dishes out at the same time. plus, there are a lot of tables and that puts a lot of stress on a kitchen. but, we're not talking luke warm here. my dish, and those of the other people next to me, were simply cold to the point where the fish was dry and the sauces beginning to harden up. also, 8 meals were delivered at once; the nineth came 3 or 4 minutes later. so, we had to let the food get even colder before we could start eating. this simply isn't acceptable.

giving credit where it is due, the waitstaff was very attentive (with the exception of not planning ahead on the wine) and the service was well timed (except for getting all 9 meals out at once). also, the menu is extensive - although perhaps too extensive - i'd rather see 20 things done really well than 50 done poorly. and, almost all of the wines are very fairly priced compared to most restaurants. in fact, they had wines from the pacific northwest that are hard for me to get here, and only about 50% more expensive than what i would pay retail. in seattle they would be at least 100% to 200% over retail, and hard to find.

in short, i suspect these guys can serve you a decent seafood meal. but, i wouldn't take a party larger than 4, and i would order meals that don't require sophisticated preparations. i'd also ask that any white wines be brought well in advance of the meal, and chilled if necessary (they seem to store their better white wines at the same temperature as their reds, which makes them too warm for immediate consumption).

menu recommendations.. highly recommend both the "steaming chocolate latte" souffle cake and the crab cake.

nice view, eat somewhere else. 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!

best view in pittsburgh, hands down!. unlike their neighbor down the street, they don't rely on the view. monterey bay actually has fantastic food and impeccable service to go with it.

maybe they'll buy out the georgetown and give that building the love it deserves.

great food!! little pricey but well worth it. the best desserts in pittsburgh!

to anyone who objects to the price. may i just remind you that their fish is flown in fresh daily, that's more than i can say for most. you may balk at paying 30 bucks for a few shrimp, but i'm sure they were the freshest you've ever had.


-----17 oct, 2010-----

fantastic meal. the only bad thing i have to say is that i drive by this place on my way to work every day, and all i can think of is the chilean sea bass and the crabcake i had. it leaves me ravenously hungry at the very beginning of the day.
i took my mother in law here and she was beyond thrilled. she ordered every course possible so she could sit and enjoy the view for the longest amount of time we could manage. the service was impeccable.

old favorite slipping?. we have enjoyed monterey bay for years as a go-to for a nice, quiet dinner or to take friends and family to. however, i have felt that our last couple visits have been subpar at best - especially considering our other visits.

we may try once or twice more, but pittsburgh has too many fantastic restauarants to 'waste' an evening if we aren't confident in monterey bay.

amazing views.... perfect to show off our great city.

i half expected to walk directly in to the restaurant from the bottom floor -- that's how the other mt. washington restaurants are. but monterey bay fish grotto is not located directly on the mountain. it's on the other side of grandview ave on the top fl

anniversary disappointment. our son and daughter-in-law were treating us to dinner at monteray bay to celebrate our 51st wedding anniversary.
my son ordered an appetizer, upon the recommendation of the waitress, which turned out to be inadequate for four people.
our son and his wife wanted us to have a nice bottle of wine and asked my husband to select from the wine list....which is outrageously priced. since it was their treat my husband tried to be very selective with his choice of wine. once selected....we were told that they were out of his selection but offered other selections at an increase of $15 to $20 above what he had chosen. we felt this was improper and in a 1st class restaurant....another bottle of a similar tasting wine would have been offered at the same cost.
since it is ala carte....vegetables are served "family" style.
however, no one mentioned that the portions are not enough for a family....hardly enough for two people let alone four.
the entrees were small in portion and mediocre in taste.
after dinner we were presented with dessert menus. two desserts were ordered and not by my husband nor i.
when the desserts were served....one "complimentary" dessert was brought to the table along with the two that had been ordered. i'm guessing that must have been for the anniversary couple to "share".
needless to say, we all left with a "bad" taste for monteray bay's lack of professionalism and agreed
never to return.

although the service was great the fish and mashed potatoes were just warm. small portions. example the $26 stuffed shrimp entree was just 4 medium shrimp. more like an appitizer.