Monterey Bay Fish Grotto - Mt. Washington

My husband and I dined here for our 5th Wedding Anniversary, and we have done so every year. The food and view is always spectacular. They had just changed the menu, and so we were able to try some new items we hadn’t before, although slightly disappointed there was no feature. The Tuna Poke as our starter, though quite tasty, left us wanting a bit more. The portion was tiny. The swordfish and halibut were exceptional, and the angel food grilled cheese dessert was amazing as always. I will say the staff, although very friendly, seemed a little unseasoned. Our server was great and offered suggestions, was polite and knowledagable. The server helping the tables across from us, however, was unprofessional for a restaurant of this magnitude. She seemed nice and made conversation with the guests. However, at one point, she was resting on a chair on her knee, casually kicking her foot behind her while making small talk with the table. She also made it a point to comment not once, but twice about something left on a plate from another table, directly in front of us. Her demoner seemed to be more appropriate for that of an Applebee’s server. Not one for a place that comes with a high price tag. Overall, we enjoyed our meal and will be back.

We come here often and this was actually an embarrassment that I brought a client from NYC who works at NBC here. It started off with no server in sight for 6 minutes our reservations were for 8pm- she came to the table dirty dishes in hand didn’t say hello and said do you want tap or bottled water. We didn’t get told vegetable of the day or recommendations after we told her our guest was never there. Food was delicious as it always is - but while myself and another person were still eating she cleared one guests plate!!!! He said well I guess I don’t get to eat the sides and sat there. Didn’t come over to ask how everything was and just scooped up the dishes - also didn’t ask to pack up the left over sides. Dessert time - gave us the menus again no acknowledgement of anything there and in less then a minute came back and said well what did you decide. At that point I knew she wanted to leave for the night and I asked what time they closed and why we were so rushed. She walked away and gave us about 5min to decide. We told her we would all take a bite of the dessert so when one fork showed up we asked for two more... where she proceeded to bring ONE and told the guest to use the extra place setting she never removed!!!!!! We had a bottle of wine and no asking for refills or additional drinks - had to hunt her down. I made the comment like we never had service like this before to our out of towner. Oh and I asked for a window seat on open door clearly didn’t read that Bc I could barely see a window where they sat us. In fear of this happening again I wouldn’t take a business party there esp. knowing they’re most likely going to pick up the tab. I was embarrassed.

We went here for our 3rd Anniversary. We loved the food, service, and wonderful views of the City!

Me and my husband love this place! We come back every year for our anniversary! The view is spectacular and the food is incredible! Great service! We come to ours away in Ohio to come for our anniversary dinner!

Everything I've tried on the menu is great, but the Brussel Sprouts are fabulous!

This place is amazing on every level. The fresh choices of fish are incredible. We got several appetizers, salads, entrees, dessert and drinks and everything was delicious! The views are breathtaking. I highly recommend this place!

We celebrated our 40th Anniversary at Monterey Bay on September 16th. They greeted us with an acknowledgement of our special day and seated us at a window table that had a phenomenal view of the city. The meal was excellent and they gave us a choice of one of their desserts to share for our celebration. It was a beautiful evening that was made even more special with our experience at this restaurant.

Excellent meal , and service. Friendly , and congenial. My friends were here from out of town and they couldn't believe how beautiful the view was and how nice everyone was and how good the food and service were.

Everything was great, but the service was a problem. Things started out well. Drinks, appetizers and the meal were spot on. Then, a table of at least 12 people were seated. Our waitress had that table and had no help that we could see. This consumed all her time so that we waited for more than 30 minutes for our meal plates to be cleared leaving no time for coffee or desserts before we had to leave for a scheduled event. I do NOT blame the server. There were at least 2 managers (and possible 3) on the floor doing very little who could have and should have stepped in to provide help.

My wife and I decided to try Monterey Bay Fish Grotto for our 29th wedding anniversary and are very happy that we made this decision. We had heard about this particular resaurant through friends and aquaintances over the years and decided to give it a try. Before making our decision we knew that it may be a bit pricy for our budget and to be honest it was, but it was worth every penny. The service was outstanding, the food was unbeleivably good, and the view was spectacular! We certainly will return for other occassions and cannot speak highly enough of our experience.

We got a late reservation and they were out of a lot of items we wanted, including the Brussels sprouts, which I thought was an odd thing to run out of. Oddly, I heard other items on the special menu from a neighboring table's waitress that we weren't told about.. the food was solid, but not anything to write home about. My date's steak was medium rare even though she ordered it medium. They didn't have a scotch on their menu I wanted. All in all, I left expecting more. Can't beat the view though.

My wife and I came here to celebrate our 1 year wedding anniversary. We ran into the executive chef on our way in, who personally made sure we had an incredible experience. From champagne while we waited for our table (which was only a few minutes!) to special off-the-menu dinner options, we felt truly appreciated. That aside, the food was incredible, as was the view of the city. We will be making this an anniversary tradition for many years to come!

Anniversary

Great views of downtown Pittsburgh at night. Wonderful fresh fish options with a broad and fairly priced wine list.

One of the best, if not the very best restaurant in the Burg. Great varied menu, terrific view. The perfect place for special occasions.

The seafood here is always great and the view is the best on Mount Washington. The seafood trio appetizer is a must. My wife's favorite entree is the strawberry salmon, but I like to try different fish. The great part is that they are willing to allow you to pick your fish and your preparation if you so desire. Great salad choices but the citrus house dressing is my wife's favorite. The sides are large, varied and easily shared. The wine list is extensive and well designed. The dessert list is varied, with the angel food cake grilled sandwich being a current favorite. We still miss the macadamia nut mousse however. The staff is friendly and quite attentive and are eager to make your "special occasion" even more special.We have dined here numerous times and have never been disappointed. We can't wait to return!

Requested a window view in reservations and arrived to find out we were
Not getting one & had to wait another 1 1/2 hours for one. Very disappointed because that’s the reason we choose the restaurant for the experience of the view also & we didn’t receive that.

Spectacular view! Insane panaromic view of the Pittsburgh skyline a d Allegheny River! Excellent food! The food was so tasty. We had the Signature crab cake with scallops and two other dish that the name escapes me. Our waitress was excellent. We had the perfect window view.

Excellent view of the city combined with great food and service. Highly recommend!

First time here. Won’t be the last. Excellent size portions and a wide variety of fresh seafood. Highly recommended.

Amazing dining experience all around every time we’ve been there. Our favorite!!

Excellent view and food. Perfect for a romantic night out or just nice dinner with friends/family!

Wonderful meal, service and ambiance.

Outstanding meal

The whole night was Fantastic! It was my wife's birthday and I wanted to WOW her. This was the cherry on top. The night was majestic due to the service, the view(get the window... wait if you have to), the food!!(chilean Sea Bass w/ Chimichurri sauce) I can not say enough. Awesome!

Overall an enjoyable dining experience. Excellent service, the server was knowledgeable and helpful. Food was overpriced and the portion of fish was small.

Delicious seafood with great views of Pittsburgh. Even on a cloudy night is was fun to see the city lit up and the stadium below full of people. Great place for a special occasion.

The food was excellent, and I have to add that the last time I wrote a review, a year or two ago, I had mentioned that although the food was excellent overall, we were served warmed-over bread. I was pleasantly surprised that the restaurant contacted me immediately thereafter and apologized with an offer of a free appetizer on our next visit, which indicates that this is a place that understands customer service. (I didn't collect on it, but still.) Even more importantly, this time the waitress told us the bread would be out shortly, because it was still in the oven, and when it came out, it was deliciously fresh (sourdough) with a nice flavored butter accompaniment. Our waitress was quite attentive, as were the assistants who provided regular refills of water. Although I had not said anything to the restaurant, the waitress picked up on the fact that it was my son's birthday, and instead of annoying him (and us) with some silly song, she just quietly told us that his dessert would be free. All in all, an excellent dining experience.

Fantastic! That is all I can say! Highly recommend!

Nice place for special occasion. A little expensive.

Outstanding in every aspect! Service, food and scenery can't be beat!

Great food and atmosphere. Highly recommend for anniversary

Dining in at Monterey is always a superb time. Every single detail is polished to perfection. A social butterfly greeted us, and then kindly allowed us to have a martini before dinner. Thomas, Manager, allowed us to sample a new drink that isn’t even on the menu yet. It was delightful! The tone for our evening was set, and it kept getting better. Our server, Angie, orchestrated our dining experience with skill and grace. Compliments to the Chef. A very humorous manager, Blaise, interacted with our table numerous times to see that everything was perfect. It was nothing short of fantastic. Thank you for the lovely evening.

We felt the food is over priced. At least the side dishes should be included in the price. The seasonable vegetable of the evening was carrots that were cooked 14 hours. In my opinion, that was 13 hours too long. Sent them back. Crab cakes were fairly good, but not very hot. Had to ask for melted butter to put on them cause they were kind of dry. Scallops were very good, but $45 for a crab cake and 4 scallops seems excessive. Lobster bisque for $15 was truly not worth it at all. Tasted sort of like tomato soup. The waitress did a great job, and even though we had thought we did not want dessert, after she described them all to us, we went with the grilled cheese cake option. It was delish and to our surprise, was complimentary for our anniversary. (Thank you) The only parking option was valet which was $7, then you have to tip the person who gets your car. The ambiance is very nice, but for the average person, this is not the place to go. Way too expensive. If you are a business person with an expense account, this may be the place for you. Oh and having the restrooms down stairs is not very convenient for anyone who has trouble with stairs, but not to the point of using the chair lift. I had wanted to dine there for some time, but sad to say we most likely will not return.

Truly breathtaking! Went here for a special occasion and from the food to the service would recommend! Pricey, but the view and food make it so worth it

We were visiting from Arizona. We love seafood and couldn’t have asked for better quality preparations and service. The view was outstanding.

The view was great, the food OK, the service mediocre. They really need to train their staff better.

Top notch evening with a spectacular view, great service and amazing food and wine list. The atmosphere is buzzy and this place makes for a memorable evening.

What a beautiful view we had from our window side table (worth the extra 30 minute wait on a Saturday evening). The food was amazing, our server was friendly and helpful and very attentive to our every need. We had never been to Pittsburgh before and were not disappointed at all with Monterey Bay. We enjoyed a wonderful birthday celebration that we will never forget.

Absolutely one of the best restaurants - the food was beyond remarkable and the service was impeccable. We come to Pittsburgh once a year and this is the only restaurant that we return to each year. Highly recommend.