Monterey Bay Fish Grotto

The food was mediocre at best. My grilled catfish was barely warm and was overdone with a black coating (not the kind you get from blackened cooking, but the oily kind you get from an unwanted flame up on a grill) and the rice pilaf was mushy. Totally unimpressive. To add insult to injury, this sad meal was very pricey, and while I might not have minded paying a lot for some truly exceptional food, this meal didn't come close. And skip the bar -- their per glass price on the Oregon Pino Gris is several dollars more than the price of a full bottle! The best thing I can say about the experience is that I liked the decor. more

Waited for a year to try this place after hearing so many great things about it. After reading the menu, we had a question about the soup of the day. Amber ,our waitress,was quick to interrupt our question by informing us that she will go over that along with other information in a minute. we had obviously interrupted her unchangable routine. After finding out what the chef's soup was (at $11+ cup), we ordered one clam chowder. Soon delivered, was a very tiny cup of barely warm overly thick chowder. The salads were very tasty with passion fruit dressing, although they could cut up the greens a little and get rid of the horrible cherry tomatoes. For dinner we had the crab cakes with rice pilaf and black sable cod with red pepper mashed potatoes. The crab cakes were very good as they should be as their signature offering. However, the rice pilaf was very mushy and overcooked the cod was cold as well as its accompanying vegetables. We informed our waitress amber of the problems and she became immediately defensive and said she did not want to argue with us but she saw the chef put the fish on theplate from the skillet. Regrettably and with an attitude, the waitress took the cod back and offered another side dish for the rice. Granted it was later in the evening (after 8 for dinner) but the rice must have been in a warmer for most of the day. When the greenbeans came out as the replacement, it was hard to believe that any one could make such horrible tasting beans. The beans were also mushy, oily, and covered in garlic. So, after waiting for the right occaision to try out this restaurant,, we were very dissapointed, not only with the food quality but with the waitress who seemed to care less about our dissatisfication and overall dinner experience. Being a waitress previously, I am usually more tolerant of waitresses behavior, but I could look past; the way this waitress made us feel. So if you looking for a special occasion restaurant, keep looking. more

Once our favorite, I will never go back to eat. We took an out of town guest the Friday after Thanksgiving. Sat in the bar which was our favorite place to eat. Started with the $13 a cup soup which I had to send back because it was cold. The second time, I had to pick out pieces of what looked like a chewed up toothpick out of my soup and it was only luke warm this time. I ordered the mussels which the broth tasted like lemon juice added to flour. Pasty and tasteless. The bread that came with the mussels was burnt to a crisp and inedible. The crab cakes had more filling than crab, their could not have been more than one crab leg in each cake. The salmon was dry and the sause was overpowering. All of this for $166.00. Red Lobster would have been better and much cheaper. I was very disappointed and sad as this used to be our favorite place to go. more

When we waited at Georgetown Inn for a table for 45 minutes (after our reservation) our group of twelve walked up the hill for a fantastic experience. The staff was amazing and the food was wonderful. They are now my place of choice when I entertain guest from out of town and out of the country. They are truely a class act. more

We had our banquet a few weeks ago. It was the most wonderful dinner and service. The servers were amazing. I've been to the Monroeville location a few times and really cannot compare the two. (at least this is my experience) Evenings seem to be the better quality servers. This young lady(server), April was getting drinks continually for our guests. The others were watching. (Not sure if they were still in training). more

I can't imagine anyone saying anything about this place in a negative way whatsoever!! My husband and I attended this restaurant many times and now I have to say something! The banquet we attended the other night was SUPERB!! We were dealt with such a professional manor and treated with such respect, I cannot remember going any other place being treated this good! We've come here before and were treated so well, thats why we wanted our banquet at Monterry Bay in Monroeville. more

I had a terrible experience at Monterey Bay. Not only was the service bad, the prices did not equal the quality of the food. You pay for the view. I ordered a Salmon dish, it was not cooked to my request and had to be sent back twice. I felt the server was very irritated by this, even though I was very nice and clear when I ordered. Avoid this restaurant at all costs! Pros: View of the city Cons: Freshness of food, service more

While the servers were all friendly, the service took too long, esp. for a business lunch. Committed cardinal sin of letting us sit for more than 5-minutes with nothing to drink Pros: Friendly Servers Cons: Hit and Miss more

I have eaten at Monteray in Monroeville about ten times and have had ten wonderful meals! First of all,the house salad dressing is the best i have had anywhere! The fish is always cooked perfectly with many wonderful toppings. The crabcakes are the best in town. And, if apple cheesecake is on the menu,DO NOT pass it up even if you just take a piece home with you! The service is always excellent ! Karen, behind the bar, is one of the best bartenders in the city ! If you need anything, just ask Bill, one of the managers, and it will always be taken care of. Great food and great service is always a given at Monteray Bay in Monroeville!!! more

I have always loved Monteray Bay, but I really miss the old location. The new one by the mall seems a little cramped. The food is still great though and being next to the mall is a bonus if you want to go shopping before or after dinner. However, if I had the choice between Monroeville and their location in Mt. Washington, I would prefer Mt. Washington. So, if you have the time, take the trip into Pittsburgh. It's worth it and the view/experience is amazing. I have never had a bad meal there. In fact, each time I go, it ends up being ""the best meal I've ever had."" I have been to both locations many times and with many different people and noone ever has 1 bad thing to say about the food. Some people may disagree, but I say it's the best place in the Pittsburgh area. One thing I would recommend is the Ichiban appetizer plate, even if you dont generally like seafood. The food is perfect from beginning to end! more

We went to Monterey Bay for our anniversary, and what a great place to celebrate it! Not only was I surprised by an extra special detail upon being seated (I'll leave that as a surprise for you) and a complimentary dessert, both meals were absolutely delicious! The waiter was extremely polite, and the flow of the meal was perfect. Also, they crumbed our table after clearing our dinner plates and before dessert. That is something I have not seen done in a while, and I definitely would not expect from a restaurant in the Monroeville restaurant scene as most restaurants are chains. I was impressed with all parts of the experience at Monterey Bay, now located next to the mall. I will definitely return and I encourage you to check out this gem! Pros: delicious fresh fish, knowledgable and polite wait staff more

I had a lovely dining experience with my fiance. The only negative is the bar. We arrived at 8:00 for 9:00 reservations so we could sit and have a cocktail or two and the bar was open but there were no barstools. There were big open gaps in the bar but a total of 6 barstools-the male bartender did not want to be at work that day. He made jokes w/ the servers about pawning the guests off to the cocktail waitresses b/c he did not want to deal with them. I found that rude--and it seemed like he purposely said it loud enough so everyone at the bar could overhear....But the woman bartender was very nice. Everything else was wonderful. I have NEVER been to a place that times courses so great. It flowed very well-- we did not feel rushed yet there is no lull. Server was perfect. Competent and polite. Food was excellent. Selection was good, portions were generous and prices were reasonable. Best salad dressings in Pittsburgh. Only complaint was that my medium rare filet was not cooked in the middle--it was one piece of fat right in the middle. It could have been cooked a couple extra minutes so the fat marble-ized into the meat but 8 of the 10 ounces was out of this world-as was by fiance's strawberry salmon and our ichiban, shrimp & crabcake app. Manager on duty checked with all the customers-nice. Only other complaint is that I do not understand why nice restaurants insist on those diner type set-ups of tables-the bench against the wall with the tables right next to each other--there is no privacy and it looks bad. Would go back in a heartbeat. Pros: Seafood Selection and Taste, Whole Meal Experience Cons: Male Bartender!!! Bar in general! more

Great service, spectacular view, amazing food, and romantic! Overall it was a great experience! Pros: View, Service, Food more