Monterey Bay Fish Grotto
$$$$ • Restaurant
Most Recent Reviews
I've been here several times throughout the years for special occasions and always had a great experience. Ask for GF bread and they'll being you your own basket of dinner rolls. You can also ask for the crab cakes to be prepared gluten free and they're delicious. I also had flourless chocolate cake for dessert last time.
Always a great experience, plenty of options, one of our favorites
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I was very confident that the food was safe, I was just underwhelmed with the actual taste. The prices were very high for mediocre food. They have a few specialties they are known for, but I wasn't impressed. My GF crab cake had crab shell all through it.. The view is stunning and I felt that I needed to go for the experience, but I doubt I will be back.
So I have read reviews on this place, and How people had rave reviews. Man, was I excited whenever I was able to literally get anything on the menu gluten-free! I got the gluten-free bread, which was delicious, the gluten-free crabcakes -which I’ve never had something so amazing in my life LOL- then also the ahi tuna- it was all incredible and such great flavor! If you’re ever in Pittsburgh, and you want to splurge, definitely try this place out! As a sidenote, the service, especially from our waiter, was impeccable! I have never had a waiter so attentive and caring!
Almost all the food options are available gluten-free, even the crab cakes.
Delicious meal in every way.
Try the lobster bisque
I ate here last night & had the GF bread, GF crab cakes & the dessert. Our waitress was knowledgable & under stood my needs. They were able to accommodate other menu items GF. I would go back. Enjoy!
If you are looking for a place with a great view, this is it! We went for dinner and were dazzled by the lights of the city below. GF-wise we were reassured that most everything on the menu could be modified. That said, the only things we really enjoyed were the amazingly delicious GF crab cakes and GF dinner rolls. The entrees on the other hand were suprisingly underwhelming, considering they were $30 each just a piece of salmon and a piece of Chilean Sea bass. My dining companion's salmon was atop a pool of the champagne sauce that sounded promising on the menu and based on our waitress' enthusiasm we felt like it would be a good choice -- wrong. It was extremely salty and much too rich for someone with a sensitive stomach. As I write this review, we are back in our hotel room, having been up since 5am with my friend pacing the room nauseated. He swears he it is the richness of the sauce. It looked like a Hollandaise type sauce, which never sits well with him. My bass was also disappointing. The jerk sauce used canned pineapples, which was shocking considering this place is considered fine dining. Plus, they wouldn't provide rice as a side! Who doesn't offer Celiacs rice?! The waitress said it was due to the chef needing to reserve it for other guests ordering the special that evening, which seemed ridiculous to me considering how cheap and available rice is. For that matter, the waitress, whom the manager said was one of their best for knowing what menu items are adaptable for people food sensitivities, was not as impressive to me. She had to keep going back to the kitchen to ask if something is GF safe and had to be prompted for answers, despite having just asked (supposedly). She couldn't even get us tea in a timely fashion or keep our glasses full. And when I mentioned crumbs on our bread plates and table when we first sat down, she only changed out the plates and then later placed our forks on the dirty table cloth. In the end, there are other places in the city worth eating at for fine dining that offer a more accomodating GF experience with a higher quality product over all. If you are going or want to experience the awesome view, then I'd go for the truly amazing GF crab cakes and GF rolls. I give this review 3 stars, because the GF crab caked and GF rolls are a rare treat for celiacs and the quality if these items may indicate that our entrees were just an unfortunate experience. That happens...but at $124 for two people (not including tip and without alcohol or dessert), I would only return if someone else was paying. Update as of 3/5/2013: we are suspecting my friend might have had food poisoning.here. On Sunday, we spent 6 hours at the ER with very stubborn nausea. He vomited 3 times and had diarrhea several times. ER doc didn't think it was from Celiac or Gastoparesis, considering celiac is much more intense vomiting and watery diarrhea and my friend's gastroparesis doesn't involve vomiting and diarrhea. We told several locals about our experience and they said the locals don't eat here unless they are going for the crab cakes, which I'll admit were the highlight of the meal.
Best gluten free bread I have ever had and it is baked to order. The chocolate latte cake was delicious. Very well trained staff and lots of options.
Gluten free crab cakes are amazing!! Beautiful restaurant, well trained staff. Great menu.
