Erique F.
Yelp
I would have given this place two stars if they didn't charge premium prices for their subpar food. However, with my bill totaling over $160, for the terrible food I received, I am forced to give this only one star.
The ambiance is tired. Booths and tables that have seen better days tucked into a bar and grill that, at dinner time on a Thursday night, had a much more active bar than it did dining room. In retrospect that should have been a warning sign.
I visited hoping for a fine dining experience. I started with the lobster bisque. The flavor wasn't bad, and improved as it was eaten. However, there was scarcely a trace of any lobster, no garnishment. I understand it's a bisque and not a chowder, but there was quite literally no lobster to be found. I imagine they whipped up a bisque and cooked it with lobster stock. I do recall one spoonful, only one, with a cobweb wisp of what could have been lobster in it. Overall it wasn't terrible however.
Next was a "jumbo" shrimp cocktail. These were previously frozen shrimp, served in a steel metal contraption resembling a toilet bowl in a public park. The cocktail sauce had a nice amount of horseradish in it, but had the same familiar candied taste and texture you get from a bottle of commercial cocktail sauce; nothing fresh here folks and terrible presentation to boot.
But it is with the entrees that things really went downhill. First I ordered scallops and risotto. Mind you, I am viewing these dishes from a chef's perspective. The cooking technique was poor. The risotto itself was not bad. A touch of fresh garlic would have really elevated it, perhaps some fresh parsley some pepper, dash of salt, but it wasn't bad. However, the scallops had a very hard sear on one side and none on the other. This amateur method of cooking scallops did produce a scallop that was cooked properly through, however the one-sided sear was so overdone that it created a greasy, crunchy crust on that side that tasted of burnt butter/oil.
The same cook that had seared the hell out of my scallops must have also cooked the filet mignon that followed. I had asked the waitress how long she had worked there and if she knew if they generally got the temperatures correct on their steaks. She said she had worked there for quite some time and that they usually did get the temps correct. She added, that she would ask them to temp it as well. I have never experienced a filet mignon as destroyed as the one that was served to me. The very middle of the steak actually was medium-rare; at least visually. However, the sear all around the outside was done with such an intensity that a ring, a quarter inch deep on all sides around the center was more than well done - dry and gray, it destroyed the texture and flavor of the entire steak. It was like chewing on sand.
I passed on dessert.
The wine selection was low to mid-ranged. There were some interesting selections, all following the same, overpriced-for-what-you-actually-get business model that this restaurant is built on. I ordered a glass of this or that to pair with the entrees. It hardly mattered.
Save yourself the money and aggravation. Grab a sandwich at Primanti Brothers instead. Pittsburgh is a working class rust belt city and the dining follows suit.