Pittsburgh Rare

I probably like this place more than others. If you’re lucky you get a nice view of the city and river. Try the potato pancake — you’ll like it. The steak will surprise you. It is better than most. I like this place than most of the upper tier chain steak places in Pittsburgh.

Let me begin by saying that I have a loyalty to Starwood properties. I seem to always experience the best, and have enjoyed food from the very best of the chefs from Luxury Collection properties all the way down to amazing food at Sheraton properties. I have also worked in the food industry, and while I know I am critical of service, I am very understanding when service or food does not meet expectations.
From start to finish, this meal was definitely in the top for being the worst ever all around. And I say this not because the food was bad, but the service was awful. Let me start with the very beginning. When we walked in, there were only three tables in the restaurant, and it took a while for someone to even come to the hostess desk. In the meantime, I saw another couple seat themselves, because they too had been waiting before our group for who knows how long. Finally, a polite gentleman came up and asked if we would be dining with them this evening, and when I said yes, he said «okay, one moment» and walked away. He went to fix our table and came back and got us. Upon sitting, a sweet girl came over immediately and filled our waters, and we waited for our server to come by. We ordered our cocktails, and some of us ordered a glass of wine. The waitress then proceeded to ask about what our second choices were in case they did not have it. I was definitely surprised by this. After some time, she brought out our drinks. We were sitting and enjoying our company, and ordered our first courses. She never described anything about the menu or made any recommendations. Someone at the table ordered the onion soup, and stated that it was way too salty and tasted like it had been in the pot cooking for days and had reduced to something that was not edible. The waitress finally came back to check on us about 35 minutes later after someone in the group went and got her. We had been waiting to re-​order our drinks for a long time, and our plates were just sitting. She pulled the first-​course plates and when she came across pulling the soup, she said «oh, I am sorry I took your soup». The friend replied that she did not like the soup and could not eat it because it did not taste well. the server said nothing more and walked away. We were finally able to order both our meals and drinks at this time. The drinks came ten minutes later, half delivered by another server. The food came out 45 minutes later. Mind you, nothing was prepared more than medium rare at the table, and there were still only 5 other tables in the restaurant. The waitstaff appeared to be invisible almost the entire time. The only person really working was the sweet girl who delivered our water as she was cleaning the tables and refilling waters. Our food came out and was actually tasty. Everyone really enjoyed their food. However, no one ever came by to ask how it was. It is such a pity for a chef to have to have their food serviced from a staff like this. Unfortunately, it ruins the experience. We had to get up to ask for the check, because we could not see our server anywhere, and when we got the check (with the soup still charged that was not even eaten and clearly stated that it was not enjoyable), it took a long time to even get back.
Sadly, this experience was so awful I had to write about it. Usually, I never really feel the need to say anything about it. But this was different. I can guarantee that none of us will ever return here.

We had a Groupon for Pittsburgh Rare, which is probably the only reason we went here. I kind of have a thing against hotel restaurants, even if it’s a hotel I’m staying in, so I don’t know that we would have made the trip down here without a coupon.
That said, we had an enjoyable night, but I don’t know that we’d return (with or without another coupon). The place was far from crowded, but the service was so spotty and odd. And the food was good, but it wasn’t like, AMAZING, and for the price, you can get an an even better view and better food for just the tiniest bit more up the hill at LeMont.
First of all, when we were seated, the waitress gave us a wine list, and once we’d picked something, she said, «Well, actually, we’re out of everything but like 3 bottles.» Umm, I know I’m kind of a wine snob these days, but really? You’re a steak house without a full wine selection?
That was just so strange to me. However, as luck would have it, there was one decent bottle ‘left’ in their wine cellar (I mean, the wine list was only a single page to begin with, how do you run out and just not send someone to the dang store in Shadyside to get more??), so we got that.
Our waitress was super peppy and nice, but she would just disappear at times. One recommendation she made that I really appreciated was that if we wanted salads, to split one instead of each ordering our own. We split a casear salad, which was still big as a half size. It was really good, not too creamy or sopping wet with dressing.
We also got the «Pittsburgh potato pancake,» which was truly the highlight of the meal. This thing was as big as a full plate, covered in green onions and sour cream, and lined along the bottom with onions. My arteries were probably so mad at me after eating that, but it was well worth it.
The steaks themselves were really good. We both ordered the filet, and it was really tender and juicy. The mashed potatoes were also quite good, even the next day as leftovers. However, I got the crab-​stuffed shrimp with my filet, and I really didn’t like it all that much. The shrimp felt like it was cooked to a weird texture, so I kind of wish I’d gone with just the filet.
All in all, the food was pretty decent, but it just wasn’t spectacular. If I’m going to spend $ 150 on a meal, I want each and every part of it to stun and awe me! :) You do get a pretty excellent view of the Mon and the buildings across from Station Square (Oxford Plaza and the Steel Building show up nicely, as does the Smithfield Street Bridge), but still, it doesn’t top Mt. Washington.
If you’re staying at the Shearton Station Square and don’t feel like leaving the building, then Pittsburgh Rare is fine. But if you walk a tiny bit, you’ll get to the Grand Concourse, which is so much better, with similar views and prices.
Also, it took us about 25 minutes between asking for the check and actually getting it. And like I said, the place wasn’t busy. There were maybe five tables and two waitresses. I just don’t get it.
The more that I think about it, I might go back, if it was a pretty night, just to have that potato pancake again. But just for that potato pancake ;)

We have eaten twice now at Pittsburgh Rare. Both times, the restaurant was not packed, but we had bad service both times.
Last night we went for a nice New Year’s Eve dinner. They had a «special» menu for New Year’s Eve. No they didn’t add items; they removed all side dishes and many of the entrees. At least the filet mignon was still on the menu.
We waited almost 10 minutes to order, and the service went downhill from there. Slow drink refills, very long time between courses. As far as we could figure out, our waitress was waiting on us (and a couple of other tables) and she was working the reception in the ballroom next to the restaurant.
We may go back, but I doubt it. The great tasting food, doesn’t make up for the horrible service.
4 stars for the food, –1 for the service

Went with a party of 8 for my friends Bachelor Party.
We’ll start with the good:
Had the Pittsburgh Potato Pancake. It was pretty good. I wouldn’t have known there was bacon on it had the menu not mentioned it, but pretty much everyone at the table enjoyed it (and there was enough that 8 guys were all able to have a bit of it).
The entrées were fantastic. Since I don’t think cows are all that tasty, I had and enjoyed the crabcakes. A good amount of crab, not too much breading at all. The roasted corn ancho chile sauce was a great compliment to them.
Everyone else had steak and all loved it. The only complaint was the coffee and cocoa crusted flat iron steak was incredibly small. Temperatures ordered ranged from medium rare to medium well. It looked to me like everything was cooked less than requested but no one was upset at doneness. They looked delicious. It’s a joy to see a well cooked steak. Made me wish i liked eating them.
The cotton candy after the meal. Awesome. Would have skipped the underwhelming dessert had I know it was coming.
The bad: We’d heard about how before ordering the meats were presented and explained. We did not get this service, but did see it other tables getting it.
Our group’s wine snob described the wine list as «terrible.» Nobody likes him though.
Our waitress didn’t seem to know what beers they had. The draft selection was limited to Bud’s finest. When asked what they had in bottles she replied «almost everything» before shooting down several requests (Dogfish Head, Stella Artois, and Newcastle are a few I remember off the top of my head).
The guys that ordered the french onion soup thought it was delicious, but were upset that it was barely warm to the point it was hard to break through the cheese.
Dessert looked fantastic, but wasn’t so good to eat. The chocolate cake is incredibly rich, but merely ok. The «warmed» apple tart came cold.
They apparently don’t believe in serving coffee with dessert either, as it came out a good 15 minutes after (and they neglected to offer milk or sugar).
If you’re just going for dinner and aren’t concerned about the extras (like service) the steaks were considered fantastic by all. If you want a full restaurant experience (as you should be entitled to for their prices) you might be better off finding another place in the city.

This restaurant sits inside the Sheraton hotel atrium. It has a beautiful view of the city from across the Mon River. A train will pass along every 30 minutes. This is a pricy steak restuarant so I expected Capital Grille or Morton’s quality. Service was awkward and slow on the Saturday night I was there. My steak ordered medium was closer to well done. A side is included with each entrée, but none of the choices were anything to write home about. My friends like the lobster bisque and the cotton candy they serve as a complimentary treat after the meal. Pittsburgh Rare was kind of unimpressive for the price.

I actually like Pittsburgh Rare. I went with a couple of friends one evening for a good dinner before we left for our summer break/​internships our junior year. The restaurant is really big and is located in the Sheraton.
When you first order, they bring over a plate of raw meat and describe each piece on it and tell you what you’re looking at and how they cook it. It’s actually really cool. I ended up getting a nice 20 oz porterhouse with a side of sauteed spinach. Another got the pork chops while the other 2 got the New York strip.
For appetizers, I got the French Onion Soup. Oh. This restaurant has a special way to cook the meat if you want to try something new. It’s called Pittsburgh Rare where the meat is «flash seared and charred on the outside and blood red on the inside.» It’s actually not very hot in the middle. Since the restaurant is named Pittsburgh Rare, I figured, why not, give it a shot.
It was suprisingly not bad at all. The french onion soup was delicious. The way a french onion soup should be tasted and the creamed spinach was very good. The total tab was about $ 100 /​person because we also got desert and 2 bottles of wine.

Average food at high price.

This was the token bright spot in the worst hotel I have stayed in my entire life. The girlfriend, J, and I checked into the hotel after a long ordeal at the Pittsburgh airport and we were both excited to try this steakhouse that everyone between Pittsburgh International and the front desk raved about. Hey we like steak and it seemed to be just what we needed to feel normal again.
It was only 7:30 PM when we walked to the restaurant but there was no one there. Were they open? Is there another place where we should look for a host or hostess? Eventually a waitress strolled out from what we assumed was the kitchen area and asked us if we needed help. We asked if they were open and she gave us a funny look. Not backing down we starred at her until she admitted they were.
We were allowed to choose our own seat and since there were no other diners to give us any competition we chose a window seat that gave us a view of the Monongahela River. The waitress/​hostess handed us menus and I requested the wine list.
«It’s on the table.», was her response.
Oh, how silly of me not to realize the laminated card that had the happy hour drink specials was also the wine list. Who was running this operation, Chili’s? As soon as the waitress was out of earshot I whispered to J, «Order something different from me because that lady is definitely going to spit in my food.»
If memory serves me correctly there was a bottle of Opus One on the wine laminant for $ 300 or so and then all of the other bottles were less than $ 35. Talk about two extremes. I did a little restaurant math and figured the Opus One was for the poor business traveler that was booked into this horrible hotel and wanted to exact revenge on his or her company by abusing his or her expense account privileges. Call me crazy but this didn’t appear to be the type of restaurant that had proper cellar facilities for a wine the caliber of Opus One so it was eliminated right away from our vino option.
The other wines were a little foreign to us as well. I knew the varietals but some of the appellations were new to me. The state of Pennsylvania is part of four American Viticulture Areas (a fact I learned after I returned home) and as much as I am up for trying new and unusual wine I was leaning towards the token offering from the southern hemisphere.
The waitress returned to see if we had any questions about the menu. I asked what she thought of the Shiraz. She then gave me the same look I received when I asked if they were open. Not wanting to go through another starring contest I quickly pointed to the wine laminant and humbly said, «This one. I might not be pronouncing it correctly.» (I was).
«Oh, it’s lovely and one of our best sellers.»
Well at least if it sold well we reduced our risk of it being an old bottle that had already turned into vinegar.
«We’ll take one of those please.»
We still had high hopes for the steaks. J ordered the filet and I ordered the rib-​eye. The waitress explained to us that Pittsburgh rare is a method of cooking the steak where it is flash seared and charred on the outside and blood red rare on the inside. I decided to try Pittsburgh Rare because how bad can it be if they went to the trouble of naming the restaurant after the cooking method, right? I even went for the off the menu topping of caramelized onions and reduce balsamic vinegar as my topping. For my side I chose the mac & cheese.
The steak was good, in fact it was very good and I was happy with the Pittsburgh Rare preparation. Sure it was a little bloody and turned my mac & cheese a pink color that J called disturbing, but it tasted great. Even the wine wasn’t as bad as I expected and as far as I can tell my entrée was loogie free.
We skipped dessert but they brought us out what J and I called a seafoam-​colored cloud of cotton candy. This was by far the best cotton candy I have ever had. The only way I can describe it is to imagine the flavor of green Lifesavers in the cotton candy format. It was the highlight of the weekend.
Would I recommend Pittsburgh Rare? Yes. As long as you bring your own bottle of wine, like your steaks rare and understand going into the restaurant that this is a step up from the Outback’s and Black Angus’ of the world but no where near the caliber of the critically acclaimed steakhouses that true beef enthusiasts love.

I’m quite surprised there aren’t any reviews!
My bf took me to Pittsburgh Rare, which is attached to the Sheraton in Station Square, for our 5^th anniversary. It definitely does well for a date, with a fairly good view of the city across the water.
It was just a little confusing, trying to figure out who we were supposed to talk to, as I really couldn’t figure out where the host/​ess would be for PR. There really weren’t any signs inside that told us where we should wait to be seated. (Or were we just blind?) We ended up going to the middle of the entire layout, where we saw somebody that looked like they fit the bill, but apparently she was working on the Lounge (the front part of the lobby-​looking restaurant area), and asked that we wait as she called our hostess over. (Confusing is a minus, but friendly and helpful is a definite plus)
Once seated (by the window, where I could see a tour buses and tour boats across the way), we received almost immediate attention from our waiter. and he continued to be attentive all night, and very helpful. The steaks were juicy and delicious… and I was quite full and satisfied when we were done. We had to refuse ordering the green cotton candy that seemed to be a specialty afterwards. (It was rather amusing to see how delighted the ladies were with it, at the table next to ours.)
Go again? Maybe on another special date. and perhaps with a car next time, if so.