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| - I tried this place last night for the first time. I went with a group of girls for a friend's bachelorette party. The atmosphere is really nice. I never went when Cafe Allegro was in this space, but it appeared to be newly remodeled. It was contemporary and modern but still welcoming and comfortable.
I was a bit worried at first because the waitress announced they were out of several items on the menu, but they added a few specials which helped to make up for it. We started with cocktails and a few small plates including the large artisan cheese plate. For $15, the cheese plate was a great value with at least 5 types of gourmet cheeses along with dried apricots, candied walnuts, berries and various sauces. We also had the gnocchi appetizer which was delicious. I had a dark and stormy cocktail, one of my favorite drinks, which was made perfectly by the bartender. The owner even surprised us with a complimentary champagne toast to celebrate our special occasion.
My friend and I ordered the anjou pear salad to share before our meal. It had gorgonzola cheese and walnuts with a meyer lemon vinaigrette... Yum! And for my entree, I ordered the crab cakes with mushroom risotto and asparagus. The crab cakes were seriously awesome. They had tons of jumbo lump crab and were perfectly seasoned. They were also moist and flaky with a nice golden crust. The risotto was creamy with a good balance of earthiness from the mushrooms and cheesy-ness from the parmesan. The asparagus was simply done but cooked nicely.
The service was fantastic throughout the meal. The wait staff was attentive and everything was timed perfectly. At the end of our meal, the owner brought out complimentary Limoncello shots for us to sip. Another welcomed surprise! And after we paid our check, the staff brought out special desserts on the house. Vanilla cheese cake with a banana caramel sauce that was out of this world. The head chef even came out to our table to make sure we enjoyed our meal.
I would say I have pretty high standards for restaurants given all the great new places that have opened in Pittsburgh over the past few years. I was pleasantly surprised by Truth Lounge and will definitely be back a second time. They went above and beyond to make sure we had an awesome dining experience, and completely earned this 5-star review.
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