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| - I am not one to go to a place like Altius often, especially when the prices are even HIGHER, but I wanted to treat my girlfriend to a Grandview restaurant for Valentine's Day and Altius seemed like our best bet.
Reading through some reviews of other Grandview restaurants on here, I had the following thought: restaurants like these can either make the diner feel special and that they're lucky to have you or make the diner feel like the restaurant is special and you're lucky to be there. Altius falls FIRMLY on the former. We slightly overdressed just to be safe but we were made to feel comfortable throughout the entire process. Not a single second of pretense. The valets, the greeters, our waiter, and every person who served our food or filled our water was great.
I try to get around to as many places in town as I can. Granted, as already stated, I am not a veteran of PIttsburgh's high-end dining, but I know good food (at least I like to think so!) and this was one of the greatest meals I have had in my life. We were there for Valentine's Day so it was all about the prix fixe menu but there were plenty of options on there and we didn't feel limited at all. I ordered the veal sweetbreads, cauliflower bisque, lamb, and half-baked brownie. She ordered the tuna poke, she crab soup, ribeye and shrimp, and chocolate bombe. We both agreed that I had out-ordered her (a rare win!) but we both couldn't believe some of the flavors we were tasting. And I haven't even mentioned the INCREDIBLE bread and the tasty popcorn, both of which it seemed you could have as much of as you wanted if you so desired.
My personal favorite of the night was the herb-crusted lamb. It was served with a cassis whole grain mustard, parsnip puree and green beans. I am a sucker for lamb so I may be easy to please here, but I thought the portion size was right on, it was cooked perfectly, and everything served along with it enhanced the flavor in fun, interesting ways.
We were seated in the corner, right next to the windows. It may have been the best seat in the house. I'd like to thank Altius for giving my girlfriend and I a meal we'll never forget and nothing but fond memories of the entire experience. Amazing restaurant.
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