It seems like everyone in Pittsburgh is ranting and raving about Meat and Potatoes. I have half a mind to join them. However I feel like M&P is like that girl you pick up at 2 AM when the boozer is letting out. Things look great right then and there but looming back the next morning you are left thinking "Weren't you prettier last night?" This is my morning after wake up call.
We will start with the decor. I like it. It's a cool modern take on the kind of look one gets in a classic pub. While this should lend to a warm inviting atmosphere, M&P is somehow able to make is feel cold and pretentious. Secondly, the tables are crammed in so tight big guys like me can end up feeling very cramped. On that note I would like to apologize to the poor people seated next to me on my last visit. The layout forced my butt in your dinner. Sorry.
The service can mirror the feel from time to time. Sometimes I get warm and friendly, other times its cold and unapproachable. Just because you work in a hot downtown location doesn't me you get to be a boor to your guests.
The major saving graces to M&P are the food and the cocktails. The food is killer. My go to favorites are the fried chicken livers (trust me) and the signature Meat and Potatoes for Two (I don't share. Fat guy remember?). Steaks always come out hot and perfectly cooked, but rested enough so they don't bleed out all over your plate. The bar is stellar too. They seem to trend toward updates on classic prohibition era cocktail is but they are done well. The drinks are very well balanced and tasty. Too easy to have too many tipples here.
To wrap up I like M&P. it's pricey but I the k it is worth it. The major issues I have with the place stems from their pretentiousness. They label themselves a "gastropub" which to me is entirely redundant. The word supposedly means a bar with great food. Ok you just described a "pub". The attitude follows with the decor and the attitude of the workers. It's like meeting this great girl at last call and in the morning you find out she is kinda bitchy. But she's definitely hot enough to call again.