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| - Like most people on here have already said, Richard Chen doesn't live up to the crazy hype.
The space is stunning. I can't think of another restaurant that looks this good. Clean whites with dark wood accents. Very minimal but executed perfectly.
Service was friendly and fast. Our server was at our table immediately after being seated. Silverware was quickly replaced, plates were cleared instantly and quietly. Conversation was never interrupted by the server once and the suggestions were great. It was top-notch for that.
The food is the reason why this place has been knocked down.
We started with an order of the spring rolls and the hamachi tataki. The spring rolls were incredible, but that's not saying much. They're just spring rolls. Not exactly the hardest dish to nail in the world. The Hamachi Tataki was impressive yet small. It melted in your mouth...great fish flavor, great presentation.
When we moved onto the entrees, things went downhill. Sauces on all three of the dishes ordered at our table (Ribeye with soy garlic glaze, Wok Fried Sea Bass, Sichuan Chili Prawns) were too heavy and most lacked flavor. I wasn't expecting this as I was under the impression that the whole idea of this restaurant was to get away from the standard heavy/boring Chinese food thing.
The ribeye was what I had, so I'll talk about that mostly. It was my favorite of the three. The sauce on this one had the most flavor of anything we had, It was sweet but not overwhelming. Still too heavy however. The cut of meat had a bit too much fat on it and at times was difficult to cut through.
We skipped dessert to get home in time for the presidential debate, but the menu looked enticing. I will go back because I would like to try some other dishes and they have a great four-course evening special. Overall, Richard Chen is a welcome addition to Pittsburgh's dining scene, but needs to improve the food in order to live up to the expectations they set. For the money, there are better options in Pittsburgh.
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