Savoy, Pittsburgh, PA
Savoy Restaurant
I had the opportunity to have dinner at Savoy Restaurant in the Strip recently. I wasn’t familiar with Savoy, but my friend was.
“You have to check this place out,” she said.
I arrived a few minutes prior to our reservation, and got to meet one of the managers, Gary White.
“If you have a few minutes, let me show you around.”
“Lead the way,” I replied.
Savoy Bar
Gary took me downstairs to a VIP room. Inside was a long table covered with white cloth; probably big enough for 20 to 30 people. Also inside the room were a state of the art sound system, and a huge plasma TV. Mr. White explained to me how he could personalize any party, from the music to the cuisine.
“You can also have your own personal wait-staff; we assure total privacy in this room.”
I’m sure there had been many VIP’s, as well as famous personalities in this room, but Mr. White wouldn’t spill the beans.
Outside the VIP room was a large glass cabinet filled with VSOP Cognac, and other top-shelf liquors. If you’re looking for specialized spirits or imported champagne, they have it in their liquor inventory at Savoy.
The third floor had another private room, as well as a second bar (the first one located on the main floor where the dining room was). Hard wood floors adorned this area; all the materials including the DJ’s sound system, and bathroom fixtures were top-shelf. Large glass doors lead to a patio area that becomes busy during the warm summer months.
Ambiance
Savoy is an extravagant space. The décor is tasteful and modern. The dining room has several tables as well as booth seating. The over-sized booths are covered in supple, white leather. The sides of the booths rise several feet above the surrounding tables, assuring total and complete privacy. Indirect lighting covered the soft white tablecloths with warm, magnificent colors.
Savoy Table
Cosmo
Food
Prior to placing our food order, a large basket of bread was placed on our table with herb-infused olive oil- a nice start as we looked over our menus.
To start, I chose a Caesar salad ($10.00), and we also asked for the Trio Appetizer Plate ($14.00) consisting of a Jumbo Lump Crab Cake, Arugula Salad and Warm Vegetable Strudel.
The salad had great tasting traditional Caesar dressing, and the romaine leaves were fresh and sweet. Large homemade croutons lay atop the salad and were a nice crunchy contrast.
Caesar Salad
The Appetizer Trio was next.
The lump crab cake was deliciously fresh and loaded with large chunks of sweet crab meat. Spicy arugula was dressed with a honeyed dressing, and perfectly balanced. The vegetable strudel had a crunchy crust, and was filled with a tasty medley of lightly cooked and well-seasoned vegetables.
Trio Appetizer Plate
Executive Chef Kevin Watson made his way to our table, and made a few entree suggestions.
Even with the Chef’s recommendations, we had a tough time picking entrées. We chose the Stuffed Salmon ($35.00) filled with Jumbo Lump Crab Meat and Shrimp, served with a Lemon Dill Beurre Blanc sauce, and Yukon Whipped Potatoes. Our second entrée was Butter Poached Lobster & Scallop Pasta ($36.00) in Fresh Basil Cream Sauce served over Pappardelle Pasta.
The salmon was cooked a flawless medium-rare, and was topped with a hefty portion of lump crab meat. Atop the salmon was a luscious and fragrant dill buerre blanc sauce- delicious. Buttery Yukon mashed potatoes, and a purple orchid completed the dish.
Salmon with Dill Sauce
The butter poached lobster came in a large white bowl. A colossal scallop caught my attention… Large portions of lobster and the remaining scallops were coated in a rich, but composed cream sauce with fresh basil. The lobster was succulent (it was cooked in butter after all) and tasted salty like the ocean. Equally enjoyable were the seared scallops. Large flat noodles were mixed throughout the dish, picking up the remaining flavors in the food. Although it was a rich dish, the freshness of the seafood offset any possible heaviness.
Lobster and Scallops
After all this rich food, we almost passed up dessert. Luckily we re-considered, and ordered a digestif; a sweet ice wine to go with our Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding ($10.00).
Cinnamon Bun Bread Pudding
The bread pudding was eggy and rich; served with fresh apples and a quenelle of homemade ice cream. The small glass of chilled wine paired well with the yeasty dessert.
Conclusion
Savoy is a sophisticated and elegant restaurant. Besides being an eatery, Savoy has exclusive accommodations for private engagements.
The managers at Savoy are client-driven. The personalized attention and ambiance offered there is rivaled only by clubs and lounges in large cities such as New York, Chicago or Los Angeles.
If you’re looking for a restaurant with delicious food in a sophisticated setting, make your way to Savoy in the Strip.
Chef Chuck Kerber
Cooksandeats.com
chuck@cooksandeats.com
Very good review- Savoy is a most try for people who like great food and great design.
I always met great people at the bar- Enjoy and let the bar tenders make you a specialty
of the house.
This night out had the potential to be pleasant and was wrecked by our trip to Savoy. All started out well with our party of 5 celebrating a couple occasions. Initially the service was alright, the atmosphere a bit pretentious but acceptable. I won’t speak for those eating the other meals other than to say the reviews were mixed, however, I will speak to mine. I ordered the Beef Two Ways, a cube of filet and sliced brisket with mushrooms. The portion size was on the small end for the price but not terrible. The brisket was done quite well and actually very good, not so with the filet. The tiny (1.25″) cube of filet was cooked to the proper state and looked nice, albeit small, and when I took my fork to it there was a 1/2″ SLAB OF FAT all the way down the side of it! DISGUSTING! For a $35 plate this should be Excellent and it’s not even close. Thouroughly dissappointed with my meal, I decided to step outside and have a smoke. Mind you, I’m the one picking up the tab for this evening. After 5 minutes outside having a smoke while waiting for another round of cocktails, I open the door only to have a “security” guy come running to stop me! I was then told in a very unpleasant tone that I wasn’t allowed in the restaurant because my shoes don’t meet thier dress code! It was fine an hour ago…..but now I am no longer an acceptable customer! I explained tersly that I was in the middle of my dinner already and was finally allowed to reenter. Upon be PERMITTED to return to my table I took a look around at some of the other guests…one gentleman dressed in a jogging suit and sneakers, another in designer jeans and chuck taylor sneakers. This sealed the deal for me. I purposly didn’t make an issue at that moment as the night was to be celebrating events for two others in our party but i can tell you this: I WILL NEVER SET FOOT IN THIS PLACE AGAIN! The food was mediocre, the service was slow and I nearly got thrown out before I paid the $250 bill!