If asked I’d have to say my first experience with “fancy” dining was most likely the Georgetown Inn on Mt Washington in Pittsburgh. Looking back on it, the Georgetown was a good restaurant that survived for as long as it did due to its great view of the city and its proximity to the incline. The Georgetown closed in 2013 and was replaced by Altius which opened in 2014.
Altius shares the same great view that the Georgetown had and that’s where the similarities end. While the Georgetown was “traditional” (thick carpets, leather chairs, heavy feeling interior and food) Altius is the opposite. The interior is light and airy, the furniture is modern and the food matches. For this visit (they had only been open for 2 weeks at the time) we started at the bar, then moved to a nice table (with very comfortable chairs) and ended with a nice trip back to the car down the incline.
Our first trip we took our own bottle of wine and paid the hefty corkage – we’ve picked from their list since then and that list has gotten better and better over the years (2016 Wine Spectator magazine’s Award of Excellence winner)
All in all a good replacement to a Pittsburgh classic that had seen it’s time pass.
Over the years we’ve taken several “exchange employees” from Buzzacott, a firm in London that has an exchange program with Schneider Downs. We take a ride up the incline, take some pictures, have dinner at Altius and head back down the incline. Makes a great way to show off the city.