Or, The Whale (OTW) - More Than a Hotel Restaurant, It’s a Dining
Destination
My spouse and I ate a late dinner at Or, The Whale on a
Friday evening in mid-October 2017. The restaurant is open daily for brunch and
dinner, with an “in-between” subset of the menu available at other times. You
can book a table using the online Open Table reservation system.
Or, The Whale opened in late summer 2017 in the Distrikt
Hotel in Downtown Pittsburgh. The Distrikt occupies the city’s former 1920s
Salvation Army building, and the restaurant repurposes its former gymnasium. (The
hotel’s other restaurant/bar, Evangeline, is named for the former women’s
residence.) The restaurant’s unusual name is derived from the original subtitle
of Herman Melville’s book “Moby Dick: or, The Whale”, so of course, the main
character features prominently in the restaurant’s logo (seen on coasters, menu
covers, and receipts), on a huge two-story mural on the dining room wall, and
as the subject matter in a stack of books on the bar. The nautical theme
continues, with a series of thick boat ropes on the two-story tall ceiling that
create a sort of sculpture. You enter the restaurant on the second-floor catwalk/mezzanine
(which was the former running track of the gym), where you can sit at small tables, at the bar itself,
in the bar area (at a few high-top tables), or at a dining counter that
overlooks the ground-floor main dining room. The true bar stools are trendy
backless leather stools, but the immoveable dining counter bar chairs look much
more comfortable with backs and armrests. Because of the elevation of the
building/street, some parts of the restaurant are at grade (such as the main
entrance door and the catwalk tables), some areas are partially below street
level (like the bar tables), and other parts are below ground (such as the main
dining room). From the entryway where the host stand is located, you descend a
staircase (or elevator, if mobility is an issue) to reach the main dining area,
which was once the gym’s basketball court and swimming pool. An open kitchen
(with its wood-burning grill), a window into the butcher room, and a small wine
cellar (which doubles as a private dining space) are featured elements.
Downstairs, you can dine at one of a few large leather booths, or at tables
that share a banquette on one side. Hanging Edison bulbs (some enclosed in
loose chicken-wire shades) offer additional light in the somewhat dim space.
Like
its cheeky name, the restaurant’s subtitle is “farm and fisher to table”, so
raw-bar towers and steakhouse-type proteins feature prominently, served a la
carte with additional sides available. The restaurant’s chef, pastry chef, and sommelier
previously worked at other downtown restaurants including the Kimpton Monaco’s
The Commoner and The Biergarten. The chef also operates Merchant Oyster Co. in
Lawrenceville. The food was creative and unusual, and service was
excellent, despite the late hour at which we arrived and the restaurant slated
to close less than an hour later. The menu prices seem high until you see their
composition and taste their quality. (Truth be told, we never visit steakhouses
because menus tend to offer the same old boring classic dishes, so we were
thrilled with the imaginative offerings at Or, The Whale.)
We began our meal by sampling the cocktail called Cafe Nuevo
(vodka, coffee liqueur, sherry, and egg whites topped with cocoa powder) and a
beer. As we perused the menu, our bartender delivered two fluffy warm herb
biscuits and butter (it is worth returning just for them!). We then shared four
starters as our meal, delivered two by two as an appetizer and then “entrée”
course. We shared the trout rillettes (topped with roe, and served with paprika-dusted
cucumber slices, arugula salad, and long crispy crostini) and the octopus (a
smaller portion and a bit chewier than we normally like, and served with
arugula salad, nicoise olives, tiny and potatoes) to begin. Next, we shared the
wedge salad (delicately presented in four small wedges set in an
enormous-family-style wooden bowl, with bacon, red onion, heirloom tomatoes,
home-made blue cheese dressing) and the cod chowder (a hearty piece of fish
accompanied by potatoes, bacon, and leek upon which the broth was gently poured
after arrival). The cod chowder was the standout dish of the meal; incredibly
impressive in its generous ingredients and presentation. For dessert, we shared
the super-sweet “bienenstich” (bee sting cake served warm drizzled with honey
caramel, slivered almonds, pollen, and cream).
We will gladly return to Or, The Whale– it is a dining
destination, not merely a hotel restaurant.
