Mitchell's Fish Market at the Waterfront opened about the same time our family moved to Pittsburgh. I'm not sure how we managed to miss it for so long, but when I heard about its terrace overlooking the Mon River, I rushed right over. And what a terrace it is! Jutting out from the building to meet the footpath that winds along the green banks of the river, it provides peaceful views of tugboats pushing coal barges, pleasure boats pulling water skiers and fishermen dangling single lines from small, flat-bottom boats.

John Heller, Post-Gazette Joe Maurer, left, of Crafton, and his daughter Melissa Maurer of Reading, Berks County, finish their meal with the help of waitress Debbie Schmidt at Mitchell's Fish Market at the Waterfront. Melissa said she loves the view of the Monongahela River and the Homestead High Level Bridge from the restaurant's terrace and eats there with her dad when she's in town. Click photo for larger image. Mitchell's Fish Market 185 West Waterfront Drive Pittsburgh, PA 15120 412-476-8844 Hours: Lunch 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays; Sunday brunch (full menu) 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; dinner, 4-10 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 4-11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3-9 p.m. Sundays. Basics: Appetizers $3.50 (soup)-$14.95; entrees $9.95 (lunch)-$24.95 (dinner); desserts $4.95-$6.50. The most unique outdoor dining space in Pittsburgh, serving fresh fish and produce prepared in an open kitchen by professional chefs. Noise is not a problem indoors or out. Smoking in separate bar or outdoors. Wheelchair accessible. Free parking in private lot. All major credit cards accepted. Reservations recommended. Dine on terrace if weather permits.

The restaurant is housed in what, on the outside, looks like a weathered, seaside shed. Inside, it resembles a New England chowder house. There is an open kitchen behind a long glass case displaying the many varieties of fish featured on the day's menu. From anywhere in the dining room, diners can enjoy watching a battery of cooks do their grilling, broiling, roasting or frying dance with a cast of pots and pans.

Mitchell's has a raw bar offering four kinds of oysters on the half shell as well as cherrystone clams. The oysters are priced per piece ($1.95) or as assortments of four ($7.50) or eight ($14.95). They are served on a bed of shaved ice with a cheesecloth-wrapped lemon half and two sauces: tomato-horseradish cocktail sauce and the classic shallot-vinegar sauce, which I find better-suited to the briny taste of the mollusks. Oyster lovers will relish these supremely fresh delicacies.

Cherrystone clams are served by the half-dozen ($6.95). Other starters available include shrimp and crab cocktails ($8.95 and $10.95, respectively) and wild blue mussels, pan-roasted with white wine, garlic and tomatoes ($7.95). There are also Little Neck clams steamed in white wine, garlic and butter ($10.95). I spied them being served at a neighboring table after we had ordered, and they looked and smelled delicious. Either would make a suitable entree with Mitchell's excellent warm sourdough bread to dip in the broth.

From the salad menu, I can highly recommend the beefsteak tomatoes. Two thick slices of bright red saucer-sized beefsteak tomato, bursting with ripe flavor, are posed atop a bed of fresh baby spinach and dressed with thin slivers of red onion and chunks of blue cheese, then drizzled with a creamy dressing ($5.50). Tomatoes like these are among the greatest epicurean joys of summer.

The backbone of Mitchell's menu is a cornucopia of fish flown in daily from ports as far away as Hawaii, Alaska, Peru and Florida. Each fish (there were 13 varieties last week) is listed with its place of origin and can be prepared according to the diner's choice. The menu is printed daily so that it features only fish available on that day. I particularly enjoyed the halibut, Shanghai fashion ($13.50 at lunch and $18.95 at dinner). The snowy white mild-flavored and firm-fleshed fish was perched on a bed of sticky short-grain rice and surrounded by a "moat" of sauteed spinach. The ginger and green onions used in the steaming process added a subtle Asian flair to the fish, which was reinforced by a rice wine soy sauce sprinkled over both fish and rice. All in all, a magical blend of tastes and textures.

Specialities of the kitchen include Pan Seared Sea Scallops served with red pepper risotto and sauteed spinach and dressed with a poblano corn cream sauce. This and the Hot and Sour Glazed Swordfish are good examples of the chef's creativity. Employing the freshest ingredients and blending them in new and imaginative ways, the chef offers an original spin on traditional fish preparations. The only disappointment I had at Mitchell's was the Chesapeake Bay Crab Cake ($11.50 at lunch), served with garlic mashed potatoes and sweet corn saute. The crab cake was slim and consisted of primarily claw meat rather than the preferred lump meat. The accompanying corn was frozen, not fresh. This seems hardly necessary when fresh corn abounds at this time of year.

After a satisfying meal, it is hard to get excited about any dessert menu, but for the sake of our readers I made the ultimate sacrifice! Lemon Sorbet with blueberry sauce, strawberries and candied lemon ($4.95) offered a refreshing finish to a great meal with its generous serving of tart lemon sorbet and not-too-sweet berries and sauce. The restaurant's signature dessert, called Sharkfin Pie, is almost an embarrassment. It brought stares and snickers from the entire terrace. A whale-sized and fin-shaped slice of vanilla ice cream boasts a thick coating of roasted peanuts, a center of peanut butter and a topping of fudge sauce and whipped cream in an Oreo cookie crust. With the number of calories and carbs no doubt putting this dessert in the red zone of any health radar, eating even one bite felt like a medical felony.

Although Mitchell's Bar loves to make exotic cocktails, I prefer fermented grape juice. Six-ounce glasses of wine range from $5.95 to $7.95, and there are 26 such wines on the list. Most are from California, as are the bottles, starting at $24 for the Redwood Creek Chardonnay. Most bottles are in the $28-$38 range. There is an impressive list of beers on draft that go from Yuengling Lager to Bass Ale and Guinness Stout.

Dining at Mitchell's is a "feel good" experience. Although the restaurant will not guarantee a table on the terrace when you reserve, I suggest that on arrival, you agree to wait for terrace seating and take a walk along the river path until your table is ready. There is nothing else like it in Pittsburgh. If you go for lunch, the river is more alive and you will benefit from the reduced prices. The menu is virtually the same: fish portions are 6 ounces at lunch and 8 ounces at dinner. Either way, you are in for an enjoyable meal.