Legally embattled Pittsburgh restaurateur Richard DeShantz’s Fish Nor Fowl has closed.
On Monday morning, the website for the high-end, modern Italian restaurant on Penn Avenue in Garfield displayed only a brief closure message from staff:
“After nearly eight years on Penn Avenue, we’ve served our last plate. Thank you to everyone who joined us for pasta, cocktails and long dinners upstairs. Thank you to our team, who made every night what it was. It’s been an honor to cook for you.”
The final menu for the eatery — boasting a seasonally rotating selection and handmade pastas — featured a host of elevated small plates, snacks, meats and cheeses as well as fuller options including squid ink mafaldine, bucatini all’amatriciana, mushroom pappardelle, crispy skin duck and arctic char piccata.
The restaurant first welcomed in patrons in 2018 in the former Salt of the Earth Space. Staff numbered around 12-15 according to an employee, who said they all “have homes” at other DeShantz concepts.
In early October, DeShantz, 55, was arrested and charged with strangling and assaulting his girlfriend, who was granted a restraining order following the alleged assault. He was taken to Allegheny County Jail before being released on bail to await trial. A preliminary hearing is currently scheduled for Thursday.
It’s unclear whether Monday’s closure is related to the criminal charges against DeShantz.
Messages left with the restaurant group and with DeShantz were not immediately returned.
The restaurant previously closed for nearly three years during the covid-19 pandemic before reopening in February 2023 with a slightly redesigned interior.
The Richard DeShantz Restaurant Group operates more than a dozen venues, including Poulet Bleu in Lawrenceville, Pre Amp Coffee Studio in Squirrel Hill, Golden Gai in Bakery Square, as well as Meat & Potatoes, Butcher and the Rye, Täkō, Gi-Jin and Sally Ann’s in Downtown Pittsburgh.
Dining and Cooking