This
restaurant is located in the Strip District of Pittsburgh, which is walkable
from the Downtown area. The restaurant is located in a storefront amongst other
shops and restaurants on Penn Avenue. No on-site parking exists, but street
parking is available, and some public parking lots are nearby.
The
restaurant space occupies two former storefronts, one of which has high
ceilings in the bar area. Toward the back of the bar area, a mezzanine floor
hosts an event space that is somewhat private from the rest of the property.
(The space is enclosed with glass walls and a glass door, but is still
partially open to the lower bar area.) The other half of the restaurant offers
seating on the street floor and on the second level. The ground-level bar is
long and can seat many patrons. Many of the tables on the lower floor are made
of enormous wooden spools topped with a round piece of glass. The front walls
of the restaurant space can be rolled up (garage-door style) to adjoin the
outdoor space. However, only one or two tiny tables for two are available on
the sidewalk for al fresco dining. The restaurant provides an ATM machine on
the second floor near the bathrooms.
Luke
Wholey is the son of the family who has owned and operated Wholey's Fish Market
in the Strip District for over 100 years. Therefore, it was only logical that
the family open a seafood restaurant nearby. Originally, the family operated a
lunch grill outside of the fish market before they opened this full-service
restaurant a few blocks down and across the street.
The
menu offers (not surprisingly!) primarily seafood. We read only two items on
the dinner menu that were not fish-based (filet mignon and chicken parmesan).
We liked that the menu focused on seafood; so many restaurants today try to
appeal to everyone by offering both land and sea options, but this restaurant
is committed to focusing on seafood. The menu offers sandwiches (served only
until 4:00 pm, however), soups, salads, and entrees, along with raw bar items.
On the weekday afternoon that we dined, the restaurant offered special prices
on appetizers at a 50% discount. We shared a smoked whitefish dip served with
toasted crostini while we enjoyed our beverages. (We were pleased to see the
whitefish dip on the menu; for some reason, we only seem to see that item on
the menu when we travel in the south.)
We
sat at the bar, and we received good service from the multiple bartenders who
were working. However, what really impressed us was when the manager asked what
we thought about the restaurant and the food. In fact, he was so conscientious
that we mistook him for the owner. Therefore, he did a great job to make sure
that his customers were happy.
