Fish Shanty
Located at the messy intersection of La Cienega Boulevard, San Vicente Boulevard and Burton Way, the Smith Bros. Fish Shanty was known to Los Angeles residents as “that place where you walk in through the whale’s mouth.” If you did, you got pretty good seafood served to you by friendly waitresses who seemed to have been there forever. You could always take their word on what was good and fresh that day.
One was always quietly warning me away from a side dish option they had called “Warm Potato Salad with Bacon.” It had once been a specialty of the house but, she said, the current chefs didn’t make it as well as their predecessors. Everything else, she said, was great and she seemed to be right about that. The fried shrimp and the abalone were especially grand. We miss the cuisine and we miss entering via the whale’s jaws and feeling, just for the moment, like Pinocchio.
Click above to enlarge
5 Responses to Fish Shanty
Leave a Reply
Loved going through the fishes mouth, even when I was an adult. Love photo’s of Los Angeles long gone. Was reminiscing last night about this specific restaurant, now I can direct him here. Thank you for sharing…
As a kid our parents would take us to the location they had in the South Bay. I remember my mother always ordered the sand dabs. My brother and probably had fish sticks. I remember they cooked the fish over a flame in what looked like a tennis racket. For dessert we always got that inverted ice cream cone with a necco wafer face of a clown on it.
My father was the chef there…. fond memories of going there with him and going through the restaurant on an expedition…went to several christmas parties their for employees…his bosses were exceptional to him and his family….My uncle bartended there…Mr. Kaiser was his boss and my dad still remembers him at 92 years old he has nothing but good things to say about that restaurant family…..
This was my Father’s restaurant, as was the one in Torrance on PCH. Great memories, a classic restaurant on “Restaurant Row” in Beverly Hills. The food was amazing, the ambiance was classic and I often meet people that frequented one or both of the restaurants and still carry fond memories of their experience. Lots of famous Hollywood people enjoyed the Fish Shanty..it stood on one of the most valuable corners of real estate still to this day..in Beverly Hills.
My father’s name was Pete DeMarco. He worked for Dohrmann Hotel Supply in Culver City back in the 50′-70….He had every account on Restaurant Row (and then some) he used to make me wait as a kid in front while he got the weekly kitchen order. I used to count the little mosaics on the fish while I waited. I was there with him when the cart transfer was done from one ide of the street to the other…my dad also was integral in the rolling roast beef carts…etc. etc……great days!!