Please note:
Bar seating is available for dinner service by reservation only.
Please arrive at the time of your reservation. All guests will be required to wait outside of the restaurant until their table is ready.
We are only able to seat complete parties at this time.
Please be mindful of social distancing guidelines at all times while dining with us.
As per the guidance from the State of Maine, all guests are required to wear a face covering in the restaurant, including while seated at the table.
If you have a cough or a fever, please join us another time. We’ll look forward to seeing you when you’re feeling better!
Safety precautions
- Surfaces sanitized between seatings
- Common areas deep cleaned daily
- Sanitizer or wipes provided for customers
- Limited number of seated diners
- Distancing maintained in common areas
- Extra space between tables
- Waitstaff wear masks
- Diners must wear masks unless eating or drinking
- Sick staff prohibited in the workplace
Popular dishes
Seafood Stew
clams, mussels, white fish, squid, pancetta, roasted fennel, soffrito
133 reviews
Seared Scallops*
oyster mushroom, brussels sprouts, red onion, bacon, leek cream
90 reviews
Oysters*
78 reviews
Absolutely unbelievable food. My husband and I got pan roasted lobster and seared scallops and they were amazing. Perfectly done.
Tasty food with fresh ingredients. The menu features a diverse but not overpowering selection of choices. The lighting is warm and at the right brightness.
Absolutely excellent dining experience. Interesting flavor combinations. Excellent service. Our server’s recommendations were spot on. Make sure you save room for dessert - the “baked Alaska “ was phenomenal. Will definitely return.
Love the fresh seafood and creative combinations. They are always true to the taste of the food and the season, combining perfectly other foods and and spices.
I am blown away by the quality of the food, as well as how its put together.
Everything from ny cornbread with chili-honey butter, to my fantastic scallop dish, and especially the sticky toffee pudding, WOW. The only words I can think of is decadent, and exquisite!
A must go, I will be back!
Love Scales! Food is delicious and the service is always wonderful. We come to Maine a few times a year and everytime we visit we find ourselves at Scales. We can’t get enough.
Excellent service and as we were a party of 6 everyone was pleased with entree choices. Our server was the best!!! Highly recommend for an overall fabulous dining experience,
Had a wonderful dinner at Scales! The whole experience is so fun. You walk up to an unassuming door lit by a single lamp on the pier and inside is a bustling and gorgeous restaurant. Decorated beautifully for the holidays, the ambiance inside is warm and energetic. Our hostess was wonderful, and answered every question for us. You could tell the seafood was fresh and high quality. All in all, a wonderful evening that is worth the price. We will be back!
I took my husband for his birthday and he loved it!
Everything was on point! Most importantly we felt very covid safe and comfortable dining. The food was delicious, drinks perfect, service was great! Thank you Scales - job well done!
Incredible food and service
One of the best meals I’ve ever had. Great ambiance, beautiful and warm decor. We sat at the bar and had the greatest bartender. She was very informative and helped us decide when we wanted several items on the menu. My only regret was not saving enough room for dessert. Fantastic cocktails, mussel appetizer and the scallops & halibut were top notch. A must try if you’re visiting Portland!
Oh my gosh, I can't recommend "Scales" enough. The food and the service was outstanding. Only regret is that we do not live close-by enough to eat at "Scales" more often.
Excellent service and Oysters were super fresh and delicious.
Amazing! Everything we have ever had there has been amazing!
Sat comfortably & ate at the bar. Outstanding service & food.
Felt safe, satisfied & well cared for!
Very pricy for portion size but the food was delicious.
Food is still up to the highest standard in Portland. Asking people to wear a mask while seated at a table is kind of foolish thought.
great outside eating with nice heat lamps, dealing with covid well
Amazingly fresh and seasonal ingredients from the entire seafood spectrum. Thoughtful service from all staff made this an excellent meal.
Always wonderful, food and experience keeps us going back
Unfortunately, beyond the tuna crude which was excellent, the best thing that arrived at our table was our son’s grilled cheese. Broiled cod was flavorless, the dorade was just a mess after they deboned it, and the chowder was not balanced (too much clam juice and had a weird gray color). The tab was $300+ for a family of five, and it just wasn’t worth it for that uninspired quality of food. Our server was awesome, really great guy and very helpful.
We have been to Scales many times and always enjoy the ambiance and the excellent menu options. Valet parking is a big plus.
Great food and wonderful night. A little pricey but we were celebrating a special anniversary.
As always had a fabulous overall evening at scales and food was again top notch. Service was tremendous as well
Amazing experience. Sat at the bar and received exceptional service!
Amazing experience, the food was stunning everything pretty good but the clam chowder
Ben was our server and he was so gentle and with aknowledge of the food, wine and desserts
We were doubting because just read a lot of negative comments but we gave it a try and it worth it
Lovely place,
Fabulous food! First time in Portland, 25 th anniversary.they were very kind and helped us celebrate with a nice glass of champagne!
The food selection, wine selection, environment was super nice for a Saturday night. Reasonable prices. Obviously the restaurant is called Scales for a reason. Only seafood on the menu for the most part.
Excellent!
Exceptional food -- cannot recommend the big eye tuna or the scallops entre more. Enjoy!
Great service for a friends birthday with a nice handwritten card and message on plate.
Our bartender was superb. Super friendly and knowledgeable. Second time coming back to Scales and the food was outstanding yet again. Ambiance is superb and the complimentary valet parking eases the mind of finding parking in downtown Portland. Will definitely be going back to Scales soon!
Loved everything, even got a “table lobster” to share so we all could try it and still enjoy everything else the menu had to offer.
Awesome time! Would definitely recommend this venue to anyone!
Amazing food and attention to detail. Great staff!
Food was great! Loved the halibut and the oysters.
My daughter and I went to Scales while we were in Maine for the weekend. She got a fabulous lobster roll and I got the halibut with browned butter with the clover rolls to start. Everything was amazing! A great recommendation and we will be back out next trip to Portland!
One of my favorite spots in Portland. Got seated in the middle of a handful of tables, not the best spot especially considering today's climate of eating out. Mussels were great, main courses as well. Feel the pan roasted lobster is a little overpriced (know what Portland restaurants pay for Hard shell lobster).
Was seated timely and our server was very good.
Overall a good experience as usual but have had better experiences there as well.
Outstanding food, service, atmosphere. Very safe Covid precautions with distanced tables and masking
FAQs
Scales is rated 4.8 stars by 1963 OpenTable diners.
Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable. Due to local restrictions, this restaurant may not be accepting reservations at the moment.