Scales

Weighing In On Scales-Beyond Great Expectations as the Quintessential Waterside New England Brasserie

March 11, 2026 / / Restaurants

As we walked down the newly paved sidewalk to the front door of Scales, which recently opened on Maine Wharf, a diner—unknown to us-came out of the restaurant and said, “You have to have the butterscotch pudding.”

The stroll down Maine Wharf to the restaurant is charmingly romantic

Well, it’s hardly surprising that the long-awaited Scales is living up to expectations as the quintessential seafood restaurant on Portland Harbor. But, really, it’s much more than that. For one, seafood is not it’s only calling card as you discover that Scales is pretty much a New England brasserie with a lot of prized possessions on its menu. Indeed, it could turn out to be that glistening star beyond all others in Portland’s rather glittering galaxy of dining options.

By day the room is dazzlingly bright overlooking the harbor outside

Read more…

Seven Days of Dining: Maine Restaurant Week, Boston Burger and New York Italian

March 7, 2026 / / Discoveries, Restaurants

Few surprises populate the Maine Restaurant Week list of participants in the Portland area. Absent were members of the so-called hot list of new haunts such as Terlingua, Roustabout and Woodford Food and Beverage. But do try the East Ender for one of the best meals around from their $25 MRW prix fixe menu. Or go to Tempo Dulu for its $45 prix fixe, a relative bargain for this divine restaurant.

These restaurant weeks—as most are intended around the country in food-focused cities—are a way to invigorate the slower late winter-early spring months to draw diners in. That means, if you cater to reverse logic, those perennially busy restaurants—not on the list-might be easier to get into without reservations since the bulk of local diners are flocking to MRW members.

Read more…

Fore Street: What more can one say other than it’s as good as ever!

December 18, 2025 / / Restaurants

After a recent dinner at Fore Street, what struck me most is how iconic this Portland restaurant remains. That it manages to keep its reputation intact night after night, and its space packed at all times, is truly a revelation in a city teeming with great restaurants.

After all, it’s the grande dame of farm-to-table dining in Maine whose newcomers are merely following suit rather than blazing new trails. Consider, for instance, that Fore Street employed foragers way back while some of our city’s newest chefs were still in their knickers.

As soon as you walk in you see the whole scene-from the open kitchen, the dining room and the views of Portland Harbor beyond

Read more…