Surprising tableside service in Portland

(A guide to boning whole Branzino)

By Frank Whitman

You know how it goes.  You’re out with another couple.  They’ve been to the restaurant before and you haven’t.  At the table, drinks are ordered, there’s catch-up chit-chat and then conversation turns to the menu. Those who have been before are asked for advice on “what’s good,” and tentative choices are made.

That was our situation with Topsy and Roy, friends who had moved to Portland, Maine, at Scales, one of that city’s most lauded restaurants. We had reserved a month in advance for a table at the large and busy spot. They shared that it’s easy to get in when the tourist season is over and go often.

When quizzed about menu choices, Roy said, with a twinkle in his eye, “I usually have the branzino.  They take the bones out at the table.”  I didn’t think much about his comment.  Boning tableside is usually seen in haut-cuisine restaurants where a suited waiter rolls a silver bedizened gueridon across the plush carpet to put on the fish-boning show in the hushed quiet of the dining room. 

That’s definitely not Scales. The large, high-ceilinged space is a former waterside warehouse with an open kitchen, plank floor and a lively but tolerable noise level.

We had lucked into a table by the window in front of the open kitchen where chefs cook for hundreds in a matter of hours. The service was casual, competent and knowledgeable, but no one was wearing a suit. 

The whole branzino was presented on a platter in a pool of green garlic butter and simply garnished with fennel and a grilled half lemon. The server asked if Roy wanted it boned. His answer, a strong affirmative. Impressed, I didn’t know what to expect. 

The server returned with an extra plate and a table knife and fork – no special tools. 

Boning fish tableside requires three things: fish cooked expertly, done enough to come apart but not overdone and falling apart; practice and experience; and Julia Child-style culinary confidence (it won’t always go well.)  On that night, Roy enjoyed the happy confluence of all three. 

The tail and then the head were cut off and set on the spare plate along with the lemon.

A cut was made along the length of the fish just above the central bone and the top fillet was laid over, skin side down.  The bottom fillet was freed by running the knife along the bone again and also flipped over.  All this without a single goof or shaking hand. 

Starting at the head end, the knife was slipped under the bone and slid the length of the fish.  With a little wiggling and jiggling, the bone lifted off the remaining fillets entirely intact.

The top fillets were then flipped back on the fish, making it look like a whole fish again. “Would you like the head back on the plate?” the server asked. “No thanks,” Roy replied, looking very pleased about the expert show we had all just enjoyed. It was an impressive demonstration of skill and experience done without fuss or fluster, an example of how a professional makes a hard job look easy.  

The head, tail and intact skeleton were whisked away, and we all enjoyed a delightful dinner. 

I hadn’t expected to see anything like this at Scales. It’s an excellent restaurant with a well-deserved reputation for fresh fish, creative cooking and flawless execution. I was wowed, and told the server so. Next up?  I’m going to try boning at home.