Scales & Shells

My favorite seafood restaurant in Newport. They don't accept reservations, so waits can be discouraging. The menu on the blackboard changes often ensuring everything is fresh. Servers are focused. Upstairs is quieter, but the menu is limited. Only regret is they can't seem to keep their fabulous clam pizza available. Still, this is one of Newport's best.

Excellent seafood spot! Everything was fresh and delicious. Service was great. Can't wait to go back!

It's just a great place to go have a great meal. Everything and everyone was perfect. Our waitress was terrific. My cherrystone clams on the half shell were perfect. My wife had little necks also perfect, and we also shared grilled octopus, which was outstanding. For dinner, she had grilled salmon, I had linguini with clams and calamari in a red sauce...OMG, so freaking good. The dessert was fantastic. I forgot the name of it, but there's a photo of it, the one with whipped cream, as if I had to mention it. We've been here before and will be back again. You won't regret dining here. It was excellent from start to finish....

Another fabulous seafood dinner! Scales & Shells always overdelivers! Family enjoyed all the wonderful appetizers and entries.

A must-go place in RI.
I really loved grilled octopus. The sauce for it is excellent. My favorite was the oysters. They were the best oysters I've ever had. They're sweet and fresh. I also recommend getting fried calamari and lobster fra diavolo.

One of my favorite restaurants of all time! If you do have time to visit Newport, come to this restaurant and definitely order the lobster fra diavolo; it is so delicious and they give you so much seafood and pasta.

If you’re coming on a weekend/holiday or you know it’ll be busy, I’d suggest coming to the restaurant about 15 minutes before it even opens. We got there about 10 minutes before and there was already a line to get in. There are no reservations, so you have to get there early; otherwise you could wait awhile.

I’ve been to this restaurant many times over the years and I never tire because the menu is always changing with fresh new items. This time we tried the raw oysters, a grilled octopus leg, and the fried calamari to start us off.

The oysters were melting in your mouth and you can just taste how fresh it is. If I had a second stomach, I would just try everything from their raw bar. The octopus leg and calamari were also fantastic. The food came out fairly quickly as well, which is always a plus.

The main dish of the day is lobster fra diavolo, which includes lobster, clams, mussels, squid, and at the bottom is a load of pasta. It is a bit spicy, so if you don’t handle spice too well, make sure to tell your server, but it is for sure worth ordering. I would recommend this to anyone who loves seafood and even if you don’t, this could change your mind.

We got there following a delicious smell. It was a great find, hosts were super nice, they were busy and we had to wait but no problem. Best decision ever. The server Jillian was awesome, food came really fast and it was DELICIOUS. Definitely going back

Cool place with interesting options. Food and service is great. Lots of seafood options. Brunch is good but not a big menu. Brunch drinks are really good.

A dinner at Scales & Shells is delightful memorable experience despite the Pandemic

My husband and I visit Newport every few years and always enjoy walking on Thames Street. We love window shopping and checking out restaurant store fronts. Scales & Shells was always packed with happy diners. The atmosphere always impressed as a place that I must go to someday.

Friday October 30th was stormy. My husband and I read on the website that reservations were not needed. We were interviewed for Contract Tracing purposes and then seated at a table in the center of the dining area.

With the help of our waitress, Grace, we selected a bottle of 2017 Rocca Giovanni Langhe Chardonnay.

The Chalkboard menu has many choices. We chose an appetizer of fresh grilled octopus with red shallots. We know from past experience that octopus is a measure of restaurant quality. If octopus is not fresh, nor not cooked right, the taste and texture are awful. Our best experiences with octopi have included restaurants in Ponte Delgada and in Little Italy, NYC. We were very impressed with the mesquite grill flavor. The texture suggested the meat was very fresh. We really loved this dish. The red shallot sauce begged for bread to enjoy every bit of it. Grace kindly brought us more bread for this purpose.

Our choices for main dishes included Grilled Monkfish with Green Olive Tapenade
and Skate Piccata with linguine and capers lemon olive oil. A side of grilled asparagus was included. I am including photos of these beautiful dishes that will hopefully show the great presentation and generous serving sizes. We were hungry and enjoyed this feast very much. The monkfish was grilled perfectly and tasted great with the sweetened green olives. I think golden raisins were included in the tapenade. The skate was very fresh and delicious. The capers were plentiful and mild in taste suggesting that the brine had been rinsed away. The linguine worked well with this dish.

Overall, we commend Scales & Shells for offering an incredible dining experience despite the challenges presented by the Pandemic. While we felt safe dining in from a public health perspective, we realize that restaurants need more customers to survive. During our hour-long dining time, we were the only customers seated at a table.

First visit to Newport from Hartford area. We ran into a nice women who recommended Scales & Shells when we stopped for lunch in Putnam. She said it is her favorite restaurant in the world (and it sounded like she had done a lot of traveling). So we had to try it. Absolutely the right decision!
The food was fantastic! I had the swordfish special of the evening and my wife ,who doesn’t care for seafood, had the pasta primavera. Both dishes were excellent! The waiter was a young man but very knowledgeable about the menu and his service was top rate. I highly recommend Scales & Shells!

Scales & Scales is located on the trendy Thames Street in the heart of Newport. The restaurant gives coastal vibes with a homey touch. The food is authentic and freshly made to order. Scales & Shells is for the seafood lovers. The grilled octopus and shellfish sampler were the highlights of my meal. But you can’t go wrong with anything on the menu. Drinks are delicious and the food is out of this world.

My husband and I were in Newport celebrating our anniversary and decided to have dinner at Scales & Shells. This was our first visit. They do not take reservations. We got there at 7PM on a Monday and outdoor and indoor dining had a wait. However, the bar was open. The bartender, Kevin, was great with our drinks and dinner. Dinner was delicious!

It's the perfect fish and seafood restaurant. That's all they serve and they do it well. I mean over the top and amazing not just well... The oyster appetizer is so good we ordered a second helping.. monkfish is delish. Menu is written on a chalkboard daily to highlight the freshest catches. If you don't want fish or seafood this is not the place for you. We saw a few people leave as they wanted some other choice. We didn't get it. The name sums it up. Do one thing and do it well. Enjoy a great meal. The staff is friendly and attentive.

The food was delicious. Best Tuna we ever had. Salmon with Pineapple Chutney A+. Best of all the service. Karolyn B was funny, attentive and very genuine. Next trip to Newport we will definitely be back.

GREAT place..... food, staff, and the while experience was excellent. We were here a week ago and it was awesome then also. This is a well kept secret..... 100% recommend!!!

We got the fried Diablo and it was a show stopper! You can choose your amount of heat and enjoy! The lobster was soooo good! Great local find outside of the busy Newport touristy area. Highly recommend!

After returning to try this restaurant which has been around for a many years. I’m pretty impressed with the style flavor of the menu. Come enjoy the food and atmosphere

Grilled octopus w/ shallot vinaigrette.
Fork tender. Simple and absolutely delicious!
Don't forget the creme brulee for dessert!

Best seafood restaurant in Rhode Island. Raw bar sampler was great, and reconstructed fried oysters were out of this world. Highly recommend. Once you try it, you'll be coming back here every time you're in Rhode Island.

Excellent meals! Had the salmon and mussels marinara. Sides were incredible - grilled portobello and eggplant. Next time I might just get those alone!