In Praise of Harbor Fish Market in Portland, Maine | Family, Tradition & Fresh Seafood

When you step onto Custom House Wharf in Portland, Maine, you step back in time and experience the city’s waterfront as it used to be. Weathered buildings line the narrow street. An oyster house and a tavern are lures for the hungry and parched. And yet, the wharf’s crown jewel is Harbor Fish Market, the state’s premier retail store for the finest, freshest seafood to be found virtually anywhere in New England. 

The Alfiero family has held dominion over Harbor Fish Market since its founding in 1966, when they took over the Custom House Wharf space previously occupied by another fishmonger. Brothers Nick and Mike Alfiero currently run the market, along with other family members and a seasoned staff of dedicated seafood professionals.   

The market’s faded façade and raised, wooden front sidewalk set the tone for the authentic seafood experience to be had within. Step inside the rustic interior with concrete floors and behold two lengthy glassed-in seafood cases stocked with fresh fish and shellfish from near and far. One case holds primarily fish fillets from local waters—cod, haddock, hake, halibut, North Atlantic salmon, swordfish, tuna, flounder, and more. The other case brims with shellfish like shrimp, dayboat scallops, shucked oysters, lobster meat, and smoked fish and shellfish.      

Between the two cases are ice-covered tables displaying an amazing variety of freshly caught whole fish. Monkfish, red snapper, black bass, branzini, striped bass, and ocean perch are just some of the species offered, depending on what’s come in fresh that day. You may get your fish wrapped up whole or have it filleted by Harbor Fish’s expert cutters, who work behind the display cases and tables. Iced down on another table are containers of fresh-picked crabmeat.  

There are even more shellfish in the form of oysters, clams, and mussels on display in bushel baskets from which you may select your own. The mussels and steamer clams come in netted sacks, while the oysters and clams may be selected individually. There’s a heavy emphasis on local oysters from such well-known areas as Damariscotta and Casco Bay, along with a rotating selection from oyster beds throughout New England and further afield. Mussels come from Moosabec in Downeast Maine and from Canada’s Prince Edward Island.   

Lobsters arrive fresh by boat daily, with a small fleet of lobstermen dropping off their catches on a dock Harbor Fish maintains just outside its back doors. You may pick your own from the cold-water tanks burbling away in the retail area or have one of the staff members select one for you, based on your preferences for hard shell or soft shell and lobster weight.  

As if all this isn’t enough for any seafood fan, there are also refrigerated cases stocked with such delicacies as pickled herring, sliced smoked salmon in vacuum packs, frozen cooked or raw cocktail shrimp, smoked trout, sardines, and smoked salmon spread. 

If you’re looking for ways to prepare all this bounty from the sea, the Alfieros have you covered there, too. Harbor Fish Market: Seafood Recipes from Maine (also for sale in the market) is authored by Nick Alfiero, his wife, Kathleen, and their son Rian, and inside are recipes for seafood appetizers, entrees, salads, soups, and chowders — all tested over the years in the Alfiero family’s home kitchen.  

How does Harbor Fish keep its cases, tanks, and tables stocked with the best seafood around? They’ve got a dedicated staff, including several people in a room just off the retail floor that spend each day on the phones and computers tracking down the best, freshest seafood it can find worldwide. Their purchasing expertise puts them at the head of the line when it comes to seafood procurement in New England and beyond. 

In March 2022, Harbor Fish opened a second retail outlet in nearby Scarborough as part of a joint project with Rosemont Market, another locally owned food retailer. It’s every bit as charming and well-stocked as the flagship store on Custom House Wharf.   

With its second and third generations of Alfiero family ownership, Harbor Fish Market continues to live by their creed: “We don’t sell anything we wouldn’t bring home ourselves.” Long live this cherished New England seafood market gem.       

See More:

10 Best New England Seafood Markets

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