PHOTOS: Shake family project Scales goes big in debut on Fisherman's Wharf.

The biggest new Fisherman's Wharf restaurant in decades doesn't feel like Fisherman's Wharf.

In a good way. 

Scales Seafood & Steaks soft-opened yesterday in the place formerly occupied by Gilbert's on the east side of the storied wharf.

From the same Shake family behind Old Fisherman's Grotto and The Fish Hopper, Scales is big, sleek and seafood-rich. (See photos at right.)

The overall operation took about a year to complete.

Co-owner Chris Shake is pleased with the results.

"A lot of people are just amazed by the design and decor," he says. "They tell me it's a major upgrade for Fisherman's Wharf."

The versatile space includes a deli-cafe, restaurant, fish market and gift shop.

The restaurant menu enjoys similarity with those of the Grotto and Hopper, with its own twists.

Two vital recipes are the exact same at each, however: the garlicky, butter clam chowder and the must-do calamari.  

There are 16 beers on tap, 26 wines by the glass ($8-$16) from mostly West Coast wineries, including a Pessagno Pinot ($11), plus 22 half bottles, flanked by extensive and colorful cocktails.

One cocktail jumps out among them: The ultimate seafood Bloody Mary, with Absolut vodka, house-made Mary mix, a fresh oyster, a bacon-wrapped prawn, a crab cake slider, Dungeness crab meat in a lemon cup, crab-stuffed olives, pickled green beans and pepperoncini.

Yes, a drink that requires a plate, napkin and includes 10 courses.

Or there's the Fisherman's punch with vodka, rum, gin and cherry brandy, mixed with "exotic" juices and topped with 151 rum and served on fire—in a 54-ounce schooner.

The appetizers, 10 total, include crab mac and cheese ($16) and ahi carpaccio ($14).

My favorite clam chowder in the area comes by cup ($8), bowl ($13) or bread bowl ($15), and with crab meat on top for $6. (Or free in sample size metal ramekins out front.) 

Six salads include the crab Louie stack ($23) and skirt steak arugula ($17).

Other highlights from the menu: 

Beer battered jumbo prawns ($22), salmon BLT ($16) and Papa Shake's 1950 BBQ cheeseburger with house pickles and bacon on brioche ($15 with fries).

Six signature seafood dishes titillate, like the apricot jalapeño glazed wild salmon, roasted on a cedar plank, with organic carrot risotto (market price) and the seafood paella with shrimp, clams, fresh fish, muscles, based scallops, spicy Spanish chorizo with saffron rice ($26).

As with the other Restaurant Pacific Group restaurants, pastas are featured, including Linguini Isabella with shrimp, chopped clams and scallops simmered with fresh tomatoes, green onions garlic, butter and cream ($20), named after Mama Shake.

And...whole crab, lobsters, king crab legs and 10 ounce lobster tails are available at market price for the splurgy set.

Dinner offerings are similar to the lunch menu, with prices ticked up, plus fire grilled steaks like the peppercorn New York 14-ounce center cut ($42 with baked potato or risotto) and land-and-sea specials like the ribeye and lobster tail ($41). 

In the cafe, Manager Joe Ortiz says double smoked barbecue brisket and triple grilled cheese are best sellers, and that the road to the opening has been gratifying. 

"It's nice to see us develop as a staff and have everything come together after a few weeks of training," he says. "People are excited for another Shake restaurant and how it looks."

Remember: It is a soft opening. Don't get judgy until they have a week or two under their belts.

It took somewhere around half an hour for me to get the mother of all Bloody Marys and a blippy cash register charged me 33 percent tax. (Scales staff covered the difference on my card with cash. Classic.)

But that's not a sob story for Yelp. It's a funny story with a touch of history—something to remember a landmark first day for one of the most dramatic restaurant openings in iconic Fisherman's Wharf history.