Dining Guide / During the Meal
How to Eat a Fish Course
Use the fish knife mainly to ease the flesh apart. Eat a whole fish without flipping it: top fillet, remove the backbone, then the bottom fillet. Gather bones and skin at the far side of the plate.
Try what you’ve read in questions based on real dining situations. · 6 min
View the At the Table course
Key Points
- A fish knife is less for cutting than for easing the flesh apart and lifting it.
- With a whole fish, start with the top fillet.
- When the top side is done, slide the knife under the backbone, hold it with the fork, lift it away and set it at the far side of the plate.
- Don’t turn the fish over. Simply eat the bottom fillet from where it lies.
Do
- Ease the flesh apart and lift it with your fork
- Gather bones and skin at the far side of the plate
Avoid
- Flipping the fish over
- Sawing with the fish knife
- Spitting a small bone onto the plate
Handy Tip
To squeeze a lemon wedge, press it with your fork, or cup your other hand around it as you squeeze so the juice doesn’t spray.
Practice in a Lesson
- Fish and Meat — 6 min · Sign in to unlock
Read next
Sources
- Emily Post Institute, “Top Table Manners Tips” — Posture, napkins, utensils, soup and phones at the table.
- Emily Post Institute, “Top Questions for Dining Out” — Finished-position signals, dropped utensils, inedible items and spills.