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Sign up to unlock our digital magazines and also receive the latest news, events, offers and partner promotions. Sign up to our newsletter for the latest and greatest from your city and beyondDéjà vu! By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions. With Boston’s easy ocean access, it’s famous for its seafood—we’re talking lobsters, clams, oysters, cod and so much more. When it comes to the best seafood in Boston, you’ll find some spots that remain loyal to the New England culinary tradition, dishing out creamy clam chowder and lobster rolls, while others take these locally caught ingredients to the next level. Get into a relationship with our newsletter. Discover the best of the city, first.
This multi-story, seafood-focused enterprise is focused on the second floor restaurant, where a variety of locally-sourced seafood is served with aplomb. Patrons looking for something lighter can visit the Moon Bar, and for those in a hurry, there’s Cusser’s, a street-level takeaway spot specializing in seafood and roast beef. Ever since it opened in 2004, Neptune Oyster has been one of Boston’s most in-demand options for fresh local seafood, as demonstrated by its ever-present line out the door. Accented with pressed tin, subway tiles and etched glass, the tiny space exudes an unmistakably retro charm. Could it honestly get any more New England than that? Brought to you by Michael Serpa, this cozy bar supplies Back Bay with the ocean’s most beautiful bounty. Marrying New England seafood with Mediterranean techniques, the menu features must-easts like its signature blue prawns a la plancha, “taverna style” whole roasted sea bream and its own, saffron-infused spin on bouillabaisse.
Prosecco and oysters are a perfect pairing, especially at Barbara Lynch’s subterranean South End eatery. Here, you’ll find more than a dozen different types of oysters, as well as cooked classics like fried Ipswich clams, stuffed lobster and filets of freshly caught fish. When the weather allows, take your seafood alfresco in the restaurant’s popular backyard patio. This Back Bay raw bar and seafood emporium is known for pushing the limits of customary fish preparations—and having a whole lot of fun while doing it. From its fried lobster and waffles to its rock crab carbonara, this place is well worth the wait for a seat in its brownstone space or on its patio. Bringing a little bit of the bayou to Boston, this Allston spot serves the seafood we New Englanders know and love—Cajun style. You have your pick from Northern staples like lobster, shrimp and clams, as well as Southern classics such as crawfish and crab.
Seafood shines on pizzas, pastas and composed plates. Pro tip: Try the uni buccatini with smoked egg yolk, pecorino and bottarga—it’s a total umami bomb in your mouth. An homage to New England’s long-standing fishing tradition, The Banks Fish House celebrates the area’s love affair with the sea and its bounty. From its lobster ravioli with smoked bacon and cream sauce to its truffle crusted tuna, this place makes seafood positively decadent. No one does seafood quite like Ivory Pearl. The Brookline raw bar and fish emporium feeds folks an array of ocean offerings, including shellfish towers, uni service and swordfish steak frites. If you’re in search of seafood with serious Spanish flair, look no further than Atlántico.