The 10 best seafood restaurants in Boston
Seafood in Boston runs from paper-plate lobster rolls on the working waterfront to raw bars in Back Bay brownstones. This list covers 10 places inside the city limits, in the North End, Back Bay, Fort Point, the Seaport and downtown, for visitors planning a first trip and for residents who want a dependable table.
The list favors independent and locally run restaurants, fish counters with a few seats, and long-running dining rooms with a record in local press. Prices vary widely. A cup of chowder is $5 at one Fort Point Channel spot, pasta plates in the North End run $21 to $44, and shellfish towers in Back Bay start above $100. Lobster rolls are sold at market price almost everywhere.
How we chose
The list is alphabetical, not ranked. Each place had to be inside the City of Boston, open as of November 2026, and backed by more than one independent source, such as Time Out Boston’s seafood guide, national press, or decades in business. Locally owned restaurants were favored over national chains, and every address, price and hour below was checked against the business’s own website where one was available.
Hours and prices below come from each business and change without notice. Call ahead if you are making a special trip.
Atlantic Fish Company
Atlantic Fish Company has been on Boylston Street in Back Bay since 1978, according to the restaurant, and is part of the Tavistock Restaurant Collection. The dining room is one of the more formal options on this list, and OpenTable puts the price range at $50 and over per person. Time Out Boston’s October 2025 seafood guide singles out the crab-crusted haddock, the lobster and scallop ravioli and the cioppino. Weekend brunch runs 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and adds dishes such as a baked halibut shakshuka. Reservations are taken through OpenTable.
Hours: Check current hours before you go.
Address: 761 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116
Why they made the list
- The restaurant dates its Back Bay opening to 1978.
- Time Out Boston included Atlantic Fish Company in a seafood guide updated October 21, 2025.
- Brunch is served Saturday and Sunday, with seafood dishes such as a land and sea burger.
See the full directory listing
The Barking Crab
On Sleeper Street beside the Fort Point Channel, The Barking Crab opened in 1994 as a seasonal outdoor spot and now runs year-round, by the restaurant’s account. Crab is the order here: snow crab clusters are $31, Dungeness is $37, king crab is $51 and a mixed crab bowl for the table is $99. New England clam chowder is $5 or $8, and fried whole-bellied clams are $29 as an entree. The lobster roll and the clambake, with a 1.25-pound lobster, are market price. Takeout is pickup only, with no delivery.
Hours: Sunday to Wednesday, noon to 9 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, noon to 10 p.m.
Address: 88 Sleeper Street, Boston, MA 02210
Why they made the list
- The Barking Crab has operated on the Fort Point Channel for more than 30 years.
- The menu lists three kinds of crab by the cluster or leg, plus crab cakes at $15 and a crab roll at $26.
- Time Out Boston’s October 2025 seafood guide names the steamers and fried Ipswich clams.
See the full directory listing
The Daily Catch
Eighteen seats face an open kitchen at The Daily Catch on Hanover Street, where one cook and one server run the room. Paul Freddura opened the Sicilian-style seafood restaurant in the North End in 1973, according to the family, and calamari is still the center of the menu: fried for $22.50, as meatballs for $12, or over linguine for $29. Black pasta made with squid ink costs $21 for a half order and $29.50 for a full one. Lobster fra diavolo for two is $95. Bring cash, because the Hanover Street location does not take cards, and expect to wait since seating is first come, first served.
Hours: Daily, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Address: 323 Hanover Street, Boston, MA 02113
Why they made the list
- The Freddura family has run the North End restaurant for more than 50 years.
- The original location is cash only and takes no reservations.
- A second Boston dining room is at 65 Atlantic Avenue on the waterfront, and a takeout window is at 331 Hanover Street.
James Hook & Co.
James Hook and his three sons started trucking lobsters from Maine and Canada to the Boston fish piers in 1925, and the company says four siblings of the third generation manage the business today. The Atlantic Avenue building on the downtown waterfront holds a seafood market, a retail showroom and a dine-in lobster restaurant. The company promotes the lobster roll first, and the market sells live lobsters, which the online store priced at $19.99 a pound in November 2026. Go early. The counter closes at 5 p.m. most days and 4 p.m. on Sunday, so this is a lunch stop, not dinner.
Hours: Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The company notes that hours are subject to change.
Address: 440 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, MA 02110
Why they made the list
- The Hook family has sold lobster on the Boston waterfront since 1925.
- The same counter sells cooked food, a fresh seafood market and live lobsters to take home.
- The company also distributes lobster to restaurants and wholesalers across the country.
Neptune Oyster
Neptune Oyster opened on Salem Street in the North End in 2004 and has 37 seats, a figure Bon Appétit cited in coverage posted on the restaurant’s press page. No reservations are taken, and the doors open at 11 a.m. every day. The lobster roll comes two ways, hot with butter or cold with mayonnaise, according to Time Out Boston, and the raw bar stays open half an hour after the kitchen closes. Time Out also names the buttermilk johnnycake with trout and caviar. The New York Times has noted that waits often run longer than an hour, so arrive early and put a name on the list.
Hours: Daily from 11 a.m. Weekdays, the kitchen closes at 9:30 p.m. and the raw bar at 10 p.m. Weekends, the kitchen closes at 10:30 p.m. and the raw bar at 11 p.m.
Address: 63 Salem Street, Boston, MA 02113
Why they made the list
- The James Beard Foundation named Neptune Oyster a semifinalist in 2020, according to the restaurant’s press page.
- The New York Times included the restaurant in a list of the 25 best restaurants in Boston.
- Walk-ins only means every seat is available to whoever shows up.
See the full directory listing
Row 34
A 1908 Boston Wharf Company textile warehouse on Congress Street became the first Row 34 in 2013. Chef Jeremy Sewall and Shore Gregory own the restaurant, which takes the name from a row of oysters in Duxbury Bay. The raw bar gets a separate menu, and Time Out Boston points to the fried hand-dug clams and the daily whole fish. Lobster rolls are a house specialty, by the restaurant’s description. Lunch starts at 11:30 a.m. every day, and reservations are taken on the restaurant’s website. A second Boston location is in Kenmore Square.
Hours: Monday to Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., with drinks until 11 p.m. Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., with drinks until 10 p.m.
Address: 383 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02210
Why they made the list
- The restaurant names its suppliers, including Island Creek Oysters and Red’s Best.
- Lobsters come from a cousin of the chef in York, Maine, according to the restaurant.
- Row 34 has grown from the Fort Point original to locations in Kenmore Square, Cambridge, Burlington and Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
See the full directory listing
Saltie Girl
Tinned fish is the calling card at Saltie Girl, on Dartmouth Street near Copley Square. The menu lists tins by brand, country and weight, served on a board with bread, piparra peppers and three salts. The kitchen also sends out fried lobster and waffles for $36, clam chowder for $14, lump crab toast and a whole fried black bass. The New England lobster roll is market price. Weekend brunch runs 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Changes to dishes are declined, so read the menu closely if anyone at the table has an allergy. Saltie Girl has a second restaurant in West Hollywood, California.
Hours: Monday to Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Address: 279 Dartmouth Street, Boston, MA 02116
Why they made the list
- The tinned fish list names each tin’s brand, origin and weight.
- Time Out Boston placed the restaurant second in a seafood guide updated in October 2025.
- The kitchen is open seven days a week from 11 a.m.
Select Oyster Bar
Chef Michael Serpa opened Select Oyster Bar in April 2015 in a Back Bay townhouse on Gloucester Street, just off Newbury. The menu leans Mediterranean: crudos, Spanish octopus, sauteed petit clams and a whole roasted sea bream, along with oysters and lobster rolls. Seafood towers run from just over $100 to $325 depending on size. A 20 percent gratuity is added to every check before tax and is printed on the menu, and management will remove the charge on request. Reservations are taken through OpenTable for lunch and dinner, and the restaurant holds some seats for walk-ins.
Hours: Daily from 11:30 a.m. The restaurant lists a 9:30 p.m. close, with 10:30 p.m. shown for Friday and Saturday.
Address: 50 Gloucester Street, Boston, MA 02115
Why they made the list
- Select Oyster Bar has been open in Back Bay for more than 11 years under the same chef.
- Time Out Boston’s seafood guide names the blue prawns a la plancha and the saffron bouillabaisse.
- Tables are held for 15 minutes past the reservation time, and only complete parties are seated.
Union Oyster House
Food has been served at 41 Union Street since 1826, and Union Oyster House describes itself as the oldest restaurant in continuous service in the United States. The building, near Faneuil Hall and Haymarket, is labeled a National Historic Landmark by the restaurant. The oyster bar is the seat to ask for, and the upstairs dining room has a booth dedicated to John F. Kennedy, who ate there often. Joseph A. Milano Jr. and Mary Ann Milano Picardi have owned the restaurant since 1970. The restaurant’s history also credits the dining room with the first use of the toothpick in the United States.
Hours: Check current hours before you go.
Address: 41 Union Street, Boston, MA 02108
Why they made the list
- The restaurant counts only three owners since 1826, by its own account.
- Daniel Webster was a regular at the oyster bar, according to the restaurant’s history.
- The oyster bar and wooden stalls remain in their original positions, the restaurant says.
See the full directory listing
Yankee Lobster
Far down Northern Avenue in the Seaport, Yankee Lobster is a family-owned seafood company with a casual restaurant attached. The company dates the business to 1950. Lobster rolls come traditional, hot buttered or fried at market price, and the crobster roll, half lobster and half crabmeat, is $34.99. Fish and chips are $19.99, fried clams are $32.99 and a small clam chowder is $7.99. Lobster mac and cheese and cod cakes fill out the menu. The kitchen closes at 8 p.m., or 7 p.m. on Sunday, earlier than most Seaport restaurants.
Hours: Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Address: 300 Northern Avenue, Boston, MA 02210
Why they made the list
- Yankee Lobster has been family owned since 1950, according to the company.
- Chowder is sold in four sizes, up to a quart for $26.99.
- Time Out Boston’s October 2025 seafood guide lists the lobster rolls, fried clams and steamers.
See a place we missed or a detail that has changed? Send us a correction.
Run a place readers should know about?
Get listed in the directory.