The 10 best oyster bars in Boston
This list covers ten places to eat oysters on the half shell inside the City of Boston, from a walk-in-only North End counter to a Fort Point warehouse with ten varieties on the daily card. All ten are in Boston proper: the North End, Back Bay, the South End, Fenway, Fort Point and the blocks by Faneuil Hall. The list is for visitors planning one raw bar stop and for residents looking for a new counter seat.
The picks favor restaurants with a working raw bar, named oyster farms on the menu and years of local press behind them. At the places that post prices, single oysters ran $3.75 to $5 each in November 2026, and two restaurants sell $2 oysters during set hours. Seafood towers start around $90.
How we chose
The list is alphabetical, not ranked. Each restaurant had to be inside Boston city limits, open as of November 2026 and running a raw bar with oysters as a main draw. Selection leaned on the restaurants’ own menus and websites, Time Out Boston’s oyster bar guide, and named awards and opening dates. Oyster deals appear only where the restaurant’s own site stated them this month.
Hours and prices below come from each business and change without notice. Call ahead if you are making a special trip.
The Banks Seafood and Steak
Two floors at Stuart Street in Back Bay hold The Banks, which opened in 2021 and is named for the offshore fishing grounds New England boats have worked for generations. The raw bar lists East Coast oysters at $4 each and West Coast oysters at $5, served with the house hot sauce, mignonette and cocktail sauce. Three towers run from the $90 Petite Banks, with five oysters, to the $185 Banks Tour, with eleven. Happy hour runs daily from 3 to 6 p.m. and includes a plate of six oysters with kaluga caviar for $38. Reservations go through OpenTable or by phone.
Hours: Dinner Monday through Thursday 5 to 9:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday 5 to 10 p.m., Sunday 5 to 9 p.m. Lunch Monday through Friday 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Brunch Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Address: 406 Stuart Street, Boston, MA 02116
Why they made the list
- The menu splits oysters by coast, so a table can order East and West Coast shells side by side.
- Himmel Hospitality Group, the company behind Grill 23 & Bar and Bistro du Midi, runs the restaurant.
- Littleneck clams are $2.50 each and poached shrimp are $6 each on the same raw bar card.
See the full directory listing
Black Lamb
Black Lamb is a South End brasserie with a full raw bar, opened in July 2019 by chef Colin Lynch and the partners behind Bar Mezzana and Shore Leave. The oyster list changes daily; a sample card this month named six, including Island Creek and Barnstable Bees from Massachusetts and two from Damariscotta, Maine, at $3.95 each. The restaurant’s site lists a deal called Two Buck Shuck: $2 oysters every day until 5 p.m. and all day on Monday. A shellfish plate for one or two people is $38, and the 12-oyster platter is $95. Reservations open on OpenTable 30 days ahead.
Hours: Lunch Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Brunch Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dinner Sunday through Thursday 5 to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 5 to 11 p.m.
Address: 571 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02118
Why they made the list
- The raw bar menu is available during all kitchen hours, including the 4 to 5 p.m. gap between lunch and dinner.
- Time Out Boston’s oyster bar guide, dated June 23, 2024, counted eight to ten oysters on a typical day, most of them local.
- The dining room has 46 seats, according to the restaurant.
See the full directory listing
Eventide Fenway
Portland, Maine, is home base for Eventide Oyster Co., and the Boylston Street outpost near Fenway Park is the company’s Boston restaurant. Oysters on the half shell cost $18 for six and $34 for a dozen, and the selection changes daily. The menu also has fried oysters for $18, a fried oyster bun for $13 and the brown butter lobster roll for $22. The room has a full bar, a chef’s counter, booths and patio tables, and reservations are on Resy. A 5% administrative fee is added to every check, a detail the menu states up front.
Hours: Monday through Thursday 5 to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Brunch Saturday and Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Address: 1321 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02215
Why they made the list
- Big Tree Hospitality of Portland, Maine, owns and operates the restaurant.
- A dozen oysters at $34 works out to about $2.83 each, the lowest posted full price on this list.
- New England clam chowder is $17 and Maine lobster stew is $23.
Little Whale Oyster Bar
Chef Michael Serpa opened Little Whale in a Newbury Street brownstone as the sister restaurant to Select Oyster Bar, modeled on the clam shacks and raw bars of the New England coast. The restaurant’s site advertises $2 Island Creek oysters before 6 p.m., limited to one dozen per guest and available with the purchase of wine or beer. The full menu is served all day from 11:30 a.m. Walk-ins are welcome, and parties of two or three are usually seated at the dining counter. A 20% pre-tax gratuity is added to every check, and the patio depends on the weather.
Hours: Daily 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., until 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Address: 314 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02115
Why they made the list
- Island Creek oysters come from Duxbury Bay on the South Shore.
- Time Out Boston’s 2024 guide noted three chilled seafood platters, the largest with 24 oysters.
- Reservations hold for a 15-minute grace period, according to the restaurant.
Mare Oyster Bar
On Hanover Street in the North End, Mare pairs a raw bar with an Italian seafood menu of pasta, crudo and dishes listed under From the Sea. The restaurant belongs to Frank DePasquale’s group, according to Time Out Boston, whose 2024 oyster bar guide singled out the crudo and a shellfish tower built with 18 oysters. The same guide described a patio with fire pits and a retractable roof. Mare is a dinner-only restaurant that opens at 5 p.m. on weekdays and 4 p.m. Friday through Sunday. The restaurant’s site also lists a 3 Mechanic Street address, around the corner.
Hours: Monday through Thursday 5 to 11 p.m., Friday through Sunday 4 to 11 p.m.
Address: 223 Hanover Street, Boston, MA (North End)
Why they made the list
- The restaurant is open until 11 p.m. seven nights a week, later than most raw bars on this list.
- The menu has a separate Raw Bar section ahead of the appetizers and pasta.
- Reservations can be made through the restaurant’s website.
Neptune Oyster
Neptune Oyster has no reservations and takes walk-ins only, so the line on Salem Street is part of the visit. The North End restaurant opened in 2004, according to Time Out Boston, and the raw bar leans on East Coast oysters such as Wellfleet, Cotuit and Island Creek. The Neptune Plateau is the shellfish tower. Doors open at 11 a.m. every day, and the raw bar stays open half an hour after the kitchen closes, so a late order of oysters is still possible at 9:45 p.m. on a weeknight. The restaurant’s website was under construction in November 2026 and showed no menu or prices.
Hours: Opens daily at 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 restaurant has been open on Salem Street for more than 20 years.
- Time Out Boston’s guide of June 23, 2024, described a retro interior and a frequent line outside.
- The raw bar stays open until 11 p.m. on weekends.
See the full directory listing
Row 34
The name refers to the 34th row of oysters grown in Duxbury Bay, and the house Row 34 oyster is still on the card at $3.75. The original restaurant opened in 2013 in a 1908 Boston Wharf Company warehouse in Fort Point, founded by chef Jeremy Sewall and Shore Gregory. The raw bar menu dated November 12, 2026, listed ten oysters from Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine at $3.75 to $4.50 each, and a shellfish tower at $135. After 5 p.m., the restaurant validates parking at the Stillings Street Garage across the street, which brings the cost to $12 for up to four hours.
Hours: Monday through 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
- Every oyster on the menu is listed with the town where the oyster was grown, from Wellfleet to Damariscotta.
- Littleneck clams are $2.50 each and Jonah crab claws from York, Maine, are $5.
- Row 34 has a second Boston restaurant in Kenmore Square and others in Cambridge, Burlington and Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
- Caviar can be added to any oyster for $4.
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Saltie Girl
Saltie Girl on Dartmouth Street in Back Bay builds the raw bar order around towers. The Petite has six oysters with clams, shrimp and Jonah crab salad; the Grande has 12 oysters and adds crab claws, lobster cocktail and tuna poke; the Royale has 18 oysters plus sea urchin and 30 grams of caviar. All three are market price. The menu also has a tinned fish list, clam chowder at $14 and a lobster roll served warm or cold. Reservations are strongly encouraged and cover indoor tables only; patio seats are first come, first served. Weekend brunch runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Hours: Monday through Wednesday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Thursday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Address: 279 Dartmouth Street, Boston, MA 02116
Why they made the list
- The brunch Bloody Mary, $17, comes topped with an oyster.
- Food is made to order and sent out as each dish is ready, and the menu says changes are declined.
- A second Saltie Girl operates in Los Angeles.
Select Oyster Bar
April 2015 is when chef Michael Serpa opened Select in a Gloucester Street townhouse in Back Bay, with a raw bar of local oysters and a menu of crudo, ceviche, Spanish octopus and whole roasted fish. The restaurant’s own list of honors includes Boston magazine’s Best of Boston award for best new restaurant in 2015 and best seafood restaurant in 2019, and a 2025 Michelin Guide recommendation. The full menu runs from 11:30 a.m. through dinner. Reservations are on OpenTable, space is always held for walk-ins, and only complete parties are seated. A 20% pre-tax gratuity is added to every check.
Hours: Daily 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., until 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Address: 50 Gloucester Street, Boston, MA 02115
Why they made the list
- The Improper Bostonian named Select Boston’s best raw bar in 2017, according to the restaurant.
- The wine list is built around bottles chosen to go with seafood.
- A table is released to the next party after 15 minutes, so late arrivals should call 857-239-8064.
Union Oyster House
The semicircular oyster bar at Union Oyster House dates to 1826, the year the restaurant says Atwood and Bacon took over a former dry goods shop on Union Street and began serving food. By the restaurant’s own account, the oyster bar and the wooden stalls are in their original positions, and Daniel Webster was a regular who drank brandy and water with each half dozen. Oysters come raw on the half shell, grilled, fried or as Oysters Rockefeller. The building is a National Historic Landmark on the Freedom Trail, one block from Faneuil Hall. Ask for the upstairs booth dedicated to John F. Kennedy.
Hours: Check current hours before you go.
Address: 41 Union Street, Boston, MA 02108
Why they made the list
- The restaurant describes itself as the oldest in continuous service in the United States, open since 1826.
- Only three owners have run the restaurant since 1826, by the restaurant’s count, with the Milano family in charge since 1970.
- Time Out Boston’s 2024 oyster guide pointed to Blue Point oysters at the raw bar.
See the full directory listing
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