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Where to eat classic seafood in and around the Seaport District
Boston is always changing, maybe even getting a little too fancy, but we'll always have these seafood restaurant staples.
Boston, with its centuries of history, is a city of constant change. The Seaport used to be a parking lot. East Boston’s waterfront is lined with luxury condos. There is ongoing mixed-use development construction in Fenway.
Seafood
But Boston loves its classics just as much, and there may be no better example of that than our seafood restaurants.
The city’s oldest restaurant is a seafood restaurant, a title claimed by Union Oyster House, known for its clam chowder. Lines pour out of places like Neptune Oyster or Sullivan’s Castle Island.
There’s no denying it: Boston loves new shiny things, but we love our seafood spots more.
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These beloved eateries, decades to centuries old, are often surrounded by examples of a changing Boston — high-rise hotels in the Seaport, a walkable Greenway downtown, and a wildly different restaurant landscape. The restaurants, especially in downtown and the Seaport, are seemingly more fancy and splashy than Boston’s last-standing old-school seafood joints.
Does this scare a place like James Hook, a seafood market and restaurant with a 100-year history in Boston?
“It’s helping out businesses with more people in the area,” said James Hook, part of the fourth generation of Hooks to run the seafood shack.
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Let’s hope that doesn’t change.
If you’re looking for no-frills, old-school fried seafood by the water (or close enough to walk to after your lunch), look no further than these seafood restaurant options in the rapidly changing heart of Boston.
The Barking Crab
Opened in 1994
Even if you’ve never been, you’ve seen The Barking Crab while walking to and from the Seaport. Its circus-like tent calls in guests traveling by foot (or even boat) looking for easy-going platters and New England staples. The Barking Crab used to be more of a spot for commuters who worked downtown and parked their car in the Seaport, according to director of operations Alexandra Morris. But these days, it’s a healthy mix of locals who live nearby and tourists due to the heavy Seaport foot traffic.
“You have a different kind of regular now,” Morris said. “And we’ve been able to adapt to the changes.”
88 Sleeper St., Boston
James Hook & Co.
Opened in 1925
It’s a big year for this Wharf District wholesaler, retailer, and restaurant. James Hook, still run by the Hook family, is turning 100 this year. Even within its own walls, the restaurant has seen a century of change, including a fire in 2008 and an expanded restaurant space following its reconstruction. For why they’ve been so successful 100 years later, Hook said it’s not just their fan-favorite lobster rolls that help.
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“We were one of the true pioneers of the lobster business in Boston,” Hook said. “I think that’s what helps us — the history we bring to the table.”
440 Atlantic Ave., Boston
Yankee Lobster
Opened in 1950
Another place with a line outside the door? That’s how you know it’s good. Since 1950, Yankee Lobster has gotten its own Seaport face-lift, but it still has those clam shack touches: the board menu, trays for plates, and New England seafood staples.
300 Northern Ave., Boston
Drydock Cafe
Opened in 2000
Past the ritzy hotels and hidden in a business park is Drydock Cafe, which was just awarded a Legacy Award from the City of Boston. Enter those glass doors and you’re in for some heaping platefuls of fried scallops, shrimp, and clams that’s even relatively budget-friendly (for the Seaport, anyway).
7 Drydock Ave., Boston
Pete’s Dockside
Opened in 1980 (approximate)
Located at the end of a loading dock, Pete’s doesn’t just do fried seafood — its menu includes breakfast, pizza, and sandwiches — and is more of a diner in that way. But its seafood items are the most popular when Boston enters its summer months. Its new owner, Emanuel Kadeli, said Pete’s may technically be in the Seaport District, but it’s still a place for working-class locals, like nearby city and construction workers (though they do get their fair share of visitors stopping in before departing at Logan).
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“We get everyday workers … who still want to find a very affordable place to eat,” Kadeli said.
12 Channel St., Boston
The Boston Sail Loft
Opened in 1985
For waterfront views and some of Boston’s best chowder in a mug, the decades-old Boston Sail Loft will not disappoint. On the harbor near the North End, this family-run seafood restaurant saw its biggest battle with change from the notorious Big Dig. But then the Greenway came in 2008, said general manager Meredith Tipping, along with other expansion in the area that brought more customers to line up outside their eatery.
“The Greenway opening up dramatically changed people coming into this neighborhood,” Tipping said. “People could access it in a way they couldn’t before.”
80 Atlantic Ave., Boston
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