18 Best Restaurants in Boston, Massachusetts

This piccolo oyster bar, the first of its kind in the neighborhood, has only 22 chairs, but the long marble bar adorned with mirrors has extra seating for 15 more patrons, who can watch the oyster shuckers deftly undo handfuls of more than a dozen different kinds of bivalves to savor as an appetizer or on a Neptune plateau, a gleaming tower of oysters and other raw-bar items piled over ice that you can order from the slip of paper they pass out listing each day's crustacean options. Daily specials run the gamut, from lobster spaghetti to scarlet prawns to sea urchin bucatini. Dishes change seasonally, but a couple of year-round favorites include the spicy North End Cioppino (fish stew) and the signature Maine lobster roll that, hot or cold, overflows with meat. Service is prompt even when it gets busy (as it is most of the time). Go early to avoid a long wait.

Emphasizing oysters and local craft beers, this contemporary seafood restaurant has a boisterous energy contained only by its soaring ceilings. A neighborhood crowd comes for the excellent menu devoted to raw things, fried seafood, a variety of "rolls," and fish-based entrées. With 24 taps, beer plays a big role in the experience, enticing regulars to work their way through European-inspired American craft beers; there are also more than 50 by the bottle, ranging from ciders to sours and more.

Step into this Back Bay raw bar specializing in snappy cocktails and luscious preparations of all things seafood and you'll fall hook, line, and sinker for everything on the menu, including platters of fresh-shucked oysters on crushed ice, torched salmon belly with charred avocado, smoked fish that would make a New York deli owner proud, seafood-topped toasts, and a butter-drenched warm lobster roll overflowing with fresh meat. Rounding out the menu are tins of domestic and imported gourmet shellfish and fish (including caviar) served in all their oily goodness with bread, butter, smoked salt, lemon, and sweet pepper jam.

Snug quarters and no desserts can't quell the stream of diners pouring into this uptown enclave eager to savor oysters and seductive seafood combinations like salmon crudo with pistachio oil, Maine lobster cabbage-kale Thai salad, and blue prawns à la plancha. With 70% of the restaurant's catch coming from New England, plus a thoughtful libations list and polished service, you have all the ingredients for a good time, whether you're sitting at the bar, at the front communal table, or in the three-season alfresco area out back.

You've just got to love this newly renovated shoebox-size place—for the noise, the intimacy, the complete absence of pretense, and, above all, the Sicilian-style seafood, which proved so popular, it spawned two other locations (one in Brookline and another in Boston's Seaport area). With garlic and olive oil forming the foundation for almost every dish, this cheerful, bustling spot specializes in calamari, black squid-ink pastas, and linguine with clam sauce, all served in the skillets in which they were cooked, hot from the stove. Check the chalkboard, which is always loaded with freshly caught specials, but consider the Lobster fra Diavolo for two—lobster chunks, shrimp, calamari, littlenecks, mussels in a "spicy" seafood tomato sauce served over linguine. Compact and brightly lighted, this storefront restaurant has been a local staple for almost 50 years and for good reason.

There's nothing fresher than eating fish the same day it's caught, and that's what you get at this family-owned seafood shack. Open since 1950, the local favorite serves fresh oysters, crab cakes, fried oysters and clams, steamers, and lobster. Tasty sandwiches speak of New England; fish platters come fried, grilled, or baked; and there's a whole section of the menu devoted to lobster preparations. If you forget that this is a take-out joint, look around; the no-frills, character-heavy decor will remind you.

B&G Oysters' chef Barbara Lynch (of No. 9 Park, the Butcher Shop, Sportello, DRINK, and Menton fame) offers a style-conscious seafood restaurant with fresher than fresh oysters from both coasts; creative, seasonal dishes; and New England classics, including one of the best lobster rolls in the city. Designed to imitate the inside of an oyster shell, the iridescent bar glows with silvery, candlelit tiles and a sophisticated crowd that in warm weather fills the hidden outdoor patio strung with tiny white lights.

This casual seafood spot, where you order at the counter, is an outpost of the famous Portland, Maine, restaurant of the same name. Offering reasonable prices for excellent fare, this is a fun option in Fenway without a lot of fuss. It's known for the brown butter lobster roll and plenty of seafood, but everything from wings, burgers, and grilled cheese sandwiches are available.

What began as a tiny restaurant adjacent to a Cambridge fish market has grown to important regional status, with more than 30 East Coast locations, including almost a dozen in Boston. The hallmark is the freshest possible seafood, whether you have it wood-grilled, in New England chowder, or doused in an Asia-inspired sauce. The jumbo lump crab cakes are divine (no fillers) and the clam chowder is so good it has become a menu staple at presidential inaugurations. For a true taste of New England, don't miss the golden cracker-crowned baked lobster stuffed with shrimp and scallops, one of the most popular entrées at all Legal restaurants.

With a roof deck, patio, balcony, and floor-to-ceiling windows, Legal Sea Foods' flagship restaurant features abundant space for diners to take in panoramic views of Boston Harbor no matter the season or the weather, and this view certainly draws a crowd. The menu is classic seafood: from raw bar and sushi offerings to grilled fish, fried fish, and sandwiches, there is plenty to eat here—unless you're a landlubber.

Boston has plenty of great seafood restaurants, but this sophisticated option near the Theater District turns out delicate and exquisitely prepared catches of the day fit for a king (and some say costing a king's ransom). Settle in with a seasonal cocktail in the sleek, pearl-white dining room before tucking into any one of the caviars or glistening raw fish tartares followed by a simply prepared entrée, whether it's a grilled sea bream in trevisano leaf or broiled Maine twin lobster. The kitchen has not left carnivores stranded at sea: In addition to sirloin carpaccio to start, you'll find several grilled steaks, along with luscious game hen and pasta preparations.

For a meal on the waterfront, try Pier 6 in the Charlestown Navy Yard just steps from the USS Constitution, where you'll be treated to New England seafood coupled with outstanding harbor views. Plates are piled high with fried calamari, seared octopus, and lobster rolls, and the giant shellfish platter of local oysters, clams, shrimp, and lobster will draw all eyes to your table. Whether you're upstairs on the roof deck, outside on the large patio and bar, or in the dining room with floor-to-ceiling glass sliding doors, there isn't a bad seat in the place. Three seasons of the year, the mahogany bar on outdoor patio is packed during the evenings for cocktails (perhaps a Pier 6 Painkiller or a Chai Cold Brew Martini) with the after-work and singles crowd. Through the night, small pleasure crafts slowly approach the moorings as their captains hop out for a cocktail and a quick bite. Spring and summer brings a complimentary weekend boat shuttle from the ReelHouse in East Boston.

Boston uberchef Jasper White's casual New England seafood restaurant is a boisterous, bright, fun eatery next to the Prudential Center (he also has one in Cambridge and at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut), where creamy clam chowder and fried Ipswich clams share menu space with golden crab cakes and cedar-planked, maple-lemon–glazed salmon. In addition to a handful of chicken and meat dishes for those not into seafood, White features some of the most succulent lobsters in the city (he has a patented process for cooking them). Go super local with a traditional New England clam bake, complete with red potatoes, corn, linguica, clams, and mussels served in a net bag.

Diving head first into dishes like cuttlefish ink spaghetti, rare tuna steak with roasted eggplant, and salmon with pork belly and spring peas, chef Robert Sisca pays homage to New England’s long-standing fishing tradition. While the ocean's bounty is its main theme, he doesn't leave landlubbers stranded; there are a few chicken and turf dishes as well. A first-floor raw bar offers stellar crudo, oyster, and caviar selections. The Banks Lobster Bake is a pricey feast worth every penny, and the Fisherman's Feast is a heaping plate of fried cod, shrimp and clams.

Decked out in cheery colors of yellow, red, and green, this popular, somewhat touristy spot has the feel of a seaside clam shack located smack dab in the middle of Boston. An outdoor patio and lobster tent in summer features stunning views of the Financial District; in winter, dining retreats indoors to a warmhearted version of a waterfront dive, where you'll encounter a classic New England clambake or oysters and littlenecks from the raw bar, followed by meaty, golden crab cakes. Expect big crowds and big prices, especially on warm-weather evenings.

This dimly lit, nautically inspired spot pays homage to the ocean in not only decor but tasty fare. Against a backdrop of sailing ships and vessels, antiqued mirrors, and chandelier bubble-like bulbs, day-time appetites fill up on beer-battered fish-and-chips, po'boys, and lobster rolls, while the dinner crowd enjoys entrées like bucatini frutti di mare, seared scallops, swordfish tacos, and an oyster bar that features dozens of the bivalve beauties, as well as a massive chilled grand seafood tower. Even the cocktail list gives a nod to life at sea, with names like the tequila-based Oyster Shooter, an Irish whiskey concoction known as Fool's Gold, and the Bow & Arrow rum drink.

Opening its door in 1826 and earning a place on the National Historic Landmark list, the Union Oyster House is Boston's oldest restaurant. Dine like Daniel Webster (alongside his nightly hangover-heavy tumbler of brandy and water) and order oysters on the half shell at the ground-floor raw bar in the oldest part of the restaurant. For a heartier meal, head to the dark and low-ceilinged upstairs via a narrow staircase (very Olde New England) to find “The Kennedy Booth,” the president's favorite. Small tables and chairs (as well as kitschy nostalgia) are charming, as is the simple and hearty portions of Yankee-style seafood and steaming bowls of chowder. The Shore Dinner is a New England feast of clam chowder, steamers or mussels, live lobster, native corn, red bliss potatoes, and gingerbread or Indian pudding. Sinking your teeth into more than you can handle? You aren’t the first. The toothpick was first used in the U.S. here. On weekends, make reservations or risk enduring waits of historic proportions. One cautionary note: locals hardly ever eat here.