Fresh North Atlantic haddock fillet dipped in beer batter and fried to a shatteringly crisp golden shell, served with thick steak-cut chips, malt vinegar, mushy peas and tartare. The Boston Irish-pub default.
Where to eat it: 6 restaurants across 1 city.
Boston's Irish-pub fish and chips tradition descends from the city's 19th-century Irish immigrant wave and the proximity of the Georges Bank haddock fishery. The Boston version is haddock-specific (not cod, as in much of the UK); haddock has been the New England fish of choice since the colonial era, when it was salt-cured and exported. The Atlantic Fish Co, Legal Sea Foods, and the Union Oyster House (1826, oldest restaurant in continuous operation in America) all serve canonical versions. The defining Boston touch: ALWAYS haddock, ALWAYS thick steak-cut chips (not fries or wedges), served with malt vinegar.
Common allergens: Fish, Gluten, Dairy, Egg
Tip from the editors. Batter must be ICE-COLD when it hits hot oil; the cold-hot shock creates the airy crust. Use cold beer straight from the fridge.
Union Oyster House on Union Street has shucked oysters in Boston since 1826, the oldest continuously operating restaurant in the United States.
Signature: Oysters on the half shell, Clam chowder
Order: A dozen Wellfleets at the U-shaped bar and a cup of clam chowder.
Tip: Skip the dining-room tables and sit at the historic raw bar. The bar is the original 1826 plank.
Legal Sea Foods on Long Wharf, near the New England Aquarium in Boston, has anchored the chain's flagship since 1968. Kitchen leans seafood.
Signature: New England clam chowder, Lobster pie
Order: A cup of clam chowder, the recipe served at five presidential inaugurations.
Tip: Lunch with a harbor-side window is the best seat. The raw bar runs daily until 22:00.
Neptune Oyster on Salem Street runs the city's defining raw bar in Boston's North End since 2004. 42 seats, no reservations, hot-buttered lobster roll.
Signature: Hot-buttered lobster roll, Oysters
Order: Hot-buttered lobster roll on a butter-toasted split-top bun.
Tip: Put your name on the iPad at 16:30. The wait at 18:30 runs 90 minutes; weekday lunch is the easy seat.
Row 34 on Congress Street has run the Fort Point oyster room in Boston since 2013. Named for row 34 in Duxbury Bay, 20 East Coast oyster varieties daily.
Signature: Duxbury oysters, Lobster roll
Order: A mixed dozen of East Coast oysters and the crispy oysters with sriracha aioli.
Tip: The bar runs the same menu without the reservation lead time. Tuesday nights walk in easily.
James Hook & Co on Atlantic Avenue has sold lobster rolls from the harbour wharf in Boston since 1925. Open mon-fri 10:00-19:00, sat-sun 10:00-18:00.
Try: Lobster roll on a butter-toasted bun
Tip: $28 mayo-bound roll, $32 hot-butter roll. The seating outside the window overlooks the harbour; bring lunch on a sunny day.
Kathy Sidell's Saltie Girl on Dartmouth Street runs a seafood brunch in Boston's Back Bay since 2016. Order the lobster benedict with hollandaise on the side.
Order: Lobster benedict with hollandaise on the side.
Tip: Brunch books two weeks out on Resy. Saturday at 11:00 is the walk-in seat at the bar.
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