New England oysters are wild and farmed bivalves from Wellfleet on Cape Cod, Duxbury Bay south of Boston and Damariscotta in Maine. The signature raw-bar plate at Boston seafood rooms since the 1820s.
Boston's oyster-bar tradition runs unbroken to 1826, when Union Oyster House opened on Union Street and became the oldest continuously operating restaurant in the United States. Daniel Webster, US Senator from Massachusetts, ate his oysters at the U-shaped bar with a tumbler of brandy from 1830 onward. Wellfleet oysters from the outer Cape Cod flats and Duxbury Bay row 34 oysters, named for the literal 34th cultivation row in the bay, became the defining house-bay varieties. The modern raw-bar revival traces to Island Creek Oysters (founded 1995 in Duxbury) and the Row 34 restaurant chain (2013), which name the bay, the row and the day of harvest on the chalkboard. Twelve oysters with mignonette and lemon is the canonical order.
4 editor picks for New England oysters in Boston, ranked by editorial score. All Boston signature dishes · New England oysters across every city.
Neptune Oyster ★ 4.9
north-end · 63 Salem St, Boston, MA 02113
Neptune Oyster on Salem Street has run the city's defining raw bar in Boston since 2004. 42 seats, no reservations, Gulf of Maine lobster roll on a buttered split-top bun.
Row 34 ★ 4.6
seaport-fort-point · 383 Congress St, Boston, MA 02210
Row 34 on Congress Street has run the Fort Point oyster room in Boston since 2013. Named for row 34 in Duxbury Bay, the bivalve list runs 20 East Coast varieties daily.
Saltie Girl ★ 4.4
back-bay · 279 Dartmouth St, Boston, MA 02116
Kathy Sidell's Back Bay seafood room on Dartmouth Street has run the tinned-fish-and-crudo agenda in Boston since 2016. Caviar service, lobster rolls and a rose-heavy list.
Union Oyster House ★ 4.2
north-end · 41 Union St, Boston, MA 02108
Union Oyster House on Union Street has shucked oysters in Boston since 1826, the oldest continuously operating restaurant in the United States. Daniel Webster's seat is still at the bar.