Row 34

By far the best bar service I’ve ever received in Boston (our server was Becky, FYI):
— knowledgable beer recommendations
— attentive serving of a largish group standing near but not at the bar
— offered to split off bar bill for early leavers, made cash/​card easy
As we know this isn’t super common in Boston — so really worth calling out

Went here to celebrate a friend’s birthday last night and it’s confirmed – this is my favorite restaurant in Boston right now.
Our waiter, Trevor, was absolutely amazing-​he told us about the origins of the beer (we had two rounds and tried different things each time, all on his recommendation, all fabulous) on the menu, treated us like we knew what we were talking about, gave great details about our oyster selection (Row 34, ICO, Chatham, and Nantuckets) and the house-​mignionettes that accompany them. He was super friendly – we recently got back from a trip to Italy and were gabbing about it and it turns out he was abroad there! We had a fun chat and he even poured us a taste of an Italian wine they had on the menu. Really the best service I’ve had in recent memory.
We got the oysters (noted above) and they were delicious – perfect way to start the meal. We got the fluke crudo – it was awesome. Great flavor and texture and served with crispy potato – really delicious.
I had the roasted cod and it was wonderful – perfectly cooked, great veggies. On the side we got asparagus and the corn bread with maple butter because, how can you resist? The asparagus was good, but next time I’d try something else.
Finally, we topped the night off with… all three desserts – the rhubarb crisp, butterscotch pudding, and chocolate pie (which Trevor brought us when he found out it was a bday celebration!). All were delicious and the chocolate pie was not as humble as it sounds! A highlight. I loved the pudding too, but have had it before so knew to expect something special.
A wonderful, fun, perfect night to celebrate a friend’s birthday – she was more than happy while blowing out her candles.

Row 34 is a seafood restaurant that is also affiliated with Island Creek Oyster House and serves up a quality beer list. The spot is located next door to Trillium Brewery and this proximity is what initially brought us in. The space is large and open with a bar adjoining the kitchen. The draught list included a few Trillium beers which was more than exciting for an out-​of-​towner visiting for the first time. We only had a few drinks but their menu included a fantastic looking raw bar offerings. Our bar tender could have probably been a little more enjoyable to make the experience more pleasant but it’s hard not to enjoy life with such a quality beer in your hand. If in town again I would definitely return and try some food in addition to more beer of course. Thanks!

Came here for dinner but only stayed for appies and drinks. They don’t have a full bar, which was disappointing, and the appies are over-​priced. No issues with the taste, but nothing really appealed to us on the menu.
The oyster menu only mentions the name of each type of oyster. When you live on the West Coast, you’re not going to be familiar with the oysters on the East Coast, and when we asked for descriptions, only the first half-​dozen on the list were described, and the server appeared to be exasperated at having to even go that far. Geez, sorry to put you out like that, dude.
Didn’t help that the patron sitting at the oyster bar next to us had to make some stupid comment about us being on the East Coast was now living. Moron. But perhaps that’s the clientele they attract.

Quality, fresh ingredients. You can tell Chef enjoys the gig because even down to the saltine cracker tastes like its from scratch.
Wait staff doesn’t rush you and allows one to appreciate the food. They are very attentive.

Dare I say… I like the lobster rolls from here more than Neptune’s?
Friends and I shared the warm lobster roll, the cold mayo roll, clam chowder, and fries. The bread for the rolls was soft and delicious, but not soggy. The lobster itself was fresh and plentiful — they give you a lot! Chips that came with the rolls were a bit bland. Clam chowder was thicker in texture than the one from Neptune’s, which is what I prefer, and had a delicious smoky taste to it (perhaps from the bacon). The fries were piping hot and fresh. The only problem was that the fries were delayed and we had to ask the server where our fries were. Because we didn’t get our fries until toward the end of our meal, our server was nice enough to comp us for the fries (WITHOUT being asked — she was super apologetic and sweet about it).
Highly recommend. Excellent food and service. I want another lobster roll…

These people can do no wrong in my eyes! I absolutely love Island Creek and was excited to finally get to try out its sibling across town.
Tip: They don’t post all their availability on Opentable. When if doubt, just call.
The space is a little smaller and more industrial than Island Creek (more modern chic IMO) and a bit louder. All the waitstaff is just as helpful as ever as expected out of this group. Fantastic wine and beer selection.
Oysters: ugh absolutely my favorite. If I didn’t need to save space for the entrée, can easily down a dozen or more by myself. You can’t really go wrong with any of their choices, but I always have the waiter pick for us to make it fun. Never ever had a disappointing slurp, and never ever had a piece of shell. The shucking skills here are amazing.
Entrees: Hake was subbed for cod tonight and it was cooked beautifully with a crisp top and super tender underneath. The mushrooms and peas paired very nicely with the fish. Also had a bite of my friend’s crab cake and it was great! Jalapenos was a really exciting touch!
As expected, Row 34 now reaches the top tier of my restaurant rankings in Boston. I think Island Creek perhaps take the edge for its proximity to me as for the lobster roe noodles which are absolutely amazing. But to be honest, just go to which ever one you can get a table at and you won’t be disappointed!

Seafood, seafood, seafood. My mom, bf, and I came here for lunch after reading the reviews, especially since my bf had never had a lobster roll before. I know right?! Blasphemous. With Row 34 as his introduction, his first foray into the world of hot buttered bread and lobster wasn’t too shabby, but I didn’t think anything of his roll or the rest of our party’s order (calamari, mussels, lobster tacos) as anything extraordinary. Everything was, as the Unilocal description goes, A-​OK.
Tip: If possible, try to grab a seat on the patio! Warm weather, outdoor seating, and buttery lobster make a great combo ;-)

What a great dining experience. In Sunday night around 7:30 for dinner — we did not have a reservation and knew we might not get in but since it was a quick walk for us we decided to take a chance. While the hostess confirmed they’re were no available tables for until 10PM, she did tell us there was a separate queue for bar seating and we could check in there to see what the wait was like. We moved over to the bar area and were cheerily greeted by a served who showed us the drink menus and advised there was only one person ahead of us if we would like to put our name on the list (which we did). The layout of the place is great — totally open concept and very roomy in both the dining and bar areas. You could stand comfortably and have a drink without hovering over those eating at the bar. The vertical columns in the bar area had small shelves attached to rest your beverage while you chatted. Great drink selection including an abundance of craft beer.
We were seated in about 20 minutes (they have a very efficient process) and greeted warmly by a bartender. Explained we were first timers to which he replied «great — let me tell you about our menu and how it works». He also noticed Kat had not really had much of the beer we ordered while waiting as opposed to my nearly empty porter. He asked is she liked it and when she politely replied that it wasn’t her favorite, he took it, said let’s pretend that never happened and get you something you like. A few quick tastings and we were there.
So enough said about the service is was A+++ at every turn.
On to the food — absolutely fantastic! We started we a few things from the raw bar menu — 6 shrimp, plus the smoked pastrami salmon and a smoked scallop. The pastrami salmon was incredible — razor thin salmon pieces with pastrami crusting. The smoked scallop was also cut into thin slices and was just delicious. Figured the shrimp had to be good at a place like this and was not disappointed.
For mains at the recommendation of our bartender (for first timers) we both got the lobster roll (the cold one). A rarity for us to order the same thing, but we were warned we would not want to share it and the warning was appropriate. Easily a top 3 lobster roll all time for me. Fresh and delicious. Also ordered the jalapeño calamari as a side which was delicious — fresh, not greasy with fried jalapeño pieces in lieu of the traditional cherry peppers.
We left full, happy and in great overall spirits after a truly enjoyable experience. Cannot wait to get back to this place — run don’t walk!

This place converted me to an oyster lover. I’ve had oysters before but never really enjoyed them. I only ate them because everyone else raves about them, but after eating oysters here at row34, I can see why people love it. I’ve been looking into the wrong places for oysters! The oysters here are so fresh and clean. The waiter was also very helpful in suggesting a few oysters that were to my liking. I ordered all of his suggestions and enjoyed them all! In addition to oysters, I ordered the mussels, tuna crudo, and fried oysters plate. All were delicious. The seafood here is so well cleaned. I didn’t eat one grain of sand in my mussels (which is very rare when I order mussels!) the fried oysters were whole oysters fried, not just a portion of an oyster. The tuna crudo was good but nothing amazing in my opinion. It’s very similar to Japanese sashimi so if you eat that often, you won’t be wowed, but I think it’s good for those who don’t eat sashimi often.
I made reservations for 5pm and this place was already getting packed but I was seated immediately. I hear they don’t take reservations for prime dinner time, so I’m not sure how long the wait is for a typical day.

Food is 5 stars. Service 1 star (our waitress is nice but we were misinformed on the wait time. We were told there is a 45 mins to an hour 15 mins wait (last min visitors in town so can’t make an advance reservation). We ended up waited for 1 hour 50 mins and we were seated at the patio with one of the cover open in 40 degrees temperature (I told the gentlemen who escorted us that 2 persons in our party has a cold and I will rather wait for an inside table. He said it’s covered so it’s not cold. We ended up eating dinner in freezing cold with our jackets on!).
Let’s get back to the food. We had the seafood tower (very fresh oysters, lobster, cocktail shrimp and clam), fried oyster, buttered lobster and mayo lobster, bluefish and haddock. Everything is amazing!
Guess as long as you have a reservation you shouldn’t have a problem. Not advisable for walk in. You might end up waiting for almost 2 hours for a table.

Row 34 is a great place for dinner. They have awesome oysters and a great selection to choose from. Biggest regret was merely splitting a dozen with a friend instead of two dozen! Beer and wine list is very extensive and with many relatively unique options. Food is excellent, too. I had the Buccatini here and it had an excellent sauce, great clams, and perfectly cooked al dente pasta. What blocks Row 34 from a 5-​star rating is the sub par service. While our waitress was friendly, service was slow. We ordered oysters and waited over 30 minutes for them. A beer was ordered and then 10 minutes later I was asked if I wanted another drink, despite the one that was ordered not having arrived.

Lobstah for days. Favorite lobster roll in Boston so far — hot buttered, luscious, generous. Beautiful, industrial lofty feel and perfect date night spot. Definitely a reason to occasion Waterfront. Reservations recommended. Will be back for the raw bar and let’s be real, the lobster roll.
PS — will be re-​sampling Neptune vs. Row 34 vs. B&G lobster rolls this summer. Key priority ;)

Wow. Wow. Wow.
This place is legit. This easily tops every other restaurant I’ve been to recently.
Let’s first start with the waiting staff. Everybody is very nice and friendly, and it is evident that they all genuinely enjoy working there! That always elevates the dining experience for me.
The oyster selection was wide and excellent. The wine selection was even better.
And the bass came as whole fish, and it was absolutely delectable. Cooked to perfection!
The monk fish was also amazing. It had just the right amount of seasoning and the texture of mesmerizing.
I also appreciated that the maitre d’ asked how our dinner was on our way out and was eager to hear what we had to say. It felt sincere and put a smile on my face. :)
Everything about this place was perfect. Kudos to the team at Row 34!

OH. MY GOSH. i don’t think i need to write a review about how amazing this place is, but i will anyways.
— - s e r v i c e — -
Carly was our server and she was beyond helpful. she made my first few hours in boston completely memorable. we asked her for recommendations on the amount of food we should order and which oysters were the best and she gave her honest and truest opinion. she wasn’t trying to make us order a bunch of food just so our tab would be higher.
— - f o o d — -
[ oysters ]
there were more oysters on that menu than i even knew. so we asked Carly which oysters were good and she selected the best ones for us, and she definitely wasn’t wrong. the oysters were beyond fresh and delicious. i’ve never had oysters this good anywhere, ever. i’m still drooling as i think about it.
[ tuna crudo ]
large pieces of salmon with slices of avocado underneath. i don’t know what the brown sauce was that was drizzled on the plate but it was perfect. it sort of tasted like peanut sauce but not as strong. everything paired perfectly.
[ buttered lobster roll ]
words cannot describe how good this was. the lobster pieces were overflowing on the roll. there was some salt on the table so i added the salt to the chips and the bite was divine. if you like lemon, add some to the lobster as well and it’ll make it that much better. the roll was warm and buttered, just like texas bread but you didn’t feel disgusting afterwards, you just wanted more! i didn’t want the roll to end!
i was overjoyed with my first experience in boston. carly was amazing, especially because we came in less than an hour before closing. she took care of us so well that we had to leave a great tip.

My only disappointment is that I didn’t come to Row 34 during my many previous trips to Boston. This was my first time here and I enjoyed it a lot more than Island Creek Oyster Bar. I’m sure locals know much more about other oyster places but these are the two most well-​known for tourists. The oysters here were phenomenal and really fresh. The hot lobster roll had a lot of chunks of lobster meat cooked in a good amount of butter. The broccolini was delicious and helped offset the heaviness of the hot buttered lobster.
Our waiter was really nice and knowledgeable about the oysters suggesting that we try one of every kind. We went on a Monday night and the restaurant was packed. It’s a pretty upscale place and nicely decorated. I saw a lot of people in suits or business attire which is a great place for a work dinner or a romantic date. It’s right next to the water so it’s a nice place to walk around after your meal.

I love Row 34. Used the Reserve App to get a Friday 7pm reservation (!) and felt mighty special walking past the swarm of people at the bar vying for a table.
Best part of the meal: Lobster! The quality and quantity.
Must order:
+ Lobster roll — hot buttered!!!
+ Tagliatelle with lobster — they do not mess around. Usually I’ve picked out all of the lobster from the pasta within the first few minutes, but this dish was so packed with lobster that I was almost fishing for the noodles in the sea of lobster meat!

My husband and I were visiting from out of town and we actually came over here after waiting in line at two other big seafood joints not too far from each other in the city. The other two restaurants were about a two to three hour wait and this place sat us down after about 30 mins. (Still a wait but heck of a lot better than 2 – 3 hrs…)
The good news: once we were seated, we decided to order right away — 2 dozen oysters, clam chowder soup and a lobster roll. The wait for the food wasn’t that long, despite the restaurant being quite packed. The food was definitely excellent: 1) oysters very fresh and meaty, 2) the clam chowder soup was definitely the best I’ve had so far and I definitely loved that there were chunks of clam, and lastly 3) that warm buttered lobster roll was to die for. Let me tell you, that lobster roll was definitely packed in.
The bad news: the only reason this place didn’t get a complete 5 stars was because our waitress wasn’t really attentive to us. I actually watched her walk over to the table next to us more times than she came to us. Also, after we ordered our 2 dozen oysters, we received our first 18 (we ordered 4 different kinds of oysters, 6 each, which would then leave 6 oysters). As we were eating, someone besides our waitress came over and asked about the food, we told her it was great and also mentioned that we hadn’t received our last batch of oysters. She said she’d figure it out for us and we didn’t think too much into it. It wasn’t after we finished eating all our food, one of the bussers came over to clear our plates that we alerted him that we still hasn’t received our last bit of oysters. Only then did our waitress come over, apologize and then promptly bring out the rest of our food.
Overall: I was really impressed with the food and it was delicious. I was just a bit disappointed in the service. It’s fine if the waitress decided to leave us alone to eat but it would have been nice for her to check up on us once in a while… just so we wouldn’t have to wait for and receive the rest of the food with our check.

My my… waterfront Boston is getting fancy. My friend told me about this new spot that was in Providence, NH and that I had to go with her in the location in Boston.
Place is trendy… busy and bustling. I snagged a 8:30 pm reservation. wait staff is kind of weird. When I first got in. they told us that they could transfer the bill from the bar to the table. Then the hostess told us we had to close it out. Ummmm… okay. Then they didn’t really want to help us take pictures. We wanted some since I don’t see her that often and she said sure and then would walk away. hmmmm.
Ordered a few things:
— Six types of oysters and two cherrystone clams. The best ones were from Plymouth. I would have appreciated if they could list the brininess and size like they do at Neptune Oyster. Best oysters we had were from Plymouth
— Fried oysters were good but for the small you only get 5. The fries are really good but for $ 14 they can give you some more.
— Grilled fish. the fish was good but the toppings they had were gross. Too salty and bready.
I liked that they let you try the wine before they pour you a glass.
It’s a nice add… free parking in this area blows.

This place is so awesome. Not just the look of the restaurant and seating, but the beer and oysters too. Our waitress was very nice and knowledgable. They had about a list of ten different types of oysters. She recommended trying six different styles so we did two of each. All were good in their own way. All that matters is that they were all amazing. We also split a clam chowder and their fish and chips. The chowder was good just not great. The fish and chips were excellent. The fish was perfectly battered and served with an awesome aioli to dip with.
What was perfect was pairing all this food with great beer. They have a wide selection of different styles and I ordered some that I haven’t had before. It was a perfecting pairing.
Overall, this is one of the better restaurants you can go to in Boston for oysters and beers. I will 100% be back next time in town.

Nos lo recomendó una persona que encontramos en el puerto (cerca de No name) y que se dedicaba a la venta de pescado y marisco. Nos lo esperábamos menos sofisticado y, por tanto, algo mas barato. Sin embargo, valió la pena. Quizá el mejor Lobster Roll que he comido y gran variedad de ostras.