Halibut Point

I grew up in Glotown and have gone here of and on since they opened. Always consistent, never a bad meal. I really like their spicy fish stew and they have great burgers. Nice laid back vibe. I would recommend.

This place serves the best clam chowder east of the Mississippi, and therefore probably in the world! I have been coming here every two or three years, for a decade, and every time I expect to be disappointed. Not so! A modern day Cheers restaurant, with good simple food, great people, and the best clam chowder anywhere. There is a quiet grace, and authenticity about this place that you will rarely find. Seize the day: stop in for lunch, and start with a bowl of their chowder!

A must for lunch. They have a great New England clam chowder. I have yet to find better.

First visit and it was delicious. I picked The Fatty Matty and my boyfriend had the Haddock and Cheese sandwich.

Visiting Gloucester for the day to check out the Schooner festival, or something like that. Tall ships everywhere and I kept waiting for the pirates to show up. Alas, didn’t see a one.
We scanned the area for the best bets and after some discussion, Halibut Point finally won the toss. No regrets because we happened onto a winner.
Chowdah, you say? Well, they have it and plenty of it. This stuff was full of the little beasties and they were oh so good. I don’t typically eat the stuff because you know, even though clams don’t have a face or eyes, they still kinda sorta have a mother. I had to have a taste and what I got was very good. Now I can go about my business knowing that only one of the buggahs died for me.
We asked for the outside seating which was on the patio. We sat down, got our water, took a few sips, and headed back inside. Why? Smokers. You know, those entitled people who think I should just deal with it. This is the reason they get 3 instead of 4 stars, because they allow smoking on the patio. Who does that? Just because it’s outside doesn’t mean it’s any less offensive. Even if there is a slight breeze, which there wasn’t, I don’t want to be around the clods, frankly. As far as I’m concerned, if you want to smoke, you need to freeze, get wet, and whatever the elements decide to do with you because I really don’t care. Just get out of my space. Thank you.
No complaints about the service and my veggie wrap was excellent. There sure was plenty of it so I took the other half home for the next day’s lunch. I swear they stole my mother’s recipe for the pasta salad. Not sweet, not too much mayonnaise, and just right. It really was that good.
Check it out yourself. If you are a nonsmoker and find them offensive, you won’t be able to sit outside. Oh well, suffer through then. It’s worth it.

Came late on a Sun after sailing on the Thomas Lannon. We were well accommodated on their outdoor patio even though it was near closing time. Waiter was very professional. Haddock n cheese sandwich very good. Bowl of chowder very good. Pleasant and relaxing. Prices reasonable.

Stopped in after whale watching. The Italian chowder was robust and nice but the BLT had scant ingredients on an untoasted sesame roll and was not good. Service was fine as was the martini.

At 8:00 p.m. On a Saturday night the place was 20% full. We sat at an odd table to accomodate the six of us that was removed from being part of the restaurant. Weird. On a scale of 1 to 10 I’d give it a 6 for cleanliness. Food was below par. I got a cheeseburger (well done) and it was rare on one side and the bun was stale. Others got clam chowder that was too salty to eat, pesto chicken that was a plain cutlet smothered in store bought pesto and topped with amerivan cheese. I remember this place being so much better.
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Have visited Halibut Point from NJ for over 30 years. The Italian fish chowder alone is worth the trip. My favorite soup EVER. Also the fresh fish, great atmosphere make this gem a year round must-​visit place on Cape Ann. I bring home to NJ 4 quarts of the chowder each trip. Tell Dennis Jersey Jack says «hi» next time you visit.

Overrated to say the least. Very expensive too. In fact the only great thing about this place is that there’s always parking in the area.

What a great place! Not only was my meal to die for the servers rock completely and so do the Bartenders. Andria was super awsosme and very attentive with drinks. This place has a cool story behind out it all started out. The orginal register is still on the wall. The bar is really beautiful and awesome. Do make the stop to this place. You won’t regret it!

The grilled scallops were tender, deliciously paired with garlic string beans. Real mashed potatoes they were yummy.

They are so awesome! Other than the food being amazing, the girl brought my take out order to my car because my son was asleep! They are amazing in food and customer service!

This restaurant has been here a very long time and I remember coming here as a kid, so when I dined here the other day my reasons for choosing the restaurant were partly sentimental. I was really wowed at our visit though, I thought the food was excellent — the clam chowder and the lobster roll were particularly delicious! I even took some chowder to go, it’s that good. They don’t have fries on their menu which I found kind of refreshing. There are non-​seafood options, but I don’t know why you would want to come here and not have seafood. The atmosphere was friendly. We were here at lunch time and it got busier during the course of our visit, but didn’t get too noisy and the service was excellent, our waitress was friendly and helpful throughout. I will definitely be back!

We are from out of town but know a bit about New England cooking and were looking for a low key New England restaurant seafood experience. We are in Gloucester for cryin’ out loud.
Halibut Point seemed to be a reasonable local restaurant. I would categorize the Faire as «pub grub» that was good, but nothing special. My Bloody Mary was tasty but the club soda in another cocktail was dead flat, needed to send that back. The waitress was just going through the motions and had no clue on what was coming out of the kitchen, her job was to simply schlep vitals. The oysters on the half shell were small but flavorful. The clam chowder was a solid «good» for sure but not fantastic. Our main course was served in the middle of the appetizer. The marinated tuna special was pretty good but unimaginative with the side dishes.
If I lived here I would go back to this restaurant but I would set my expectations lower and focus on sandwiches etc and I imagine I would be as happy as a clam.
An OK local place but nothing special.
Bottom line; Good mediocre.

Nice little lunch place. Had their soup and sandwich special. Their chowder was amazing. Beer was cold. Burgers were amazing.

This Cali girl loves this place! Halibut Point has amazing chowda’! Drinks are healthy in size and the ambiance doesn’t disappoint!
Love the brick, love the food, love this place! Love Gloucester!

We were on our way to Dinner at Stone’s Pub, which we selected from Unilocal reviews for a quick dinner before a show. Unfortunately, Stone’s was closed due to a mechanical failure in the kitchen. The owner met us at the door to tell us they would not be able to serve us. I asked him for a recommendation and he pointed us the Halibut Point across the street. Said they had been open for over 30 years and had good food. He was right. We got seats at the bar shortly after arriving and greeted by the friendly bartender who quickly brought us our drinks. The seafood stew that everyone talks about was terrific
Lobster roll was good sized. My wife liked her clam chowder and grilled chicken salad. Open kitchen behind the bar, you can see your food being prepared. Relaxed atmosphere, good food.

We went here for lunch after a beach day and found the food to just be okay. Outdoor seating was closed until 4pm so we had to sit inside. I’m guessing this is the rule on weekdays only, but maybe on weekends too– call ahead if you have your heart set on sitting outside. The wait staff was very helpful.
Clam chowder was just okay, it was very thick and somewhat salty. There were a lot of clams though, which doesn’t always happen in clam chowder– so that was good. My BLT was pretty good, though I assumed they would toast the bread like everyone else does. I don’t think they have a fryer because they didn’t serve any fried food. Sandwiches came with your choice of potato chips, pasta salad, or cole slaw. Cole slaw was decent. My boyfriend said his steak and cheese was just okay. I can’t comment on the dinner food that lots of people reviewed as good or excellent, so maybe this place is really good for dinner and meh for lunch. On the plus side it was pretty empty.

I always wanted to check out this place because the patio looks so quaint with the outdoor seating, plants, and lights.
Fatty Matty! That was the steak tip burger cooked perfectly (I ask for rare and many places don’t pull it off). Plus blue cheese and onions (I asked for mine caramelized) on top. Clam chowder was good as was the service. It was a little pricey but I would definitely go back! Cute quaint quintessential Gloucester!