BOSGuide
The Best Restaurants In The Seaport & Fort Point
photo credit: Joe St. Pierre
The Seaport and Fort Point never stop changing. If you aren’t in the neighborhood every day for work, there’ll probably be a new building with more restaurants and shops selling fancy soap every time you visit. And frankly, it’s cliché at this point to hate the Seaport, even though people (a.k.a. your uncle who only leaves Dedham for Red Sox games) like to make dunking on it their whole personality. But really, it’s just an area where you can shop at a Rag and Bone, eat at some of the city’s hottest seafood restaurants, and maybe partake in an outdoor workout. Here are all the best spots to hit after an afternoon trying to decipher art at the ICA.
THE SPOTS
photo credit: Natalie Schaefer
This big, noisy spot sits in the Innovation and Design Center, so it’s got major cool kid energy—besides the great music, the staff looks like they’re heading to a secret loft party when their shift is done. Order chickpea panisse fries, fresh baked pita, pimento feta spread, and ultra-crackly fried chicken with golden brown skin dressed with labneh ranch. Your best bet is to walk in and grab a seat at the bar, or one of the high-tops where you can either snack and drink a rum cocktail or have a full meal (and still drink that rum cocktail).
photo credit: Brianna Coleman
Woods Hill Pier 4 might seem like it's all about the views. And sure, sitting on their patio right next to the harbor during a warm spring day is great, but the quality of the food tops that. Make a reservation for brunch when it’s nice out, gaze at some boats passing by, and try the lobster popover that’s very fancy and very high on our lobster roll power ranking. The shellfish tower and buttermilk fried chicken and waffles are also musts, and the latter comes with a housemade ranch you’ll want to put on everything (OK, maybe besides the raw oysters).
Hook + Line is a step above most seafood spots and overpriced chains that look like glassy boxes in the neighborhood. Don’t get us wrong—the seafood here isn’t cheap, but they really nail the details. The wood-fired grill gives the lobster feast a smoky char, and flaky branzino comes split and covered with crunchy hazelnuts. Gaze longingly out at the harbor through the massive windows, and order some scallops, stuffed clams, and anything else from that roaring grill. They also have a solid half-bottle wine list, which is about as rare in Boston as somebody proudly wearing a Mets hat.
photo credit: Joe St. Pierre
We’d happily stand outside in 30-degree temperatures (with wind, no less) to eat the housemade noodles from Yume Ga Arukara. If you’re familiar with the Cambridge location, you won’t find any massive surprises here: lines, excellent ramen, and a tiny dining room. But the addition of a Seaport outpost means you might have a chance of getting in slightly faster. Come for lunch to get one of the cold and hot niku udon with tender strips of beef. The noodles are gelatinous, the broth is deep and rich, and you’ll be back to stand in line again within days.
First opened as an offshoot of Island Creek Oyster Bar, the noisy Row 34 has a concise menu filled with near-perfect examples of New England seafood favorites. Think East Coast oysters, halibut ceviche tacos with a sweet tang from pineapple, and lager-steamed mussels with sourdough to mop that broth up. They’re pretty serious about beer here, too, as they’ve got a consistently good (and rotating) list featuring drafts from Untold Brewing and some great Belgian saisons. We love to come here on a Friday evening with a friend who knows how to share, post up at the L-shaped bar, and go ham on a couple dozen oysters and a few beers.
This is one of the top spots on Nantucket, and we’re thrilled it landed in the Seaport a couple of years ago. Nautilus Pier 4 is the kind of restaurant that does dishes from all over the place—New England, Latin America, the Mediterranean, and across Asia—but pretty much anything here is solid. Go for the crab fried rice and tempura oyster tacos that made the Nantucket location a hit, along with the tuna chips and dip, which is basically fancy tuna salad with crispy shrimp chips, and the Peking whole roasted duck with squishy little steamed buns, sushi rice, and smoky mayo. There are plenty of great patios around the Seaport, and Nautilus has a solid one where you’ll get a good view of the harbor. It’s also the ideal place to sip on their absurdly delicious cocktails like the Cruel Summer, made with coconut rum and Aztec chocolate bitters.
This renovated warehouse space has seen a few restaurants come and go, but Mooo is finally the right fit. They’ve got a Beacon Hill location, but the glossy interiors and high-ceiling Seaport spot suit the steakhouse better. The menu combines usual steakhouse things with more memorable detours like devastatingly rich wagyu beef dumplings and mushroom bisque baked in a flaky pastry. All of that makes this a perfect choice for celebrating finally finishing grad school or a big birthday where you want to ball out for some $300 wagyu that’s carved tableside. When it comes to the actual meat, the prime au poivre can’t be beat, because this peppery sauce could make even an old shoe taste good.
The beer selection at Trillium is outstanding enough for this to be a destination in its own right—especially for anyone who’s moved past actually drinking Bud Light. Hit the taproom or head up to the excellent roof deck for a zesty Permutation or a Summer Street IPA. The bar food like wings, smashburgers, and pretzels are available on all three floors of the brewery. They also do specials like an incredible seafood chowder with bacon and black chili oil and a roasted carrot hummus that’s all we want to eat with the Secret Stairs stout.
When out-of-towners think of grabbing a lobster roll in Boston, they probably envision a tiny seafood shack at the end of a fish processing plant, served by people who look like the Gorton’s Fisherman. Take them to Yankee Lobster for lunch and watch their dreams come true. We rank this our eighth-best lobster roll in Boston, but it’s one of the rare Seaport dining experiences that doesn’t feel like you’re eating in an outdoor mall. Instead, it’s a charming, bare-bones spot with counter service and picnic tables to perch on while housing an excellent lobster roll.
photo credit: Liz Clayman
This tapas spot is located in that liminal space between the Seaport and Fort Point. And even though it’s a mini-chain, it’s a really useful place for a group brunch or dinner when you want to drink some good wine by the glass. The $52 chef’s menu is a solid deal where you’ll get a little bit of everything—we’re talking savory bacon-wrapped dates, silky tortilla española with confit potatoes, and a big plate of paella mariscos packed with monkfish, squid, shrimp, mussels, and what feels like everything other species you’d find in the ocean. Hit this spot for a work birthday lunch, a post-work Happy Hour, or just bring some friends who aren’t weird about small plates.
Yes, the Seaport has changed quite a bit over the years, with warehouses giving way to gleaming skyscrapers and glitzy shops. But we’ve also gotten spots like Grace By Nia, somewhere you can see live music, drink great cocktails, and share some solid food while listening to somebody play the saxophone. You’ll have to pay $25 to make a reservation near the stage, but that’s where you want to be for some first-rate R&B, jazz, and soul music—if you want a quiet dinner, this is not the place. The cocktails can be a little much (see: their espresso martini with gold flakes), but it’s sort of impossible not to have a good time here. Especially when digging into a cast-iron pan of Old Bay-heavy Maryland hot crab dip or some carrot cake chicken and waffles topped with cream cheese icing.
It can be hard to find somewhere casual in the Seaport where you won’t spend the same amount on drinks and dinner as your weekly grocery run. If you just want to hang out with friends and have some good cocktails, head to Lucky’s, an underground bar on Congress. It feels a little like a speakeasy when you walk down the stairs into the dark room, but without the whole ice cubes engineered in a lab or fake entrance through a restaurant setup. Instead, the room looks like your friend’s cool dad’s basement bar, with groovy starburst lighting fixtures and lots of random kitsch. The burgers are messy and great, as is everything on the starters menu, particularly the pork belly bao buns and chicken empanadas.
Whether you’re in town doing big-time adult job stuff at the convention center, or just feel like rounding up a ton of your friends to gorge on red meat, come to Alma Gaucha. The restaurant serves Brazilian rodízio, which means for a prix-fixe price, you’ll have waiters bringing over cuts of meat on skewers to your table—think good quality top sirloin, ribeye, slow-cooked pork, chicken, and even salmon. There’s a sides and salad buffet that’s an extra add-on, but it’s worth it for some shrimp salad, pickled veggies, and smoked salmon. Shell out for a nice bottle of malbec on the expense account, while you’re at it. We call that team building, right?
We usually wouldn’t recommend a chain with a location at Logan, but the flagship Legal’s would be worth going to for its location alone. It’s in a big, three-story building that sits directly on the water, with a roof deck where you can stare out at the harbor islands (a slightly better view than acres of tarmac and a Hudson News kiosk). Plus, every floor has its own menu, giving you a more exciting Legal’s experience than you get elsewhere. You can still get the classics like the lobster roll and the chowder you’ve already had 826 times in your life, but now you can also opt for some sushi on the casual roof deck, steaks and poached lobster on the white tablecloth second floor, or fried clams downstairs.
