Best seafood restaurant in Boston
 

We will be in Boston for my husband's birthday and I'd like to take him out for a really nice seafood dinner. suggestions anyone? thanks

My choice would be Island Creek Oyster Bar in Kenmore Square. They now have a second restaurant, Row 34 in the Seaport area. ICOB has a nice modern atmosphere, yet you can still hear yourself speak. Reservations are essential.

Even though it's a chain, I do like Oceanaire. It is a more formal atmosphere (in a former bank) but the food is excellent and the service impeccable.

We enjoyed sitting at the bar at ICOB and had teserved seats there.

Island Creek Oyster Bar was our favorite of the 3 seafood restaurants we went to in Boston in 2012.

~Liz

Island Creek is very good. Good food. But the word "bar" in the name is somewhat instructive. It is not fine dining, just great food served relatively casually. Frankly, it is exactly the type of restaurant I really like, but not sure what you mean by "nice dinner". Also, reservations are quite hard to get on weekends.

If you can't get into Island Creek, B&G oysters is also very good. Also quite casual.

If you want seafood fine dining, then the new place looks to be Ostra. I have not eaten there, but it clearly has ambitions and is one of the "fancier" new places to come on the scene in a while. The reviews have been largely positive.

If you expand "seafood" to include sushi, then O Ya, Uni, and Oishii are all good choices.

Along those same lines, while not a "seafood" restaurant, Clio does amazing things and usually has 7-12 seafood dishes on the menu. Honestly, I think Clio is probably the best restaurant I've been to in Boston.

Island Creek does have the white tablecloth section at the rear of the restaurant. But I agree it is not a "formal" atmosphere. It all depends on what the OP wants.

oh lovely thank you, I shall check all of the above out. Happy trvlr, I think we've been communicating on the Portugal page as well nao?

Atlantic Fish Co., Boylston St., Boston

I think Island Creek is a great idea, and probably my favorite seafood restaurant in Boston. However it is true that a lot of nice places do good things with seafood too. So you can go to a more upscale place such as Clio. One of my favorites is Hammersley's Bistro. They almost always have a lobster dish, and a nice fish dish on the menu and they will be very good. Its a slightly nicer atmosphere than Island Creek.

Also, I really like the new Legal Seafood Harborside. The second floor is a nice dining room, and the view is to die for. I know there are mixed opinions about Legal these days, but the waterfront restaurant is really their flagship so has very good food and service, and its rare to find a decent restaurant that also has a spectacular view. I think it would also be a good choice.

Good seafood in Potugal too!

<I>Also, I really like the new Legal Seafood Harborside.</I>

The first floor is my go-to for out-of-town colleagues. Good food. It checks off the "seafood" box. Service is decent. Easy to get a table. Everyone comments on how good it is. Not my favorite restaurant in Boston, but a solid, reliable choice.