Hi...three adults heading to Boston for the first time and would appreciate any help you can give pertaining to restaurants. Moderately priced but higher if worth it. We are staying near Symphony Hall, but will travel. Looking for seafood restaurant with great chowder and live Maine lobster; Asian restaurant, Italian restaurant(southern Italian) and a restaurant that one can only find in Boston. While doing all the "tourist" things, any restaurants for lunch we shouldn't miss? Thank you in advance for your time and help.....Gloria

For seafood, go to Legal's. There are a number of them in the city. For Asian, there is a great Vietnamese restaurant called Pho Pasteur on Newbury Street. For Italian, go to the North End. It's filled with great Italian restaurants. Walk down Hanover Street and choose a place that appeals to you.

Walking around the North End for an appealing place is a great idea - but not on Thurs, Fri or Sat - you'll never get seated.

try joes american bar and grill on newbury st. for great chowder...or union oyster house in faneul hall.

Try Massimino's for Italian. And even though Legal Sea Foods is a chain, the food is good -- but expect a long wait. And figure any restaurant on the harbor is a tourist trap, except perhaps for the No Name Restaurant. Pho Pasteur is also a chain -- there's one in Harvard Sq. -- but it's very good. For a restaurant "one can only find in Boston," you will inevitably have someone recommend Durgin Park -- VERY casual, very family-style, with "low" but hearty "New England" (read: white or brown and starchy) cuisine.

I disagree with two recommedations here: Durgin Park and Union Oyster House; they just aren't what they used to be. Legal Seafoods cannot be beat; I've never had to wait too terribly long, and if you go early or late or for lunch, you won't wait. "if it isn't fresh, it isn't Legal" and they're not kidding. Other favorites of ours in Boston are Hammersley's Bistro in the South End, No. One Park (just under the state house), the East Coast Grill and The B Side, both in Cambridge, and the Capitol Grill on Newbury Street in Boston.

The above restaurants are all very good, but quite expensive. Near Symphony there is also Brown Sugar (thai) and Betty's Wok and Noodle (asian/cuban)

Best thing is to buy a copy of Zagats Boston or go online at Zagat.com. Not perfect, but quite useful

Oh, also the South End (a boston neighborhood near where you'll be staying) has a number of good restaurants - Garden of Eden, Franklin Cafe, Metropolis, Aquitaine, MAsa and more. Various price levels.

Thank you all for your help...Gloria

Legal has gotten very, very pricey...go during lunch and eat from the appetizer side of the menu which will give you the chowder, fish cakes, etc... several appetizers make a huge meal...also order their onion strings... Stay away from the chains...and walk Newbury Street and eat at their sidewalk cafes for ambience and people watching.

Hi Gloria. Easily the best chowder in town is at Legal Seafoods. My husband and I sometimes stop in for a bowl of chowder (I like the traditional New England style, he likes the red) and it's plenty for a light lunch. Other suggestions for lunch, especially since I suspect you may be shopping on Newbury Street at some point, are Stephanie's on Newbury, Davio's for Italian, and Kashmir for very good Indian food. Most restaurants along Newbury have outside tables, an added bonus! For dinner I like Terramia in the North End for Italian but there are plenty of other good places as well. I'm not sure what you mean by "Asian" restaurant but for Japanese try Tatsukichi (not inexpensive) or Ginza for sushi. China Pearl in Chinatown has wonderful dim sum and I believe you can get it all day long.

If you're interested in a splurge for dinner I would recommend Radius or Olive's. The problem with Olive's is they don't accept reservations for just 3 people. Get there early for the first seating (6:00) or else you'll be waiting about an hour and a half -- which might not be too bad given that there is a very "old Boston" tavern just a block or two away where you can soak up some of the atmosphere and have a drink while you wait.

Another poster recommended Hammersley's Bistro. It gets good reviews but personally I think the food is so-so for those prices (and I've been a few times and not just once when anyplace can have an off night). If I'm spending that much I'm going to Radius!

Have a great trip and welcome to Boston!

I second Pho Pasteur-- there are several in the city-- excellent food & reasonable prices. As for a Boston experience, what about the Barking Crab?? It's VERY casual if you sit outside & it's right on the harbor. They have great lobster, lobster rolls, & clam strips. Of course there's Anthony's Pier 4 but I don't think it's as good as it used to be.

Have a great trip!!

Don't go anywhere near Anthony's or Jimmy's; the other advice here is quite good. If you want to travel to Cambridge, try the East Coast Grill for seafood; it's on Cambridge Street, a few miles from the Museum of Science. Otherwise, I'd go to Legal...

IMO...Here's a vote against No Name Seafood (on the pier), unless you're looking for fried and more fried (and even then, they have many off nights, and their chowder is FISH chowder; beware). Legal's (now that there are a gzillion of them) is not what it used to be, but great chowder and reliable. Joe's American Bar & Grill may have great chowder also, but beyond that and being a fun spot for brunch, nothing to go out of your way for. Asian food: great Chinese in a dive: Ming's Cafe (160 East Berkeley)--iffy neighborhood, not easily walkable; nicer, Grand Chau Chow (in Chinatown--there are several Chau Chow's, this is the best; make sure to have the clams in black bean sauce). Agree about Pho Pasteur. For Japanese, Gyuhama (Boylston St) has excellent sushi. Massimino's is a good choice for Italian; try Lucia's if the wait is too long (which is a much larger space, always excellent, great house salad dressing). Skip dessert at either and go to Mike's Pastry (incredible, and dirt cheap, but crowded--you may end up taking out), or Caffe Vittoria, next door-ish.