Last updated on April 19th, 2025
There’s no denying the fact that the most delicious seafood—including lobsters—doesn’t travel, and the most flavoursome seafood dishes will forever be found near their source: the coast.
Featured photo by Terje Sollie from Pexels
Long story short, there are no fresher or finer seafood restaurants than those located within the vicinity of New England’s marvellous coastline, down from Connecticut through Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and on up to Maine. But, of course, if you’re not a restaurant person, you can always contact a Maine lobster delivery service, have your seafood delivered to your door, and prepare your seafood specialities in-house to enjoy it with your friends and family.
Otherwise, here are the five best seafood restaurants in New England worth your visit when in the area.
Nubb’s Lobster Shack—Cape Neddick, Maine
Located on the inside of the Cliff House Maine (an oceanside resort on Vacationland’s southern coast), you can find Nubb’s Lobster Shack—famed for their lobster in all its traditional and newer culinary forms: rolls, whole, and even totchos (a pairing of tater tots and delicious lobster meat in a nachos-style dish).
Their menu also includes crab cakes, clam chowder, whole belly clams, fish and chips, fried Maine oysters, and more.
Photo from Cliff House Maine
The Banks Fish House—Boston, Massachusetts
This Back Bay eating house, named for the once fertile fishing region, Georges Bank, is split over two floors, each with a fantastic view of the splendid modernist Hancock building and the Copley Squares Trinity church.
This sophisticated seafood restaurant offers a superb selection of North Atlantic seafood in traditional recipes and with newer twists. For example, the Banks Fish House repurposes the good old clam chowder to create a white pizza laden with potato and clam, topped with fresh oyster crackers.
Photo from The Banks Boston
Bob’s Clam Hut—Kittery, Maine
Near the end of the 1950s, the late Robert Kraft, an avid clam digger and native Mainer, started Bob’s Clam Hut in his parent’s backyard in Kittery. Since day one, the place has been a hit and has remained a beloved seafood diner even after 70 years. Over the years, Bob’s Clam Hut’s menu broadened to include lobster rolls and stew, clam chowder, and other New England seafood favourites.
Somewhere along the line, longtime employee Lillian Mango introduced a second recipe for cooking clams that included pre-dipping the claim in egg wash, thus challenging Robert Kraft’s simple flour-dredged ones. Even to this day, both recipes remain popular among foodies in Maine.
Photo from Maine Biz
Oyster Club—Mystic, Connecticut
This celebrated restaurant overlooks the forever vibrant coastal town of Mystic and combines an open kitchen with a tiered outdoor dining deck and a cosy indoor dining room. While outdoor dining here is unparalleled, indoor diners may observe the chef’s strong hands open brinier Fishers Islands and sweet Mystics; all pulled out of Long Island Sound.
Local fish like fluke is pan-roasted and then served with fresh oyster mushrooms and baby fingerling potatoes, making for one of the best seafood dishes you can test on the entire New England coast.
Photo by Rene Asmussen from Pexels
Jumpin’ Jay’s—Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Located in Portsmouth, an attractive town on NH’s short coast, Jumpin’ Jay’s cooks up the New England seafood classics but often with an Italian twist. For example, linguine with clams with a pinch of red pepper flakes, haddock piccata, or fettuccine stuffed with diver scallops, mussels, and shrimp.
If you visit this restaurant, you’ll firsthand see the busy oyster shuckers at work. As the name of the place suggests, the restaurant gets jumpin’ during the evening hours when locals come in to enjoy a seat at the raised central bar to sip local beer and slurp fresh oysters.
Photo from Jumpin’ Jay’s Fish Cafe
Final Words
Now that you know the best restaurants to enjoy seafood while in New England, what’s your excuse? Go on and try everything from fish to lobsters and everything in between and enjoy New England’s rich tradition of premium seafood delicacies and the joyful local atmosphere.
