Neptune Oyster is one of Boston’s staples and filled with tourists. The little shop is located in the North End of Boston among all the cannoli shops and Freedom Trail landmarks.
Boston is a city famous for the tea party, Boston Massacre, cannolis and its seafood. Neptune boasts a number of options for oysters with other seafood options. The line and wait is horrendous; it’s intimidating yet disappointing when you walk up to find out the wait is 2+ hours for a seat. However, it doesn’t discourage the large number of people willing to wait for their name and number to be called.
The wait could be frustrating as you stand by the window watching people devour oyster after oyster as your stomach yearns for relief. I sat there for 10 minutes between the red brick wall buildings and decided to go through my agenda. The wait gave me the opportunity to check out some of the nearby landmarks like Paul Revere’s house and grab a cannoli at Modern Pastry while I waited for the hostess to call me.
As I made my trek back, I was starving yet delighted to have gotten some of items off my agenda including being able to grab a Modern Pastry cannoli for dessert. My eyes fiercely browse the menu for some of the more typical Boston items while the cannoli sat in front of me at the bar. The restaurant is very small and intimate as I heard conversations about people’s dating life to social media antics. I ended up with the following items:
- Oysters – I went with Island Creek oyster from Duxbury, Massachusetts, and Beausoleil from Shippagan, New Brunswick. The Island Creek was medium in size yet high in salt had a very clean taste to it. The Beausoleil’s flavor was light and polished, but it was larger than the Island Creek. It was still had hints of fresh oceanic flavors, but it was perfect to start the meal with.
Island Creek and Beausoleil - Wellfleet Clam Chowder – The clam chowder was made fresh to order. The chowder was really light in composition; it wasn’t thick and creamy like some other restaurants. The square inch potatoes chunks and clams bits rounded out the chowder even though the clam portions was noticeably less than the potato.
Clam Chowder - Maine Lobster Roll – The sandwich came in a toasted roll served hot with butter or cold with mayo with a side of fries. The roll had a generous amount of lobster with an even more generous amount of butter on the lobster and toasted roll. The fresh lobster plumpness appear to overpower the soft texture of the roll every bite as morsels of lobster fail onto my plate as I bit into it during my feeding craze. I’ve always skeptical about Boston’s lobster rolls but I became a believer as I switched between the lobster roll and fries. I wanted to try the Crab roll, but didn’t have enough space.
Maine Lobster Roll
As I stumbled outside, I started to evaluate the flavors of Neptune Oyster’s food. The brine oysters, the light clam chowder and the buttery lobster were all tasty and worth the so-call 2+ hour wait. The meal was not economical when compared to other similar seafood restaurants; however, Boston is not a cheap city and Neptune Oyster was worth the price.
Read our other Boston articles here.
- Service - 7.5/107.5/10
- Presentation - 7/107/10
- Flavors - 8.5/108.5/10
- Decor - 8/108/10
- Ambiance - 7.5/107.5/10
Summary
Neptune Oyster is located in the North End of Boston among all the cannoli shops and Freedom Trail landmarks. The brine oysters, the light clam chowder and the buttery lobster were all tasty and worth the so-call 2+ hour wait. However, it’s a fairly pricey meal for those who decide to wait for their name and number to be called.
