The 8 Best Seafood Spots in New England

The Place is an open-air clambake with tree stumps for chairs. The dining area surrounds a smoky wood fire over which freshly opened clams, brushed with butter and hot sauce, are roasted to briny hot succulence. BYOB; regulars know to bring their own salad, dessert and tablecloths.

Lobsters of all sizes are perfectly steamed until they virtually burst from the shell. Abbott’s steel-gray chowder is legendary, and it also serves a hot lobster roll, a local specialty, which is big hunks of warm meat sopped with butter and piled into a bun.

Located at ocean’s edge, Aunt Carrie’s is the place to go for a grand, old-style shore dinner. First comes chowder (white, red or Rhode Island–style clear) along with clam cakes. Next, steamers with butter for dipping and filet of flounder with slaw and french fries, followed by a whole lobster. Finally, there’s strawberry shortcake or a slice of Aunt Carrie’s legendary rhubarb pie. Top it all off with a postprandial stroll along the ocean beach.

The sundaes, frappés, freezes, floats, shakes and splits are dandy at this 1931-vintage drive-in, but the lobster roll is downright ­spectacular—and a bargain to boot. Large segments of claw, tail and knuckle meat, just barely cool, are veiled in a thin film of mayonnaise that provides a gauzy halo for a tidal wave of oceanic sweetness.

Shaped like the container for to-go orders, the Clam Box isn’t just an eye-­boggling attraction. It also serves the best fried clams on the North Shore of Massachusetts, ergo the best on earth. Each whole-belly clam in a fragile golden crust is a rapturous eating experience.

With a stunning view across Sheepscot Bay, this might be the most beautiful restaurant in the Northeast. Just-trapped lobsters are boiled with corn and potatoes in the same huge pot, adding up to an unforgettable meal.

Two words: lobster pie. Made from a family recipe, it’s a savory casserole of buttery meat, cracker crumbs and the luscious lobster tomalley. It’s unspeakably rich, but do leave room for dessert: Indian pudding or Maine blueberry ice cream.

A humble roadside café that serves lobster stew in a plastic-foam cup. Presentation notwithstanding, it’s sheer elegance, refined and balanced, rich but not heavy, loaded with tender meat. Fish and clam chowders are also masterpieces. For dessert, try the Down East favorite whoopie pie.