Neptune Oyster Boston has the freshest and most amazing seafood EVER.  This was on our list of must do places to eat in Boston and its reputation is well deserved.  And there are no reservations.  We figured dinner would be impossible after having done the waiting thing at Toro one night.

We arrived a half hour before opening and got in line.  We were somewhere it the middle of the line and landed awesome seats at the bar.  Neptune cannot possibly hold more than 35 people.  Many in line were left on the curb waiting until we finished.  And trust me, we were in no hurry to leave.  It was nearly impossible to decide what to eat based on this awesome menu…

First up, oysters.  The choices are East Coast or West Coast, which in our minds isn’t much of a choice.  East, of course, plucked right from the ocean.  And there was one girl who shucked everyone’s oysters in the entire bar.  Perfectly and with great speed, I might add.

We’d eaten quite a bit of shrimp at Eastern Standard, so this time we decided to go with the Maine Lobster Cocktail.  What a ridiculously dense and amazing pile of lobster!  Butter, herbs, LOBSTER.

I absolutely had to have some REAL New England Clam Chowder, which is more like a fish stew.  I’d eaten a bad version the day before that was thick and gooey with chunks of potatoes instead of thin and creamy white with a lovely clam broth flavor.  It was out of this world.

We also both had an order of Neptunes on Piggyback, which are fried oysters on a layer of Berkshire pork served up like an open faced slider with baby spinach and raisin preserves.

The special of the day was fish tacos, which are Steve’s favorite.  Made with two pieces of fresh cod each, they were topped with tartar sauce and fresh herbs and served with cole slaw on the side and pickled carrots.

If we ever get back to Boston, I’d say this is the one place we’d return without question.  This tiny little gem is like no seafood spot in NYC!

http://www.neptuneoyster.com/index.html
63 Salem Street – North End