Oceanaire Seafood Room

We were in Boston for the weekend and came across this restaurant as a recommendation and we couldn't be more please. The service was spot on from the maitre'd to the server. Very knowledgeable and prompt. The food was also excellent with a very large seafood variety and everything was perfectly fresh. Overall, this was a great dinner and I HIGHLY recommend it for a nice seafood restaurant.

Pros: Food, Service, Ambiance

Cons: None really, everything was great!

Posted 02/08/09

I've been to this restaurant 3 times (2 in one week actually) and it was fantastic. The seafood is so incredibly fresh, and the service is amazing and they did a great job with timing everything (which isn't easy to do with a large group ordering appetizers and oysters among other things). They have a great restaurant week menu, and a daily prix fixe for $32.95 that was delicious and huge portions. Standouts are: clam chowder (so fresh, many legal's fans were converted), crab cakes (sooo much lump crab), mahi mahi with blue cheese, and any desset (we loved pumpkin cheesecake, baked alaska, and the biggest and most chocolatey brownie dessert we've ever seen). Some people in our party had the steak and said that was amazing too. Great addition to downtown/financial district! And I normally dislike chains...

Pros: fresh seafood, big portions

Cons: pricey but not too bad for fresh seafood

Posted 11/25/08

I had been to an Oceanaire down in Dallas, TX. It was amazing. This week was restaurant week in Boston and wanted to take my Wife out to a nice restaurant. I decided I wanted to take her to the Boston location. I came to this site and read the reviews and after my visit thought I needed to correct some of the people comments:
1) The Oceanaire is not by any means cheap. But the food is amazing. Fresh and high quality. The service was some of the best I have ever had. If you think your plate was too expensive try going to the Red Lobster...you may fit in better there. $15 for a Cosmo is normal in Boston. Especially, in a nice restaurant. For a good cheap Cosmo try the Times on State St or go to Kappy's and buy the ingredients and make your own at home.

2) I took my Wife there for my anniversary. I was greeted at the door with a Happy Anniversary from the hostess. Then the menus were printed up special celebrating the occasion. They made us feel special. The server was extremely attentive and so were the bussers. But not overly where it was annoying. The meal was well choreographed and the food came when it was supposed to and with perfect presentation. If you had been there before...try it again. They just opened up in Jan. 08. Give them a break to get the service down.

Pros: Food and Service

Posted 08/21/08

My girlfriend and I visited Boston for the first time last night. I was in the mood for crab legs, so I did a bit of searching for Boston seafood restaurants. When we arrived, the valet attendent was not arround. My girlfriend went in to see if any seating was available. The manager was calling for the valet and he parked a car himself while the valet returned.

We arrived around 730PM on a Monday evening and did not have a problem getting a table. The server initially brought out the wrong bottle of wine. Her friendliness, attention and attitude could have been a little better. I ordered a beet salad and added raspberries instead of goat cheese. The raspberries were more delicious and visually appealing than the best organic raspberries I've ever found in a market.

Our sides arrived with the meal. I ignored the sides since I did not want the seafood to become cold. My girlfriend ordered a seared Ahi tuna. It was the most tender, delicious tuna I've ever had. It melted like butter.

I ordered a pound and a half of king crab leg clusters. The legs were monsterous sized. Generally I like the taste of snow crab better than king crab, but I enjoy the larger pieces from the king crab. These legs tasted great. A pound and a half was just the right amount. I would have asked for more lemon, but the sever did not seem to check on us very often.

The food gets six stars, but I'd give the service around a 3. The manager gets five stars. Our final bill including tip was around $260 for two including a bottle of wine. It was well worth it.

My recommendations to the restaurant:
--better training for expecations of the serving staff
--replace valet with a more professional company/attendant... I am often disappointed in the dishelved appearance of valets and this one was no different.

I would come back because the food was amazing. The bathrooms were also quite nice, which is important to me.

Pros: amazing seafood, attentive manager, nice bathrooms, valet available

Cons: service could use a little improvement

Posted 06/23/08

1. too much batter on the fish and chips
2. lost my taste buds on the blackend marlin
3. $15 dollars for a Cosmo.

4&5. Rip Off. Go to a steak house!

Pros: great location for after work

Cons: too expensive for us city workers

Posted 05/22/08

I just wanted to say that this place is by far the best place I have ever had dinner. My boyfriend and I had the best time. I guess it is all in the waiter that you get but our waiter was FANTASTIC! Everyone there was. The food was to die for and the atmosphere was just great. I would say by far the best restaurant I have ever been too.

Posted 05/07/08

Best service I can remember in a restaurant in sometime!! Food was excellent!! For a special occasion they will personalize the menus. Nice touch. Free baked alaska (flaming desert)on your birthday....overall, the place rocks!! Can't wait to go back!!

Pros: Valet..superb service

Cons: a little pricey

Posted 04/30/08

This past weekend was my first time to Oceanaire. The reservation there was a surprise for my girlfriend and I planned by my boyfriend. The food was delicious. I give the food 4 stars. I highly recommend the Calamari, Scallops, and the Baked Alaska. Hats off to the executive chef. Excellent.

Unfortunately, the service was terrible. The service made me feel like I was at low priced chain restaurant, the only difference was the food. From the moment we walked in the door the host was loud and not classy holding a crumpled up reservation list. The woman who came to present us with our bottle of champagne did not know what she was doing!! She poured it like a beer, and then did not even ask us how it was?!? I didn?t buy another bottle of champagne because of this. Our waiter hated his job. It seemed like a hassle for him to serve us at times. We actually felt bad for him to a degree.

Overall, the food was so great that I just ignored the rude and classless staff. I understand that Oceanair is a new restaurant, and maybe still getting their act together with finding qualified wait staff. Until the appropriate changes are made I would not describe this restaurant as ?classy? and ?posh?. If you are going to categorize yourselves in the $$$$ category hire a more sophisticated wait staff. I always appreciate a knowledgable wait staff it creates a better overall experience.

I would not recommend going to Oceanaire on a date, because of the poor and slow service. If you want to go out with some friends, grab appetizers and cocktails at the bar area then that?s a better call.

I am going back, because of the food. Hopefully, they will have improved their service staff.

Pros: Delicious Food

Cons: Service, staff, and atmosphere (better lighting)

Posted 04/21/08

I love crabcakes and have tried them at many of the restaurants around Boston and The Oceanaire Seafood Room definitely has the best! When they say they are "lump meat" crabcakes they really mean it, it was almost all crab - AMAZING!!!

Pros: Food is Amazing (especially the crabcakes!)

Posted 04/06/08

I moved out here to Boston 5 years ago assuming I would be surrounded by amazing seafood restaurants. Imagine my disappointment when 5 years later I still had not found any place as good as The Oceanaire Seafood room in Minneapolis Minnesota! Well, thank god I did not have to move back to Minnesota to get a delicious seafood meal, because the restaurant came to me! This is what fresh seafood should taste like and what has been missing from Boston!

Posted 04/05/08

I just tried out Oceanaire for the first time after hearing great things from my friends and everything was AMAZING! I don't know what the other guy is talking about! Not only did we have bread and relish but they also give you a complimentary amuse bouche. Also, the portions are huge, both the entrees and the sides - and you can't forget about the dessert - we were torn between the flaming dessert we saw go out to another table and the carmel brownie which we ended up getting and it could have easily fed a whole family! I will definitely be recommending this place and will be back again!

Pros: Our Server was very attentive and fun!

Posted 03/30/08

We brought a big group for dinner here and everyone thought it was great. It's the best seafood in Boston. The service was very attentive and we will go back often.

Posted 03/27/08

This place is completely over rated, over priced and quite full of itself. The menu is expansive and outrageously priced. Why would anyone ever spend over $25 for a piece of fish is beyond me. $100 bucks for a full set of crab legs? You have got to be kidding me. They leave you sitting at your table for 15-20 minutes without so much as a glance, let alone asking if you would like a cocktail before dinner. Pickled herring on ice for a snack? It's ridiculous to even think of ever returning to this place.

Posted 03/23/08

The old US Trust bank has been renovated into one of Boston's more interesting restaurants! This space is unbelievable and not to mention the reason you go to Oceanaire - the SEAFOOD! The chef came from the Capital Grille and knows seafood. I found out he used work at Hemenway's in Providence and comes from the North Shore (try the fried clams). This place is like going to Abe and Louies or Grill 23; a steakhouse that serves fish! The freshness is second to none, I ordered Opah simply grilled and it was the best piece of fish I have had in Boston. You have to try the crab cakes they are the best outside of Maryland. A friend had the whole fried Arctic Char, which was described as a cross between a salmon and a trout. When I heard "fried" I thought it would be greasy, but it was perfectly steamed and the meat was moist and sweet! Great service, very seasoned staff that is friendly and attentive! Run don't walk before they get too busy and you can't get in on the weekend. The only downfall when I went was the valet parking, it wasn't available. My friend went recently and Oceanaire now has valet parking! A gem in the heart of our great city!

Pros: Valet Parking, freshest seafood, attentive service, great special occasion place

Cons: Not serving lunch until MARCH 17 !

Posted 02/15/08